Floundering Dallas Bar Reopens as an L.A. Cocktail Den

On September 8, Knox-Henderson will officially welcome Bar Stellar to the neighborhood. Wait a minute, you say, hasn’t that bar-restaurant been open for months?

Not quite. Stellar opened at the end of April and began floundering shortly after. However, the mid-century lounge glowed up. Now it’s Bar Stellar, and those three letters signify a world of difference.

The restaurant was originally owned by Miranda Management Group – behind Trophy Ranch, Trophy Room, and more. After four months of bad reviews and poorly executed decor, the group sold the struggling restaurant to Francois Reihani.

Reihani, a Beverly Hills native, quickly reimagined Stellar as a Los Angeles-worthy hotspot. “Bar Stellar will offer guests the vibe of a classic L.A. cocktail bar. There’s nothing like it currently in the city,” he said in a statement.

This is the second restaurant venture for the 21-year-old SMU undergrad student and entrepreneur, who co-founded Pok the Raw Bar with fellow SMU student Brandon Cohanim.

With Bar Stellar, Reihani’s latest concept is a stylish cocktail den with an emphasis on fresh ingredients and beautiful presentation. The revamped bar will serve an extensive range of craft cocktails along with sharable bites.

The space has also gotten a serious facelift, featuring a modern adaptation of Hollywood Regency style. The young entrepreneur has given the formerly mid-century bar an ultra-modern makeover – and we don’t just mean the decor.

Reihani has specifically geared the business towards the social set, or more specifically, the social media set.

In true Hollywood fashion, the bar and everything in it is ready for its close-up.

“We’ve designed Bar Stellar to be photogenic and memorable,” Reihani said. “We all want to have experiences worth sharing and remembering. In today’s world, Instagram is the place where we share and store those memories.”

The exterior of the bar will feature a white neon sign and a mural wall, which will display the work of local artists and change four times a year.

Inside, the walls will be printed with tropical palm leaves inspired by the iconic Beverly Hills Hotel. The space will have plenty of comfortable lounge seating and an outdoor patio with a “breezy, Miami-chic vibe.”

Even the drinks are eye-catching – dry ice, cotton candy, smoked wood chip glass (what?) and flaming orange peel are all ingredients of Bar Stellar’s various specialty cocktails.   

In summary, this bar hits every mark on the social media influencer’s checklist.

You can visit the highly photogenic Bar Stellar when it reopens on September 8 – do it for the gram.