Coveted Dallas Park Locale to be Taken Over by New Mexican Restaurant With a Charismatic Woman Co-Owner

Klyde Warren Park’s famous restaurant, Lark on the Park, shuttered late last year. This spring, a new Mexican venture will take over its original spot — and again be headed by Dallas restauranteur Shannon Wynne.

Miriam Cocina Latina is set to open next month at 2015 Woodall Rogers.

Named after restaurant veteran Miriam Jimenez, who has worked at Mesero and Mr. Mesero, the new restaurant will be a combination of authentic Mexican dishes and new creations. There will also be “zingy cocktails,” Jimenez tells PaperCity.

Wynne met Jimenez several years ago when he walked into a fashionable Mexican restaurant.

“I was struck by the charisma and charm of the big grin on the authoritative woman greeting folks as they entered,”  Wynne says. “I loved her personality and ability to make you feel welcome and recognized.” Which Wynne says is 50 percent of the challenge in the restaurant business.

So when it came time to think up a new concept for the Lark space, Wynne tracked Jimenez down and they conceived a new idea.

Miriam Cocina Latina will be an affordable, family-friendly restaurant with a “love, share, and enjoy” mantra, according to Jimenez. “Our guests should expect a heavy mix of wild, exotic flavor,” she says. Dishes will be prepared with fresh ingredients and herbs and spices to intensify flavors.

For interior decor, Wynne is working with three Texas artists. These include Brent Hale, a muralist from Tyler; Courtney Miles, a painter from Dallas; and Richard Reens, a photographer.

“It will be eclectic in terms of direction,” Wynne says.

Wynne is a long time restaurant owner (Meddlesome Moth, Flying Fish, Rodeo Goat… to name a few). This will be Jimenez’s first time being a partner in a restaurant. She was previously a general manager at Mesero.

“Owning a restaurant is one of the most exciting and rewarding experiences in my life,” Jimenez says. “I am privileged to dedicate myself to what I love — offering a unique dining experience and making the visit a joyful memory with satisfied palates.”

“I’m excited about people getting to know Miriam,” says Wynne. “There is nobody quite like her.”

Although the menu is still being developed, Wynne really hopes to have some greasy enchiladas on it.

“I like when they’re covered in sauce and baked and you can’t see any of the tortilla,” he says. “Just nasty.”

Isn’t that what we all really want?