The Village in Dallas was designed, as its name suggests, to be a village for its residents — an insular neighborhood near Southern Methodist University with walkable amenities. Since the first apartments sprung up in 1968 east of Central Expressway and south of Northwest Highway, the development has grown to an 11,000-person village-within-a-city that spans 300 acres.
But as restaurants, bars and entertainment options in Dallas grew up around it, “villagers,” as they’re called, ventured out.
“They’re leaving the Village to go eat,” says Rebekah Wright, a senior vice president for the Village who has worked for the development for 17 years. The company decided to “bring in these conveniences” in a 34-acre project that has been under construction for four years. It has a boutique hotel, new apartments, a gym with an indoor basketball court and a members-only country club.
The heart of the project is a street down the middle of the development with more than a dozen food-focused concepts, including a food hall, a boutique grocery store and a commissary that bakes fresh bread on-site. Overseeing part of the expansive project is Brazilian born Nilton “Junior” Borges, a former New York chef who worked for Michelin-starred restaurants and is now The Village’s vice president of culinary in Dallas.
In a 2019 story, The Dallas Morning News called Borges’ role at the Village a “big comeback,” after he impressed diners with his work at Uchi and Mirador in Dallas and then briefly had been working behind the scenes, not actively making food in local kitchens. In addition to overseeing all of the new restaurants, Borges is the executive chef of the development’s flagship restaurant, Meridian. It’s the first restaurant that’s solely his.
Borges is excited — but he’s careful not to oversell it before it opens. Meridian will easily become a hot spot; Borges is one of Dallas’ best chefs. It’s expected to open in April 2021.
Almost all of the amenities at the Village’s redevelopment will be open to the public, which signals a symbolic opening of the gates.
“This is the first time we’ve opened our community,” Wright says. It’s sure to lure curious residents from nearby neighborhoods — Lakewood, Lake Highlands, the M Streets, Highland Park and University Park among them.
Here’s a look inside one of the biggest restaurant construction projects in Dallas in the past decade. All the eateries are expected to open in April 2021, unless otherwise noted.
Mogo (which is short for Modern Goods) is a small grocery store selling produce, wine, beer and fresh flowers alongside an ice cream shop and soda fountain. It’s been described as being similar to a Royal Blue Grocery, a bodega that originated in Austin and has expanded to several locations in Dallas. Mogo was the first food-focused spot to debut in the Village’s new project; it opened Jan. 27.
Inside the Drey Hotel, visitors and villagers will find a Mediterranean restaurant named Anise and a Mexican place named La Mina. Beyond food, Anise will specialize in wine and La Mina is focusing on margaritas and beer.
Roundhouse Food Hall will have eight stands selling a variety of quick-service food: pizza over here, tacos over there, plus coffee, burgers, fried chicken, a raw bar and more. Whereas some food halls in North Texas hire established chefs or well-known restaurants, Roundhouse Food Hall will be populated with new concepts.
At the corner of the food hall building, a two-story sports bar named Over Under will have sight lines out to the softball field. More than half of the seating at the expansive sports bar is outdoors. And there’ll be a lot to see, since the fields will be lit up for nighttime play, with a scoreboard, bleachers and a dugout. It makes sense: For decades, the Village has been a gathering place for intramural sports.
Bread for all of the restaurants, bars and food hall stalls will be made at a commissary by chef David Madrid. Borges calls the bread-baking effort “pretty special,” as most restaurants and food halls buy their bread from vendors instead of making it in-house.
Meridian sits in the middle of the development and is its biggest foodie attraction. Borges’ new American menu with Brazilian influences will include dry-aged steak and duck; house-made pasta; and dishes cooked over a wood-fired hearth. Diners might start with the “daily bread,” such as one called kanelboller that comes layered with caramelized onions. Bread will be served with butters, sauces and sides. For instance, Borges’ kanelboller could come with cultured French butter marbled with pickled blueberry powder; whipped nduja with roasted tomatoes; and anchovies marinated with peppers and chardonnay vinegar.
“I think it’s a fun menu, but it’s still approachable,” Borges says.
One of the dishes that pays tribute to his Brazilian upbringing is a fish stew called moqueca. Borges’ grandmother was the oldest of 24 children, and he describes her as a nurturer and a great cook who grew up in Bahia, in the northeastern part of Brazil. Borges’ moqueca, made with charred plantains, coconut broth and dende oil, is an interpretation of a dish eaten by his family for several generations. Borges lived in Brazil for 20 years and has now spent that same number of years in the United States.
“That’s half of my life. So this restaurant is a culmination of all these experiences, and my heritage growing up and my culture,” he says.
Near the restaurant, Borges and his team have 18 raised-bed gardens growing vegetables and herbs for Meridian.
The porch at Meridian looks over three large live oak trees. For decades, couples said their wedding vows under them at the Village Country Club. The VCC, as it was called, was razed and is being rebuilt. Wright says the trees were kept — even as nearly everything else is a construction zone — to remember the sacred spot.
A tiki bar will open inside the new golf club. Guests can grab a putter and play a round on a golf simulator while they sip tiki drinks. There’s also a fire pit and lounge seating.
Buzz & Bustle is the Village’s dedicated coffee shop. (There’s also coffee at Mogo and inside the food hall.) Buzz & Bustle will sell sandwiches, pastries and coffee, and the coffee beans will be roasted on-site. It’s expected to have “cozy library seating,” as Borges and Wright explain it, and guests will be welcome to hang out there or work remotely.
The Village’s pools seem like they will be significant draw — for those who can get in. A walk-through of the construction zone shows a 20-person hot tub (!), a beach-entrance pool, a swim-up bar and a meandering lagoon, all open to Village residents and their guests only. Inside the country club are several other members-only amenities, including an Americana restaurant named Dive In. It’s expected to open in March, the same month the gym’s juice bar Afterglow is scheduled to open.
The new district has been a long time coming, and Wright and Borges are understandably eager to show it to Dallasites.
“The Village has been providing the platform for memory-making and good times for over 50 years in Dallas,” Wright says. “Four years, in the grand scheme of things, was worth it so we can continue the legacy of connecting our Villagers for the next 50 years.”
