The Seam—an upcoming luxury retail and dining destination in the Dallas Design District—has snagged a new restaurant concept as its anchor dining tenant.
The project’s owner, Charlotte, North Carolina-based Asana Partners, is “reimagining” a seven-building complex at 1444 Oak Lawn through a multi-million-dollar redevelopment it says “will elevate this piece of the District while meeting the neighborhood demand for thoughtful, curated retail.” Asana bought the property in 2023.
Slated for a Summer 2026 debut, The Seam will feature 160,000 square feet of experiential dining, shopping, and wellness concepts, with a goal of creating “a dynamic environment” for locals and visitors alike, Asana Partners said.
Rendering of The Seam retail redevelopment in the Dallas Design District. [Image: Asana Partners]
Company’s second restaurant in Texas
The as-yet-unnamed restaurant that will anchor The Seam is a new concept from Chicago-based Lettuce Entertain You, an independent, family-owned restaurant group. The group has more than 100 restaurants and 60 concepts nationwide, including award-winning restaurants like RPM Steak, Aba, Summer House, Three Dots and a Dash, Tre Dita, Sushi-san, Beatrix, and more.
The restaurant at The Seam will mark Lettuce’s second location in Texas, following the 2020 opening of Aba, a Mediterranean restaurant in Austin.
The Seam redevelopment in the Dallas Design District. [Video still: Asana Partners]
‘A perfect reflection’ of The Seam’s vision
“Lettuce Entertain You’s entrance to Dallas marks a significant milestone in the evolution of the Design District, a neighborhood that’s rapidly becoming a destination for elevated shopping and dining,” Clare Walsh, managing director of leasing Strategy at Asana Partners, said in a statement. “We’re curating an environment at The Seam where best-in-class food, fashion, and art come together, and Lettuce is a perfect reflection of that vision.”
R.J. Melman, president and CEO of Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants, said his company has already made its presence known in Dallas via “a country music and BBQ festival, Lone Star Smokeout,” which took place in May 2025.
“The Seam will be an incredible development and we’re thrilled to partner with Asana Partners to introduce one of our signature concepts to Dallas,” Melman added in a statement.
Inspired by New York’s Meatpacking District and Miami’s Design District
Rendering of The Seam redevelopment in the Dallas Design District. [Video still: Asana Partners]
Asana Partners said its vision for The Seam is inspired by iconic neighborhoods like the Miami Design District and New York City’s Meatpacking District, which are “renowned for their exceptional culinary scenes, vibrant nightlife, and world-class shopping.” The Seam “aims to bring a similar allure to Dallas,” Asana said, with an emphasis on contemporary and on-trend fashion designers and a selection of top dining establishments “set within a dynamic network of outdoor patios and sun-dappled courtyards.”
The Seam is being designed by New York-based Morris Adjmi Architects, an architecture and interior design firm “known for creating buildings and environments that serve as catalysts for community development,” Asana Partners said last December.
“Our planning and design approach was centered on enhancing connectivity and establishing The Seam as the social and geographical heart of the Design District,” Morris Adjmi, founder and principal of MA, said in a statement. “We reconfigured the site’s overall layout, removing portions of the existing complex that obstructed visual and physical connections to Slocum Street. This intervention not only opened up the site but also strengthened pedestrian linkages throughout the district to create a vibrant, seamlessly connected community hub that reflects and elevates the spirit of the area.”
In 2022, Asana Partners acquired the Foundry District, a mixed-use development in Fort Worth’s Cultural District, from the Fort Worth real estate investment and development company M2G Ventures.
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