When Jonn Baudoin and Omar Flores decided to open a little seafood restaurant in Oak Cliff, their partnership, as Todd Johnson describes it, went “swimmingly.” In 2012, Driftwood became an instant hit. And it’s been one of the best restaurants in Dallas since then.
Now Baudoin has decided to sell his portion of Driftwood’s ownership to co-partner Sal Jafar II. And we can’t blame him; he’s got a full plate on his hands.
Ever since the Dream Team (Baudoin + Flores) opened Casa Rubia, it’s been blowing away diners at Trinity Groves. It is one of the busiest restaurants in that spot. It was even a semifinalist for James Beard’s best new restaurants this year.
Baudoin says he is working on another restaurant with Phil Romano that’ll go into Trinity Groves, too. It’s called Sugar Skull Cafe. (No details, other than the name, are known yet. They’re still at the drawing board.) This restaurant will be part of Trinity Groves’ construction Phase II, in which Romano plans to create an additional 20,000-26,000 square feet of mixed retail space for new tenants—potentially six new restaurants. It looks like Sugar Skull Cafe is going to be one of them.
“Trinity Groves has been a huge opportunity for Casa Rubia and has also allowed me the opportunity to do another concept with Mr. Phil Romano…It is such a great honor to have two concepts at Trinity Groves and to be a part of its continuing growth,” says Baudoin.
[Update 2:24 p.m. – Baudoin writes, “Sugar Skull Cafe will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner serving authentic style Mexican city tacos. The chef has worked for me in the past and I am very excited to work with him on this new project!”]
[Update 2:30 p.m. – Executive chef Omar Flores is also leaving Driftwood, says Teresa Gubbins on CultureMap. New York chef Kyle McClelland is replacing him this week.]
