The corner storefront at 100 State St. in Town Square has a new name over the door. Ascension Coffee set its first Southlake opening for 6:30 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 9. The café took over the former Corner Bakery space and became the Dallas-born company's seventh café in DFW, according to Southlake Style.
The same thing is happening across town. This fall's most talked-about restaurant news in Southlake is mostly about familiar buildings getting new tenants, with very little new construction. One example is the old RA Sushi beside Gloria's. Another is the Buca di Beppo building on State Highway 114, and a third is the Park Village suite where Modern Market served bowls until June. Each of these spaces has been claimed, and the time each one sat dark has gotten shorter with every vacancy.
Four familiar addresses and their new tenants
| Address | Previous tenant | New tenant | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 State St., Town Square | Corner Bakery | Ascension Coffee | Opening set for Oct. 9, 2026 |
| 1131 E. Southlake Blvd., Park Village | RA Sushi | Hudson House | Opening day set for Sept. 14, 2026 |
| 1161 E. Southlake Blvd., Ste. 260, Park Village | Modern Market Eatery | Maman | Expected early 2027 |
| 2701 E. State Highway 114 | Buca di Beppo | Lupe Tortilla | Expected early 2027 |
Three of these vacancies have clear closing dates, so they can be compared directly. Put in order, they show the pattern.
The Buca building has waited the longest
Buca di Beppo at 2701 E. State Highway 114 closed in late 2024 after its parent company filed for bankruptcy, Southlake Style reported. Lupe Tortilla, the Houston-based Tex-Mex chain founded in 1983, is taking over the building. Its timeline has already slipped once. The restaurant was first expected this summer, and the target is now early 2027.
The new timeline came out at the Oct. 6 Southlake City Council meeting, where council members also approved a covered outdoor patio of about 600 square feet, according to meeting documents. Construction should wrap up around the start of January. The actual opening date depends on how quickly the restaurant gets its operations ready.
If Lupe opens in early 2027, the building will have been empty for roughly two years. Anyone driving the 114 frontage road has watched that sign stay blank through two full holiday seasons, and the Lupe plans will now be dated against a third.
RA Sushi's spot next to Gloria's stayed empty for about 15 months
RA Sushi closed its Park Village restaurant on May 29, 2025, a few months short of its 10th anniversary, Community Impact reported. It had opened in September 2015.
Hudson House set its opening for Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. That means the 1131 E. Southlake Blvd. space sat dark for about a year and three months, roughly half as long as the Buca building. In its preview, Southlake Style wrote that local diners had been keeping "eagle eyes" on every development at the space.
The restaurant that replaced RA Sushi is bigger and more formal. Hudson House fills about 5,000 square feet with leather booths, a wraparound bar, a sit-down raw bar and an outdoor patio. The menu covers East Coast oysters, sushi, Hudson's Avocado Dip, The Cheeseburger and Chicken Parm. The signature drink is the "World's Coldest Martini," made with Grey Goose on tap and served at 10 degrees. Southlake is the 12th Hudson House, opening nearly a decade after the first one in Highland Park.
Hunter Pond, founder of Vandelay Companies, told Southlake Style that "Southlake has the combination of energy, growth and appreciation for hospitality that we look for when entering a new neighborhood."
Modern Market's suite was claimed within 11 weeks
The newest vacancy in this group filled the fastest. A note on the door of Modern Market Eatery at 1161 E. Southlake Blvd., Ste. 260, said the restaurant had closed June 10, 2026, as first reported by Community Impact.
By Aug. 26, Southlake Style was reporting that Maman, the New York-based French bakery and café, would take over a 2,571-square-foot space at that address. That was about 11 weeks after the closure. Public filings showed construction starting Oct. 7, with completion targeted for late January 2027 and an opening expected early in the year.
If that schedule holds, the suite will have been empty for about seven months. Buca's building waited about two years, RA Sushi's about 15 months, and Modern Market's is on track for about seven.
Maman also brings something Park Village hasn't had before. The brand opened its first Texas café in Dallas in late 2025, and Southlake will be its first location in Tarrant County. Its cafés are known for blue-and-white toile, vintage furniture, all-day brunch, avocado tartines and a Nutty Chocolate Chip Cookie that made Oprah's Favorite Things. Its locations also encourage guests to put their laptops away.
The newest tenants come mostly from inside Texas
Taken together, the replacement brands show a second pattern. Three of the four have roots in Dallas or elsewhere in Texas, and the fourth arrives by way of Dallas:
- Ascension Coffee was founded in Dallas and roasts in small batches at its Dallas facility.
- Hudson House started in Highland Park.
- Lupe Tortilla is based in Houston and has locations across Texas.
- Maman got its start in New York, but it entered Texas through Dallas and has been adding North Texas locations quickly.
These are operators who already know the Metroplex, and Southlake is where they are expanding next. Ascension President Jessica Keenan told Southlake Style that the goal was "a thoughtful coffee experience that complements the energy of Town Square and offers neighbors another place to gather and connect."
Where to go this weekend
Two of the four spaces are open now. The other two open in January or later.
Ascension Coffee, 100 State St. The café has a full espresso bar, seasonal coffee flights, and a slow bar that rotates single-origin coffees. The menu runs from pancakes, migas and steak hash to a Latin Chicken & Grain Bowl and an Asian Noodle Bowl, under Culinary Director Jason Connelly. Hours are 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday through Tuesday and 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.
Hudson House, 1131 E. Southlake Blvd. Ask for the raw bar or a seat on the patio. It's right next door to Gloria's in Park Village.
Two other fall openings round out the list. New York Butcher Shoppe opened Sept. 18 at 2001 W. Southlake Blvd., Ste. 149, under co-owners Ruth and Bryson Nokes, and held its grand opening Sept. 28, Community Impact reported. It sells fresh meat from the counter along with ready-to-go meals. In Town Square, Reformation has been open at 213 Grand Ave. E. since Aug. 11, per Southlake Style.
The Town Square dates between now and the openings
Coffee at Ascension makes an easy first stop before Town Square's three upcoming events:
- Saturday, Oct. 31, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Hooky's BOO-LING BASH features candy crawling, pumpkin decorating and a costume contest for kids.
- Saturday, Nov. 21, 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. Home for the Holidays is free and includes the Christmas tree lighting, photos with Santa, a snow hill and performances by school groups.
- Saturday, Dec. 5, 9 a.m. to noon. Holly Jolly Sip & Shop is a ticketed event, and tickets go on sale this fall.
After the holidays, construction on Lupe Tortilla's State Highway 114 building is expected to finish around the start of January, and Maman's Park Village café is targeting completion in late January 2027.
Which storefront gets a new tenant, and how fast, is also local knowledge that matters when you think about your own address. If you'd like to talk about how changes along Southlake Boulevard and around Town Square affect your corner of town, Torelli Properties Group is happy to walk through it with you. Schedule Your Personalized Consultation.
