The former Urbano Paninoteca is reopening in east Dallas as Urbano Café. Talk about good neighbors, Urbano is at the corner Fitzhugh and Bryan sandwiched (so sorry) between Jimmy’s Food Store and Tom Spicer’s FM 1410. Here’s the skinny from owner Kristen Kauffman:
“It’s a much smaller space, but in this economy it makes sense. Mitch found the extremely distressed spot while hanging out with Tom (they’ve known each other for 20 years) in the early days after our Uptown spot closed and he didn’t know what to do with himself. Tom was storing plant foods and other items for his shop in the space and Mitch noticed it had a grease trap and a Vent-a-hood. The leasing agent for the space was also a longtime friend, one thing led to another and we open in a couple of weeks after we finish renovations that include restoring the old pressed tin ceiling, transom windows and storefront woodwork.”
Let’s talk about the food, Kristen.
“We’ll still do panini, pasta, salads, and soup at lunch from our old lunch menu, plus some new items. We’ll also have dinners Thursday, Friday, and Saturday to start. We’re still developing the menu with our chef who we will announce soon. We’ll have a core menu, with seasonal dishes driven by whatever Tom is growing out back. It will be BYOB –with the economy, we think customers will like being able to save money by grabbing a bottle of something at Jimmy’s, Whole Foods, or from their home collection to enjoy wit their meal.”
Win. Win. Win. Nice to hear some good news for a change.
