The fire is back on at Town Hearth and the service has restarted at Neighborhood Services.
Chef/owner Nick Badovinus said Wednesday that he will reopen three of his heavy-protein-centered restaurants ― the original Neighborhood Services on Lovers Lane, Neighborhood Services in Addison, and Town Hearth in the Design District ― Wednesday night after being shuttered since mid-March. His seafood joint, Montlake Cut, will open on Tuesday.
Badovinus will also repurpose his newest concept, Desert Racer on Lower Greenville, into Vantina. The outdoor pop-up concept will open on Thursday on the patio, but the main dining room will remain shuttered for the time being. Vantina could eventually become the concept for the whole space.
“Fundamentally, we’re doing a pop-up in our own backyard,” Badovinus says. “We opened Desert Racer in the winter and not many people got a chance to experience that outdoor space. Now we want them to get that. It’s a Baja food truck kind of vibe. And I think it’s got the chance to travel really well.”
The Vantina menu will remain mostly Baja-centric, but will also include some of “the DNA” of Badovinus’ burger joint Off-Site Kitchen.
Off-Site Kitchen will not reopen in the current Trinity Groves location, though “that business has always had a certain vagabond spirit having already moved once. I’m sure it will find a new home sooner or later," Badovinus says.
Perfect Union Pizza Company in Highland Park Village is not reopening and may be tweaked as a concept.
According to the parent company Flavorhook’s website, all employees will wear masks and no parties larger than six can be accommodated at the current time. Valet parking is not available at the moment, per Gov. Greg Abbott’s regulations for restaurants, but valets will direct self-parking.
It has been a rough stretch for Badovinus. In October, Neighborhood Services at Preston Royal was badly damaged by the Preston Hollow tornado. Desert Racer took longer than expected to open. And, in March, just before restaurants were shut down, a server at Town Hearth tested positive for Covid-19.
“It’s been a swing of the pendulum,” Badovinus said from the kitchen at Town Hearth, just moments after swinging the doors open again. “There have been days that have been amazing and days that have not. But we’ve gotten a chance to really look at our future and ask ourselves some really tough questions. In some respects, it’s been good not to have the hustle-and-bustle so that we can focus on looking ahead. I feel like our staff has really had a chance to come together.”
Twitter: @Evan_P_Grant
