At dinnertime, Walkers’ on Dallas’ Greenville Avenue has a small menu of just over a dozen items, including Australian Wagyu beef tartare.
Elías Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News
A few weeks before siblings Rosemary and Russell Walker opened their first Dallas restaurant, Walkers’, their mother died unexpectedly. But Kathy Walbert Walker made a mark on Walkers’ even before it debuts on Greenville Avenue on June 19, 2026.
As Rosemary and Russell Walker tell it, their mom was the type of woman who set the table and lit candles for dinner at home in Oklahoma City, even if the family was eating takeout. A phenomenal cook and Francophile, she insisted on a proper meal. She made ratatouille on a weekday.
Rosemary and Russell have been trying to open a restaurant together in East Dallas for three years — a slow process of reinventing a two-suite space into the type of sandwich shop and wine bar they both wished was already in Dallas.
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Their mother’s spirit “lives through this restaurant,” Russell said, removing his baseball cap as we sit for an interview inside the space in early June, then a construction zone. His mother would be embarrassed he didn’t take it off sooner.
“We really just wanted this place to feel like a great dinner party,” Rosemary said.
On the left side of Walkers’, customers can buy wine and take it home or sit at the bar and order a glass from co-owner and sommelier Rosemary Walker’s list.
Elías Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News
Walkers’ in East Dallas has a mural behind the bar.
Elías Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News
Walkers’, a market, wine bar and restaurant in Dallas, also sells merch.
Elías Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News
The selection of grocery items at Walkers’ in Dallas were hand-picked by Rosemary Walker, the co-owner.
Elías Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News
Matchboxes are seen near the entrance at Walkers’ in East Dallas.
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Cider pop tomatoes atop lemon curd are one of chef Aldon Reyes’ dishes at Walkers’ in Dallas.
Elías Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News
A hat and wine opener are for sale at Walkers’ in Dallas.
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Walkers’ market opens at 11 a.m. Wednesdays through Sundays in Dallas. The wine bar opens at 4 p.m., with the restaurant following at 5 p.m.
Elías Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News
The intentionally small dinner menu with pâté en croûte ($26) and beef tartare ($23) is what will lure Dallasites to Walkers’ in the evenings. Yet neighbors who live on Lower Greenville are already buzzing about walking their families to the market and grab-and-go sandwich shop that opens at 11 a.m.
Here are three snapshots of Walkers’, in a collage: Customers can grab a pastrami sandwich on a square slice of housemade focaccia from the case and go home. Or they can order a glass of Old World wine at the bar, sit on a striped stool and snack on chicken liver mousse. Or they snag a dinner reservation with friends and dine on a half chicken or a Wagyu burger inspired by their favorite London restaurant.
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Walkers’ is designed to be “a beautiful experience,” Rosemary said, “but with no pretension.”
Family and food at Walkers’
Russell’s sister “Rosie” is the industry professional behind the restaurant. Yet, opening a restaurant was his idea. A decade ago when he moved to Vickery Place, a neighborhood in East Dallas, he couldn’t understand why the city didn’t have more sandwich shops.
He laughs: “I’ve done nothing but complain about my restaurant experiences.”
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“I hate a host stand,” he said. It’s a place for customers to congregate uncomfortably during the pivotal first few moments of the restaurant experience, he said. If they were dining at their mother’s home, they’d get a warm welcome as they moved to a beautifully set table.
A painting of Rosemary Walker’s dog as a gargoyle is seen behind the bar at Walkers’ in Dallas. The restaurant, wine bar and market opens on Greenville Avenue on June 19, 2026.
Elías Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News
Rosemary can solve most of Russell’s nitpicks: In 20 years, she’s worked as a barista, server, catering manager, general manager, wine director and sommelier. She worked at the NoMad hotel and restaurant in New York and Los Angeles and at Carbone in Dallas, among other places.
Russell recently sold his luxury flooring company, BoardHouse Wood.
Walkers’ was supposed to be “just” a sandwich shop, a tidy answer to Russell’s complaint. The short sandwich menu ranges from a cold ham and cheese to an Italian to steak with mojo verde, tomato conserva and gruyere. But also in Walkers’ market, customers will find grocery staples like cheese, charcuterie, eggs and butter, plus wine and pantry favorites like jams and hot sauces Rosemary drove to Austin to pick up.
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The left side of Walkers’ is a mix of “things they make and things they love,” the siblings said. It’s bisected by a rainbow-shaped wine bar. On the right is the New American restaurant, open evenings only with a menu from chef Aldon Reyes, formerly of San Diego restaurant Juniper and Ivy and Dallas’ Georgie.
On a list of just under 15 items, chef Reyes shows creativity with a beets-and-berries appetizer ($16) and a plate of tomatoes and pistachios atop lemon curd ($18).
Look for Lulu’s Salad, an accompaniment to the 20-ounce Wagyu rib-eye with onion rings, for $140. The salad is named for Russell and Rosemary’s late mother, nicknamed Lulu. She’d love it, as long as the table was set just so.
Walkers’ is at 3016 Greenville Ave., Dallas. It’s expected to open June 19, 2026. Reservations not needed for the sandwich shop. Reservations recommended for dinner. Walkers’ is open Wednesdays through Sundays.