Knife, the restaurant helmed by former James Beard semifinalist and winner of Food Network\u2019s Extreme Chef John Tesar, is closing after <\/strong>a decade. Eater received confirmation of its closure from Lennox Capital Partners, the company that owns the Highland hotel in Dallas, where the Knife opened in 2024.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Highland Dallas, Curio Collection by Hilton and Chef John Tesar and the Knife restaurant concept are concluding their partnership as of March 28, 2025,\u201d a representative for Lennox wrote. \u201cWe are grateful for Chef Tesar\u2019s partnership over the years and we wish him success in his future endeavors.\u201d <\/p>\n Staff were reportedly informed of the change in mid-March, <\/strong>and Eater Dallas subsequently received an anonymous tip that the restaurant would close. <\/strong>Eater visited the restaurant while it was still operating on March 12; awards and press write-ups for the restaurant and Tesar, who has been praised for his dry-aged steak program, still framed the entryway. In a phone call with Eater on March 12, Tesar originally denied rumors that Knife was closing. \u201cWhoever said that doesn\u2019t know what they\u2019re talking about,\u201d <\/strong>Tesar said at the time. \u201cUntil the Highland hotel and I have a mutually agreed –<\/strong>upon statement, there is no story. As of today, it is business as usual. There\u2019s a lot more coming.\u201d <\/p>\n At the time the closing was announced on March 28, Tesar had no additional statement.<\/p>\n In October 2024, Tesar told the Dallas Observer that the Highland Hotel would temporarily close to remodel in order to support a push to earn a Michelin star. Tesar wanted to transform Knife Steak & Seafood to be more aligned with Knife & Spoon, his Orlando, Florida restaurant in the Ritz-Carlton that was awarded a Michelin star in Florida\u2019s 2023 ceremony. (It lost that star a year later.) Tesar also detailed a planned $13 million renovation to Knife that he forecasted would happen over the winter holidays in 2024 to ready the restaurant to reopen in January 2025. <\/p>\n Tesar\u2019s Knife Steakhouse in Plano is still open, as is Knife Italian Steaks at the Four Seasons in Los Colinas. Tesar has been a controversial figure in Dallas for more than a decade, earning the title the \u201cmost hated chef in Dallas\u201d from D magazine in a 2011 feature; he is famously thought to be the villainous chef in Anthony Bourdain\u2019s book, Kitchen Confidential. In 2023, he stepped down from his role at hotel restaurant Knife Modern Steak in Orange County, California, following a dispute with picketers from the Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort\u2019s union.<\/p>\n Eater Dallas will update this story as more information becomes available. <\/p>\nConfirmation of Closure<\/h2>\n
Staff Informed of Closure<\/h3>\n
No Additional Statement<\/h3>\n
Planned Renovation and Michelin Star<\/h2>\n
Other Restaurants Still Open<\/h3>\n
Update on the Story<\/h3>\n
Stay Informed<\/h2>\n