Dallas Tex-Mex restaurant Muchacho, known for its queso, margaritas and fajitas, is slated to open in Lakewood in 2026.
Chef and co-founder Omar Flores signed the lease for a 5,500-square-foot restaurant that was most recently Petra and the Beast, which closed in late 2024.
Flores and his team plan to make the restaurant patio bigger, and they will add a private dining room inside.
“What’s great is it kind of looks like a Tex-Mex place already,” Flores said, pointing to the terracotta roof.
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The original Muchacho opened in Dallas’ Preston Center in 2019. It expanded to Southlake a few years later. Next comes Frisco in mid-2026, with Lakewood after that, the chef and co-founder said.
“We’ve been looking in Lakewood for a long time,” he said. He was drawn to the family-centric neighborhood anchored by Lakewood Country Club across the street.
Omar Flores, pictured here at the original Muchacho in 2019, is one of three people overseeing the company’s restaurants, which include Casa Brasa, Even Coast and Whistle Britches.
Allison Slomowitz / Special Contributor
Flores’ company Big Dill Hospitality has grown significantly since he opened fried chicken restaurant Whistle Britches just under 10 years ago. (Before that, he worked at Abacus, Driftwood and Casa Rubia, three now-closed restaurants with reputations for selling good food.)
Other restaurants in the Big Dill family include Even Coast, a seafood and steak spot near Addison, and Casa Brasa, a Latin grill that opened in late October 2025 on Preston Road, near the Park Cities.
Muchacho features food Flores grew up eating in El Paso.
Even as his company opens other restaurants, including coastal Mexican spot Maroma coming soon in the Design District, Muchacho is the one growing fastest.
Muchacho will be at 1901 Abrams Road, Dallas. It’s expected to open in late 2026.
Dining and Cooking