A neighborhood lounge called the Clifton Club is slated to open on Fitzhugh Avenue in Dallas by the end of 2021. It belongs to Greg Katz, a restaurateur and chef from Dallas who last opened the popular Beverley’s Bistro & Bar in 2019.
The Clifton Club will be only 100 yards from Beverley’s, which means Katz is on a street that was once a little off the beaten track despite its proximity to Knox-Henderson, Uptown, downtown, East Dallas and the Park Cities.
“I love Fitzhugh Avenue,” says Katz. “I always knew it was going to be great.”
He took the chance to breathe new life into a neighboring building. The Clifton Club will move to the old Zippers, a former gay bar. It takes quite a bit of work, and Katz’s vision is to completely redesign the rooms, then add windows, a terrace, and a glazed garden room at one end.
“I love the character,” says Katz of the building and the street. A little TLC (and a lot of construction) could turn this empty space into the neighborhood hangout Katz dreams of.
The lounge is named after a seaside neighborhood in Cape Town, South Africa, near where Katz grew up. Clifton has four beaches, and Katz remembers playing on the beach as a kid.
He is still working on the final plans for the lounge in Dallas, but the first room should feel like a “feel-good club” with hotel lobby vibes: small tables, candles and small “nooks and crannies” for a cocktail before or after dinner . A green marble bar in the main room seats 10 to 15 guests.
On the other side of the kitchen, the Clifton Club will have an indoor-outdoor area that Katz calls a garden room, decorated with plants and with access to a wraparound terrace. The room will probably be reserved for private parties.
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The Clifton Club has a menu of shareable foods and snacks like ceviche and crudo, as well as a simple list of classic cocktails and wines. Katz hasn’t and doesn’t have everything nailed down yet: Katz wants the Clifton Club to have a relaxed atmosphere even after it opens – the kind of place where people can get off the Katy Trail for a while, glass of wine.
Katz says his customers at Beverley’s often ask where to get a nightcap when they leave his popular dinner. He always gave them a short list of bars nearby – but some felt too fancy, others too youthful. Now he’s sending her a hundred yards down the street to the Clifton Club.
The Clifton Club is located at 3333 N. Fitzhugh Ave., Dallas. It is scheduled to open at the end of 2021.
For more food news, follow Sarah Blaskovich on Twitter @sblaskovich.
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