Chef Rene Peeters had an upscale French bistro, Watel’s, in Uptown for more than 20 years before it closed in April. Now he is investing in East Dallas with three new businesses, including the new Watel’s and a café and market, World Piece. The menu for World Piece, planned for Greenville Avenue near Lewis Street, will feature small portions in the tapas or sushi bar style. The concept is inspired by his world travels, and will include a market that sells bread, pastries and deli items made there, as well as imported canned, jarred and dried foods. The market also will sell trinkets and household items from eco-friendly and fair market sources.

Next door to that, Peeters is planning an antique store called “A Few of My Favorite Things,” which can double as a banquet room. Peeters is planning to reopen Watel’s, with its white tablecloths and traditional French fare, around the corner, on Lewis.

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Peeters says real estate company Madison Partners approached him to lease the spaces. The company, “said they were trying to upgrade the ‘hood,” Peeters says.

There has been a push to transform that part of Lower Greenville, which for decades has been a vortex for college kids and dive bars, into something more upscale. One young restaurant entrepreneur, Benjamin Verdooren, has said it’s a bad idea, in hindsight. His Zymology closed in May after only a few months in business, despite good reviews all around. He attributed the failure of his first restaurant venture to its location on lowest Greenville.

“No one wants to drive down there, because of the perception that it’s a dangerous neighborhood,” Verdooren told me in May. “Even though we had good reviews, we couldn’t get the business we needed because it’s always been an area for college bars, and they’re trying to make it into something it’s not.”

Then again, Peeters is no rookie. And he argues that there already are upscale restaurants in that area, including Daddy Jack’s and Teppo. Peeters even had a place there years ago called What Else (a play on the name of his other restaurant, Watel’s). He has lived in East Dallas on-and-off for 35 years, he says, and he thinks it’s the best neighborhood in Dallas.

“Since you’ve asked, I’m not sure if this new restaurant is a good fit, but I am willing to give it a try because the landlords have been easy to work with, and I believe in the area and want to contribute to the community,” he said.