More than a decade after longtime Dallas entrepreneur Phil Romano opened the “restaurant of his lifetime,” Italian joint Saint Rocco’s, it closed in Trinity Groves to make way for something new.
Saint Rocco’s last dinners were served Friday, Feb. 27, 2026.
A statement from Trinity Groves said the new concept replacing the three-story restaurant will be “unlike anything” in the West Dallas complex. The statement didn’t name the new tenant.
Saint Rocco’s debut in 2015 by the elder Romano was his “next big move,” The Dallas Morning News wrote nearly 11 years ago.
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Romano was already an Italian food entrepreneur, having founded Romano’s Macaroni Grill, which still carries his name today. Since Macaroni Grill’s opening in 1988, it has changed hands, declared bankruptcy and slimmed to 17 restaurants.
In this 2015 DMN file photo, chef Jay Valley (left) and Phil Romano are pictured at Saint Rocco’s New York Italian in Trinity Groves. Now more than a decade later, Romano has given operations duties to his son, Sam Romano (not pictured).
Rose Baca / Staff Photographer
Romano’s return to Italian food was significant, as his colorful career included co-founding Fuddruckers, Eatzi’s, Nick and Sam’s Steakhouse, Coal Vines and more.
Then he turned his attention to a swath of 100 acres near the Trinity River, where he and a team built Trinity Groves. Romano opened Hoffman Hots, a hot dog shop, and Potato Flats, a loaded-baked-potato restaurant, in Trinity Groves, but neither stuck. When he opened Saint Rocco’s, the restaurant felt like a return to Romano’s Italian roots. The restaurant was an old-time New York red sauce joint that sold caprese salad, calamari, fettuccine Alfredo, chicken Parmigiana and the like.
Phil Romano, now in his mid-80s, no longer operates Saint Rocco’s. He and his son, Sam Romano, weren’t available for an interview.
Italian-American home cooking — like saucy pot roast on wide, ruffle-edged buttered noodles — was chef Jay Valley’s inspiration at Saint Rocco’s in Dallas. It opened in fall 2015.
Allison Slomowitz / Special Contributor
From the beginning, Romano hired former Eatzi’s chef Jay Valley to run the restaurant. He eventually became the culinary director at Trinity Groves.
This 2019 file photo shows views of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge and the Dallas skyline from the rooftop of Saint Rocco’s in Trinity Groves.
Staff Photographer
Now that Saint Rocco’s has closed, Valley will move to Missouri to teach at the Field to Table Institute, a statement said.
He leaves behind possibly the best piece of real estate in the existing Trinity Groves portfolio: A three-story restaurant with ample room for private parties and one of the best views of the Dallas skyline from the south side of the Trinity River.
The new tenant will be important to Trinity Groves’ future: Since Trinity Groves was established some 20 years ago, it’s been a revolving door of restaurants where Kate Weiser Chocolate, Beto & Son Tex-Mex and Saint Rocco’s have had staying power — and dozens of others fizzled. Trinity Groves has reinvented itself at least four times since its opening.
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Now owned by Goldenrod Companies, plans call for more upgrades, including a hotel, office space and apartments. Add to that: an as-yet unknown restaurant that’ll have a great view.
Saint Rocco’s was at 3011 Gulden Lane, Dallas. It closed Feb. 27, 2026.
Dining and Cooking