Aba, the Mediterranean restaurant from hospitality group Lettuce Entertain You, is officially heading to Dallas. The company announced today that the concept will open its first Dallas-Fort Worth location at The Seam in the Design District, bringing a national brand and a mezze-style menu into a major Oak Lawn redevelopment that is promising fresh retail and dining for the neighborhood.
Aba's Dallas Debut
In a press release via Lettuce Entertain You, the group said the Dallas restaurant will be Aba’s fourth location, joining Chicago, Austin and Nashville. The new outpost is expected to echo the other cities with an indoor-outdoor layout, Mediterranean greenery and lantern-lit details throughout the space. “We’ve been humbled by the positive response from our guests in Austin, and we are excited to expand into the Dallas market,” Marc Jacobs, Lettuce’s executive partner, said in the announcement.
What The Seam Will Be
On the real estate side, Asana Partners is transforming the seven-building Oak Lawn Design Plaza at 1444 Oak Lawn Avenue into The Seam, a roughly 160,000-square-foot open-air retail and dining destination. Project materials describe tree-lined courtyards, patios and nearly 50 tenant spaces that are meant to stitch directly into the Design District’s growing restaurant scene. As outlined on The Seam, the development is pitched as a curated mix of fashion, food and wellness for the neighborhood.
Construction and Permits
Adolfson & Peterson Construction was tapped to oversee the multi-million-dollar redevelopment after Asana acquired the site, the contractor said in a company release. State records from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation show a tenant-improvement filing for a full-service restaurant at 1444 Oak Lawn, with work registered from Nov. 1, 2025, through May 31, 2026, signaling that interior build-out is already on the books. The filing calls for an interior restaurant renovation along with a new adjacent outdoor patio and bar, which lines up with a restaurant tenant already moving forward at The Seam.
What Aba Will Serve
Aba’s calling card is a menu built around small plates and kebabs, backed up by spreads such as whipped feta and a smoky garlic hummus that regulars tend to rave about. The concept first expanded to Austin in 2020 and has since added more locations, with Dallas lined up as its next Texas stop. Chef-partner CJ Jacobson’s menu features hot and cold mezze, kebabs and seasonal butcher cuts, according to industry coverage and customer reviews.
What This Means For The District
The move highlights how the Design District is increasingly drawing nationally known operators as part of a broader repositioning of Oak Lawn that Asana has said is inspired by Miami’s Design District and New York’s Meatpacking District. While The Seam’s project pages point to a summer 2026 opening window for the overall development, Aba’s announcement sets its debut for late 2026, hinting at a staggered rollout as the complex comes to life.
