After a year and a half serving breakfast and brunch in East Dallas, Kozy Kitchen is headed back to its original home, Uptown Dallas.
Kozy Kitchen will move in to the former Casa Komali restaurant space at Cole and Fitzhugh avenues in Dallas. Chef-owner Nick Pavageaux hopes to open the new Kozy Kitchen by the end of July.
The restaurant was popular among athletes and healthy eaters during its 16 years on McKinney Avenue in Uptown. Pavageaux then moved the restaurant to East Dallas when the Uptown building was sold to a new owner — but he says he struggled to secure the same customer base.
Slow sales during the COVID-19 pandemic encouraged Pavageaux to make another move.
Pavageaux was one of the pioneers of gluten-free cooking in Dallas. Much of Kozy Kitchen’s menu is healthful, though the restaurant also sells more indulgent items like French toast and ginger pancakes, made with gluten-free ingredients.
“There wasn’t anybody doing what we were doing, when we started this some 18 years ago,” Pavageaux says.
The menu also caters to those eating keto or low-carb. One of the most popular brunch items is the Bowl of Doom, an off-the-menu dish made with sweet potato hash, avocado, eggs and more.
Charlotte Jones Anderson, executive vice president and chief brand officer for the Dallas Cowboys, has called Kozy Kitchen one of her family’s favorite restaurants.
Pavageaux says the coronavirus pandemic has hit his restaurant hard. Closing in Lakewood and moving to a more stable address with lower rent was the only way he could think to save his business.
“Being a small business owner, this is my only source of income — as well as my brother [who is a co-owner] and the people who rely on us to get a paycheck every week,” he says. “We have to make money in order to survive through this. ... We’re struggling as it is, and were struggling more with the move. But back in Uptown, we have a very loyal following and people are very anxious to have us back here.”
Kozy Kitchen will be at 4152 Cole Ave., Dallas, and is expected to open in July 2020.
