The other day we announced the big switcheroo in the kitchen at Bolsa. Chefs Jeff Harris and Matt Balke, the Starsky and Hutch of the Dallas dining scene, joined the team at Bolsa to open Bolsa Mercado in November. A press release informed us that the chef-from-the-beginning-of Bolsa, Graham Dodds, “announced last week that he has decided to pursue another opportunity” or DTPAO.
To seasoned industry veterans, DTPAO is code for “we really don’t want to talk about what went on behind the scenes.” I called Graham and asked him to tell me the real story.
“I had a great time with Bolsa and it was a great three-year run,” Dodds said. “I’ve been working on a concept with a partner and some investors since mid-July.” I pressed his feet to the fire, so to speak, to get details. But Dodds gave me little. “I can’t say much but it’s going to me my kind of place. I’ve been cooking like this [Bolsa] for a long time and it is my basic philosophy,” Dodds said. “I want a small restaurant with a small kitchen.” He did say he and his partner have narrowed potential sites down to a few and wherever it ends up, it will not be Oak Cliff. “I loved being a part of the Oak Cliff community and watching it grow,” Dodds said. “But I have a five year old daughter and a mortgage to pay.”
