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Sunday, October 9, 2011 , Updated 2:58 p.m., October 9, 2011
UPDATED: Alma Dallas closed on Saturday
So says the restaurant's answering machine.
Alma Dallas, the authentic Mexican restaurant from Consilient's Tristan Simon that opened in the old Cuba Libre space, closed.
The message on the restaurant's phone says:
"We regret to inform you that Alma Dallas is closed as of October 9, 2011. We'd like to thank all of our wonderful guests who supported us along the way."
Photo by Katie & Emily Garrett
Alma tacos
Consilient owner Tristan Simon gave the place just under a year, as it opened in February. Simon did not return phone calls.
Alma was beautifully renovated with no luxury spared, but the place had a little bit of trouble from the get-go. Its opening chef Michael Brown wasn't able to make it work with his family in Los Angeles. And then it seemed like people never got over the demise of Cuba Libre. The prices at Cuba Libre were lower than Alma, where entrees were priced from $19 to $27, and Cuba Libre's fans went there to drink and have cheap snacks.
UPDATE: Tristan speaks:
"Consilient closed Alma today in order to take advantage of another opportunity for the property, the details of which will be announced in coming weeks. While it’s a straightforward business decision for the company, we feel a real sadness about closing Alma and deeply appreciate the customers, vendors and staff who supported the restaurant during its life."
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Pop icon Peter Max exhibits paintings at the Crescent Hotel this summer
"humbleness"??????
Um, Mr. Means (reporter), your fourth-grade English teacher is going to smack yo
SitizenKane, anonymous:
Is another boring corporate restaurant concept in our future?
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tystu1, anonymous:
Booooooo... This place was so great. That lamb shank was one of the best dishes in Dallas.
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Eliot Landrum, verified:
They should put an In-n-out there. Just kidding!
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pmoras, anonymous:
WHY did they ever close Cuba Libre in the first place!?? that place was totally successful and needed no changing!! I think they just got greedy and wanted to raise prices on us! I am boycotting ANY new restaurant that goes in this space.
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mazda405ok, anonymous:
I had been going to Cuba Libre since 2003. It was by far, my favorite place. I will also qualify this by saying I know the previous partner involved with the Cuba Libre venture and he says that Tristan has a bad habit of running things into the ground. And by this I'm not talking about letting things deteriorate and get old, I'm talking about running things into the ground by screwing with prices, messing with/lowering quality and trying to slide these changes in under the consumer's nose so that he can squeeze more $$$ out of everyone. Cuba Libre was a thriving and unique blend of concepts that hit the sweet spot with a large segment of the population. The prices were not low but they weren't high and initially back in the early 2000s the food was knock out! The salt and pepper filet mignon that in the final years, disappeared from the menu, was great! The ribeye, which also disappeared was great. The Ahi Tuna steak, which, you guessed it, also disappeared in the final years was great. The upstairs had more tables crammed in and removed that great social area that was so nice to enjoy with a frozen Cuba Libre while you wait for your table. He screwed with that cool/cozy indigo lighting and put up the harsh "utility" type lighting and then proceeded to destroy the open air vegitation lined courtyard/patio area that just made me fall in love with this place on a summer evening. What the hell was this guy thinking? Cuba Libre's went from 5 bucks to 8 bucks before all was said and done and menu prices jumped way up in addition to removing so many great items. Money money money, I guess greed sunk its claws in again. So then we get Alma which he stupidly didn't see would be poorly attended after pissing off so many people by taking Cuba Libre away. Of course it had 10 dollar drinks and 20 dollar tacos on the menu. I don't want to hear about cost, because WAY TO MANY OTHER PLACES are able to do it too and not charge "Uptown fabulous" prices. Such a sad chain of events.
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