Chef John Tesar spent many years in Lakewood-East Dallas, and one of his favorite hangouts was Central 214 in Hotel Palomar before it became more of a “hotel restaurant,” he says.
“A lot of people from Highland Park and Lakewood would frequent (Central 214),” Tesar explains. “I really felt like this was one of the younger, cooler places.”
His dream is to revive that neighborhood-hangout vibe with his new steakhouse, Knife, which is set to open in the old Central 214 location in Hotel Palomar on May 15.
“When I got the opportunity to do this, I wanted to recreate what I had seen in the beginning,” he says, “to make it a local spot, rather than a hotel restaurant, which is kind of what it had turned into over the years.”
Tesar is nationally acclaimed for his other Dallas restaurant, Spoon Bar & Kitchen, where he became known for his modern American cuisine with a classic European twist. In 2014, he was nominated for “Best Chef Southwestern” with the James Beard Foundation, and he also competed on Bravo’s “Top Chef.”
On the Hotel Palomar side, Alison Bybee, the regional vice president of Kimpton Hotel & Restaurants, says it can be difficult to find a restaurant that breaks the mold of a hotel restaurant.
“But Kimpton’s philosophy from day one was always to create restaurants that aren’t just amenities to the hotel, but that appeal to the local market as well,” Bybee says.
“So we bring in chefs that can bring in that kind of draw. Not quite to the level of John. We’re kind of doubling down with John. This is more of a strategic partnership, as a part of the evolution that we needed to do.”
As the first step towards creating a neighborhood-hangout, Kimpton gave Tesar free rein on building design and menu options. Over the past few months, the restaurant space has been reworked in order to soften the vibe as much as possible.
“I wanted to create an atmosphere that I feel comfortable with,” Tesar says. “So you have a cocktail lounge, you have a bar, you have a restaurant, the ability to have a private dining room, and something that was really important to me was an outdoor feature. I wanted a real patio with fire and water and lounge and food.
“It’s a restaurant, but it’s a place where you can come hang out. You can come here and have a hot dog or you can come here and have a 240-day dry-aged steak, or you can have a martini. So, make this the nucleus of the neighborhood.”
But in the end, only the neighborhood and time can determine if a new hoppin’ hotspot has been born, or if Knife is just another hotel restaurant. If the concept is a success, Tesar says maybe, just maybe, we’ll see a Fork in the not-so-distant future.
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