Re: New Restaurant Downtown!!!

[ibryant]

I don't know if any of you saw this, but this article was in the Dallas Business Journal this week. More great news for downtown! Who would have thought even a year or two ago that a restaurant looking to expand in the Dallas area would even CONSIDER downtown. There's obviously still lots of work to do, but it's great to see things going in the right direction for the CBD! I think this restaurant is going into the old Campisi's location, but I could be wrong.

José Cuervo, my friend

DOWNTOWN DALLAS — Who says Austin hates everything Dallas?

Austin's Iron Cactus Restaurant and Margarita Bar is planning a multimillion-dollar expansion from its comfort zone in Central Texas with locations set for Dallas, San Antonio and Nashville.

The Iron Cactus in Dallas will take a little more than 12,000 square feet of the Thompson Building at 1520 Main St. in downtown Dallas. The lease has been negotiated but not signed. The Dallas restaurant likely will employ 65 people.

Each of the restaurants will cost between $1 million and $1.5 million to finish out, but some of that cost will be shared with landlords, says Gary Manley, who co-owns three locations in Austin. The decor will combine granite, steel and neon for an urban look.

The restaurant will open with an expanded menu being developed by executive chef Felipe Gaytan. Gaytan joined Iron Cactus this summer after working at Dallas venues such as The Mansion on Turtle Creek and Via Real.

[GarrettCarey]

Great news! Had not heard about it. When do they expect to start?

[KelleyUSA]

I did read about this. I have actually eaten at the location in North Austin. The restaurant was very nice- I would equate it to a Mi Cocina. I just visited the website and didn't find any information on the Dallas location- but they are expanding into Nashville as well. I think this is (will be) an excellent addition to Main Street. Just the sort of restaurant that Main Street needs!

[ibryant]

Sorry for the long posts...here is a related article from the Austin Business Journal. Some info further down about the dallas restaurant, but no opening date...of course they still have paper work to finalize first. It's going to have a rooftop deck!! What a great addition to downtown!

Iron Cactus growing
Matt Hudgins Austin Business Journal Staff

Austin's Iron Cactus Restaurant and Margarita Bar is initiating a multimillion-dollar expansion to San Antonio, Dallas and Nashville, Tenn. — its first locations outside Central Texas.

The next Iron Cactus will open in March or April in The Gulch, a $400 million mixed-use project that eventually will cover 55 acres in Nashville. Iron Cactus will take about 10,000 square feet in a building that offers urban loft apartments on its upper levels.

The lease in Nashville includes a 2,000-square-foot deck over 12th Street, where Iron Cactus co-owners and founders Gary Manley and Michael Pottorff hope to re-create the successful rooftop deck of their restaurant at Sixth and Trinity streets in downtown Austin. The other Iron Cactus is at 10001 Stonelake Blvd. in Northwest Austin.

Nashville Urban Venture LLC is developing The Gulch, and Bill Barkley of Armistead Barkley Inc. is the development partner.

A frequent visitor to Austin and the Iron Cactus, Barkley recruited the Austin restaurant's owners to The Gulch. Barkley says Austin and Nashville share a similar population size and demographics, are university towns and state capitals, and consider music an important part of their cultures. Iron Cactus' owners understand the relationship between the cities, Barkley says.

"There's a strong overlap between the cities, and Iron Cactus offers a dining experience in Nashville that doesn't currently exist," Barkley says.

"Their commitment to excellence with their Southwestern cuisine, the environment they create with their tequila bar and their whole restaurant is very beautiful."

Manley says he visited Nashville for the first time in the spring, and after a second trip one month later the partners decided to begin lease negotiations.

But Iron Cactus already was headed for new markets. After a year of negotiations, the partners have nailed down a deal to put a restaurant at an undisclosed site on San Antonio's Riverwalk. Although a lease is signed, the landlord hasn't announced the project that the restaurant will occupy.

The Iron Cactus in Dallas will take a little more than 12,000 square feet of the Thompson Building, at 1520 Main St. in downtown Dallas. The lease has been negotiated but not signed.

"The ones in Nashville and Dallas have rooftop decks, which is a great dining environment," Manley says.

The partners spent about $1.2 million to renovate a building at 606 Trinity for the first Iron Cactus before it opened in 1996, and more than $2 million to develop Iron Cactus North. Each of the next three restaurants will cost between $1 million and $1.5 million to finish out, Manley says, but some of that cost will be shared with landlords at each space.

Manley says now is a good time to tackle high-finish projects.

"The economy is not as good as it's been, but you can also get really good deals when the market isn't doing as well," he says. "Everybody isn't pounding down developers' doors right now with money they made in the stock market, trying to open up their first restaurant."

Stuart Sargent, president of Austin-based Truluck's Restaurant Group, agrees with Manley's reasoning.

"For the right operator who's got a proven product, it's probably the best time to expand," Sargent says.

"Whenever there's an economic turndown, there's always a shakeout in the restaurant industry … leaving a lot of real estate opportunities. It brings the real estate pricing back in line."

Iron Cactus' decor combines granite, steel and neon for an urban look, similar to the style Barkley says he is using in the residential portion of the Nashville space.

Manley says the costly construction materials used by the restaurant are worth it.

"When you nickel and dime things, people notice," he says. "You have to be well-capitalized and you have to spend money to make money."

Manley and Pottorff — who also own Carlos 'N Charlie's on Lake Travis — finance their businesses with their own money and by selling small percentages of each restaurant to investors.

The company employs about 65 full- and part-time employees at its two Austin restaurants. The Nashville and Dallas restaurants likely will employ 65 people each, and the San Antonio Iron Cactus is expected to have an even larger staff.

The new restaurants will open with an expanded menu being developed by Felipe Gaytan, the executive chef. Gaytan joined Iron Cactus this summer after working at Dallas venues such as The Mansion on Turtle Creek and Via Real.

The new menu will be unveiled in mid-October at the two Austin restaurants.

Brian Ziska of Austin architecture firm N-Vision is designing the Nashville restaurant.

[KelleyUSA]

Here's the latest news from the DMN.

An Austin-based restaurant chain has signed one of the largest new leases yet in downtown Dallas' Main Street retail district.
Iron Cactus Southwestern Grill & Margarita Bar has taken 14,000 square feet of space near Main and Akard streets.

The new restaurant will occupy a redeveloped building overlooking the Pegasus Plaza next to the Magnolia Hotel.

Developers Thomas Taylor and John Tatum will construct the three-story, restaurant, bar, sidewalk café and rooftop garden.

Selzer Associates is the architect for the redevelopment, which will include a dramatic curved glass façade overlooking the park.

[bloodandpopcorn]

<img src="http://www.downtowndallas.com/downtown_partner/1522-main.gif" style="border:0;"/>

Here it is! Beautiful, I think... Can't wait to see it realized.

[UrbanLandscape]

Yeah, that was in the property report of the <em>News</em> today. Very nice.

[evdallas]

link to the website

http://ironcactus.citysearch.com/

[gc]

Iron Cactus to open Dallas location
http://dallas.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2003/11/10/daily40.html

Austin's Iron Cactus Mexican Grill and Margarita Bar will open its first location outside the state's capital city when it debuts a Dallas location in March, the ownership partners announced.

With two Iron Cactus Grill restaurants in Austin, the Dallas eatery will be the third location.

Owners Gary Manley and Michael Pottorff have teamed up with the Downtown Dallas Partnership to help revitalize downtown Dallas' Main Street.

The three-story restaurant will have outdoor balconies, rooftop dining and indoor décor featuring a display of glass, steel, water and fire. Overlooking Dallas' Pegasus Plaza, the restaurant at 1520 Main St. will be expanded to 12,000 square feet.

"Based on our current customer base, we believe Dallas is a natural fit for our first location outside of Austin," Manley says.

In 1995, Manley and Pottorff renovated a historic building on Sixth Street in Austin's entertainment district as the first Iron Cactus. The second Iron Cactus was built from the ground up in 1999 in North Austin.

[jsoto3]

For those of you who frequent downtown, you must go behold the glorious white terra cotta facade going up at this place (on the red brick building just to the left of the new construction in the rendering above).

[gc]

Agreed jsoto, it looks very nice now. I am anxious to see the finished product complete with lights and activity!

[evdallas]

I hope that within a few years we really see some progress downtown, its going to be very nice.

[crescentboi]

Here's some updated pics on Iron Cactus, one has the terra cotta in it.

[crescentboi]

.

[tamtagon]

I hope the food is good.

[Columbus Civil]

Judging by the ones in Austin, the food is slightly above average and the margaritas are a little better. It's really more about the scene than the quality of the food, so it should do well in Dallas.

[mikedsjr]

Sssweeeet.

But what is the lifespan of a building like that? 50 years from now is that going to have to be torn down?

[jsoto3]

The manner in which this building is constructed gives it a substantial lifespan (assuming proper maintenance) of atleast 100 years. Just like the thousands (millions?) of properly constructed buildings around the world, this building will be many things other than a restaurant over its lifetime.

[crescentboi]

The anticipated opening date is March. The ONLY thing that i've noticed so far that has upset me about this project is, if anyone noticed, they was some great tile on the interior walls of the original building. it was patchy in places, but gorgeous over all. well its all gone now and down to bare wall. i would have thought they could have saved that. especially with all the work they've done to the outside.

[Bardy]

Any chance they did save the tile? You know, put it back in or use if for some part of the restaurant or bar in the final stages? Don't know how feasible that is... just a thought.

[CTroyMathis]

Hey, welcome to the forum Bardy.

[mdunlap1]

CTroy,

Do we have to e-mail you the pic to be able to add our own avatars? I don't see where we can add our own. :confused:

[CTroyMathis]

(Just go to the User CP, then 'edit options', scroll all the way down, hit change avatar. On the next page, scroll all the way down and there's the upload option!)

There ya go!

[mdunlap1]

Thanks. :cool:

[gc]

Iron Cactus: Making a splash in downtown Dallas
2003 Best Deal with Developed Real Estate -- Retail/Hospitality
Christine Perez - Senior Writer
http://dallas.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2004/03/01/focus7.html

When Austin-based Iron Cactus Southwestern Grill & Margarita Bar decided to expand in North Texas, it scouted options in Las Colinas and Uptown before opting to make a splash in downtown Dallas. The popular Southwestern grill is in the final stages of a $1.5 million renovation of the historic Thompson building on Main Street, creating a three-story restaurant, bar and sidewalk cafe, all overlooking Pegasus Plaza.

Iron Cactus will occupy the entire 14,000-square-foot building. Improvements, subsidized in part by tax increment funds provided by the city of Dallas, include a complete renovation of the white terra cotta facade that adorned the property in the early 1900s. Selzer Associates is overseeing redevelopment of the space, which is owned by Thomas Taylor and John Tatum of Main Street Investors.

Nancy Hormann, executive director of the Downtown Partnership, an organization spearheading the revitalization of Main Street, said she can't "emphasize enough what Iron Cactus means for downtown Dallas."

"We have had our successes, but this one we're greeting with fireworks," she said. "It's the next step in bringing vibrancy and energy to Pegasus Plaza. It will help make Dallas a 24/7 city.

"Jerobam did that for us two years ago, and they're still attracting a great crowd," Hormann added. "Iron Cactus is like the next great ride in the amusement park."

With its three-tiered patio, Hormann said Iron Cactus will be a destination restaurant, luring people who don't already live or work downtown to the Central Business District.

"Its size and orientation to the outdoors is what makes it unique, especially for Dallas," she said. "We have great weather in Dallas. Why there aren't more outdoor restaurants here, I don't know."

Prior to the Iron Cactus, the Thompson building was occupied by a convenience store and Campisi's Egyptian Restaurant, which moved to a larger space in the nearby Stone Street Gardens area off Main Street in 2002.

Recently named one of the top 10 tequila bars in the country, Iron Cactus is owned by Austin restaurateurs Gary Manley and Michael Pottorff. The restaurant, described as "a Southwestern Grill with a kick," has two locations in Austin. The Main Street eatery will be its first Dallas venue.

Jack Gosnell of Jack Gosnell Real Estate represented Main Street Investors in the Iron Cactus deal. Mitch Traub and Dennis Leibovitz, then at The Weitzman Group, represented the restaurant in its search for Metroplex space. Both brokers have since moved over to a competing firm, The Retail Connection.

Traub said his clients are excited about their new location in the middle of Main Street.

"They love the city and all the attention they're getting here," he said. "Iron Cactus is going to be the coolest restaurant in Dallas."

[Lionel Hutz]

Sweet.

Isn't there supposed to be a P.D. Johnson's next door?

[gc]

Originally posted by Lionel Hutz
Sweet.

Isn't there supposed to be a P.D. Johnson's next door?

yep!

[dallastophoenix]

p. d. johnsons?

[crescentboi]

That's very exciting about the PD Johnsons. So is that gonna be in the original terra cotta part of the building and then Iron Cactus in the addition? I wonder if they're gonna share the same entrance or not. It would be great if they could open up a Freebird's downtown as well. I also heard that Iron Cactus is putting a pool on the top of the building! That should be interesting. GC...can you see that from your apt?

[gc]

crescentboi, I cannot see it.

But we should be able to confirm this soon when it opens.

[freewaytincan]

As of Saturday afternoon.

[crescentboi]

Well I went inside Iron Cactus yesterday for the CDA Meeting and it was pretty nice, there was actually a ton of people there for the meeting! Great turnout. The concert was also going on outside at Pegasus Plaza at the same time so there was TONS of people around! It made a great feeling for Main st. One thing they said was that Iron Cactus is opening on Tuesday, April 27th and that the grocery store IS happening on Jackson St and it should be open in 18 months!

Go Downtown!!

[Jack Flack]

I attended the meeting as well and the Iron Cactus is going to be a great addition to downtown. I can't wait to claim a spot next Wednesday on the balcony to listen to the concert and throw back 1 or 5 margaritas.

The plans for the Dollar General between the Iron Cactus and soon to be hotel were also discussed. From what was said it sounds like it is a go for the developer to put a restuarant on the ground floor, a gym and spa on the upper floors and a pool on the roof. The new furniture in the Davis Building is scheduled to open in September.

[bloodandpopcorn]

Did either of you get any pictures of the interior?

[Jack Flack]

Unfortunately no. Its pretty sharp in there.

[bloodandpopcorn]

Well, I guess we'll all be able to see it come Tuesday! I can't wait.

[dallastophoenix]

#@*$! i thought it was going to be finished this weekend. I'm in town on mon for the mavs game, and fly out tue... i was looking forward to taking my friends there. oh well, next time i'm home...

[barrycb]

I visited the Iron Cactus last night. There is no reason it shouldn't be a hit! Good food, great margaritas, with a nice ambiance.

[gc]

Cool, thanks for the update barry. Next time we all meet up...we should go there...

We could, of course, do as Jack Flack said and meet up there in the next week or two on a Wednesday for the concert series!

[Jack Flack]

l might just be there tonight. :)

[bloodandpopcorn]

How crowded was it, barrycb? I hope to go this weekend.

[barrycb]

It was full, but I didn't have to wait for a seat. I suspect it will be packed on the weekends...should be a great "hang out" spot.

[bloodandpopcorn]

If anyone else goes, would you try to get some pictures? I'm going to try to go Friday, but, I just can't wait to see some images!!

[gc]

I went this evening...it was pretty crowded from 6-9. Good food, drink, atmosphere, etc. I imagine it'll be a good spot for the weekends as well....with the two upper levels and all.

[savant71]

Hey what kind of menue do they have?

[gc]

It is a mexican grill and margarita bar....

Click here for menu! (http://www.ironcactus.com/dinnerlunch.html)

[barrycb]

There is also a tapas menu on the 2nd floor.

[TexasStar]

...and a separate sandwich shop in the basement.

[bloodandpopcorn]

I went Saturday night for dinner - SO GOOD! Great food, great service, amazing building. It really is the most impressive restaurant, especially in the price range, that I have been to in a LONG time. Two thumbs up! Everyone MUST go here. It's out of this world. And so well priced! Much cheaper than Taco Diner, but worlds above it for quality!

I'll try and get some pictures next time I go.

[dallastophoenix]

unfortunately, i had quite the opposite experience when i was in town this past weekend. my friend and i went there on thursday night, and had a horrible time. really bad food coupled w/ equally bad service - and neither one of us is difficult to please... i'll have to try it again sometime, but it sure was a let-down to have such a bad experience the first time around.