San Francisco's most decorated chef is trading the fog of Cow Hollow for the rolling vineyards of Texas Hill Country, announcing plans to helm the flagship restaurant at the upcoming Waldorf Astoria in Fredericksburg—a town of fewer than 12,000 people that's quickly becoming one of the nation's most ambitious luxury hospitality destinations.
Source: © 2025 Hilton
Dominique Crenn, who made history in 2018 as the first female chef in the United States to earn three Michelin stars for her flagship restaurant Atelier Crenn, will bring her culinary vision to the resort's second-floor dining room when it opens in early 2027. Texas Monthly first reported the collaboration, which marks a significant pivot for the French-born chef whose San Francisco restaurants have long eschewed meat in favor of pescatarian and vegetarian tasting menus.
Source: © 2025 Hilton
But Texas will be different. Crenn confirmed to Texas Monthly that her yet-unnamed restaurant will serve meat—a departure necessitated by the desire for inclusivity. "It's important to make sure that it's very inclusive to anyone who will walk in the door," she explained.
From Paris Setback to Texas Wine Country
The announcement comes on the heels of a challenging year for Crenn's international expansion efforts. Her first Paris restaurant, Golden Poppy, closed in June 2024 after just one year inside the La Fantaisie hotel, according to SFGATE. The California-inspired concept—named for the state's official flower—struggled to win over Parisian diners despite immediate praise from American food media.
Now Crenn is betting on Fredericksburg, a German heritage town 75 miles west of Austin that's experiencing a luxury hospitality boom. According to Hilton, the 106-acre Waldorf Astoria Texas Hill Country will be the brand's first resort in the Lone Star State, featuring 60 hotel rooms, 37 branded villas, 50 private residences, and five food and beverage concepts.
Crenn told Texas Monthly she's already meeting with local farmers to discuss sourcing ingredients from the region's robust agricultural community. "I drive around, fantasizing about buying a little house somewhere," she admitted, suggesting the Hill Country has captured her imagination beyond just the professional opportunity.
A Rapidly Transforming Hill Country Town
Fredericksburg's transformation into a luxury destination has accelerated dramatically in 2025. The Albert Hotel opened in January as the town's first full-service hotel, according to Visit Fredericksburg, bringing 105 rooms and four dining concepts including a restaurant helmed by Michelin-starred chef Michael Fojtasek.
Developer Mark Harmon, a partner in the Waldorf Astoria project and founder of Auberge Resorts Collection, sees parallels to Napa Valley's early development. "I'm now seeing the parallels of what I think is going to be the growth of Texas Wine Country," he told CandysDirt. "It's starting to really come into its own."
Two major mixed-use developments are also underway. The Meuse, a 22-acre project anchored by a 210-room Kimpton hotel, is set to open in 2027 with luxury retailers including historic bootmaker Lucchese and Padre's Wine Company, MySA reported. The Sycamore, a separate 117-acre development announced in 2023, will feature a Salt Lick BBQ outpost.
The Texas Hill Country has emerged as the second most visited wine region in the United States, according to Hilton, with more than 100 wineries now operating in the area. Hospitality Design noted that the region has evolved from "modest motels and homey B&Bs" to include wine barrel cabins, treehouse accommodations, and yurts alongside the incoming luxury brands.
Crenn's Expanding Empire
The Fredericksburg project is just one piece of Crenn's current expansion strategy. She recently opened Café Dior in Dallas' Highland Park Village in February, as CultureMap Dallas confirmed, marking her first Texas venture. And in Beverly Hills, Monsieur Dior by Dominique Crenn debuted in October inside Dior's massive Rodeo Drive flagship, according to Los Angeles Magazine—her first Los Angeles project after spending nearly a decade cooking in Manhattan Beach and Santa Monica in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Back in San Francisco, Crenn continues to operate the three-Michelin-starred Atelier Crenn and the one-star Bar Crenn, both in Cow Hollow. She also runs Bleu Belle Farm in Sonoma, where she practices regenerative agriculture to supply her restaurants, as noted on the Atelier Crenn website.
In a statement shared with SFGATE through Waldorf Astoria, Crenn called the Fredericksburg collaboration "a chance to celebrate the land, the people, and the seasons through a new lens—one that's deeply personal, rooted in nature, and elevated by imagination."
The Waldorf Astoria Texas Hill Country is located at 405 Goehmann Lane, with the property receiving conditional approval from Fredericksburg's Planning and Zoning Committee in October, MySA reported. Final city council approval is still pending to resolve roadway alignment issues on the 106-acre site, which sits behind the Baron's Creek shopping center less than a mile from downtown.
Crenn Dining Group did not respond to a request for comment from SFGATE.
