Casa Linda and Garland Road: New Restaurants for Fall 2026

On a weekday afternoon at Casa Linda Plaza, two clocks overlap for half an hour. At 3:30, Salisbury's Pizza opens its doors on the Garland Road side. At 4:00, the kitchen at maman on Buckner closes, though the café keeps serving coffee and pastries until 6. Both tenants opened in the past few months, and between them breakfast and dinner are now in the same parking lot. Casa Linda Plaza was built in 1945, and its owner, EDENS, calls it the oldest shopping center in the City of Dallas.

Together, the two openings make the east side of White Rock Lake a full day out without crossing the water. The rest of this fall's news on that stretch of Garland Road points the same way.

The morning half arrived October 15

maman, the French-inspired café and bakery from New York City, held an 8 a.m. ribbon cutting on Thursday, Oct. 15, at 1152 N. Buckner Blvd., Suite 124. EDENS now lists it as open on the plaza's page. The Lake Highlands Advocate first reported the Casa Linda location back in February. A Lakewood location was announced after that, and it ended up opening first, in April. The Casa Linda shop is maman's fourth in the Dallas area.

So East Dallas now has two maman locations six months apart. The Casa Linda one is the one on the Garland Road side of the lake. The space is 2,366 square feet, with seating for 50 inside and a 12-seat patio. A floral mural by Joel Haynes Art covers the outside wall.

The fall and Dallas-only items announced with the opening:

• Pumpkin Pie Croissant Cube, with pumpkin pie buttercream and torched meringue
• Maple French Toast Latte
• Lone Star Cinnamon Bun
• Salted Caramel Pecan Pie Roll
• Magnolia Sweet Tea Fizz, made with Topo Chico and Texas wildflower honey syrup

The Advocate listed a plain butter croissant at $4, lattes from $5.25 to $6.50, and drip coffee from $3 to $4. Expected hours are 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends, with the kitchen closing at 4 p.m. every day. Those were the hours given before opening, so check maman's own page before a Sunday visit.

The evening half took over a familiar space

Salisbury's Pizza opened Aug. 18 at 9540 Garland Road, Suite 407, according to The Dallas Morning News. Plaza regulars will know the suite. It was Be Home Soon, which the Lakewood Advocate reported served its last service in late October 2025. About ten months passed between that closing and the pizzeria's opening.

The Dallas Observer's October review describes a short New York-style menu. Slices run $3.95 to $5.95, and whole pies run $19.95 to $28.95. At $3.95, a cheese slice costs a nickel less than a butter croissant across the plaza. The Observer's favorite was that plain cheese slice. The menu also has a Ziti pizza and a Sausage and Rabe white pie, both $5.95 a slice. Salisbury's Lasagna, made with veal bolognese and spinach pasta made in house, is baked fresh and limited each night. It takes 25 to 30 minutes, so order it first.

A certified sommelier put together the wine list. House wine is $8.95 a glass, bottles start at $35, and there's grappa for after dinner. You can schedule pickup orders online now, and the Observer reports the restaurant plans to start delivering with its own staff rather than through delivery apps.

The weekly grid has two gaps

The handoff only works on some days. Put the two schedules side by side and Sunday and Monday look different from the rest of the week.

From Tuesday through Saturday, the plaza covers 7:30 or 8 in the morning to 9:30 at night. On Sunday and Monday, the new options end when maman closes at 6.

Between the two meals, the lake path is whole again

Everything between breakfast and dinner on this side of the lake depends on the trail along Garland Road. This summer, a long piece of it was closed. Earlier in the year, a sinkhole appeared beside the White Rock Lake Trail over an abandoned 36-inch wastewater pipeline and was filled right away. Dallas Water Utilities then started grouting the old pipe the week of June 15 as a long-term fix, working between E. Lawther Drive and San Rafael Drive.

The work was expected to last into September 2026. The city's construction update says the contractor finished early. The closed trail along Garland Road and E. Lawther, between Garland Road and Winfrey Point, was scheduled to reopen by Friday, Aug. 7. That means this is the first fall since the sinkhole with the lakeside route between Winfrey Point and the Garland Road corner open again.

The Arboretum's calendar sets the dates

The Dallas Arboretum at 8525 Garland Road has a calendar that runs from now into January, and it shapes what a Garland Road day looks like:

1. Through Sunday, Nov. 1: Autumn at the Arboretum wraps up its Harvest Hues season, with more than 100,000 pumpkins, gourds and squash.
2. Nov. 2 to Nov. 10: No seasonal program is posted between the two festivals.
3. Wednesday, Nov. 11, through Jan. 3, 2027: Holiday at the Arboretum, with the Christmas Village, holiday décor in the DeGolyer House, and daytime and nighttime tickets.

The holiday season carries the bigger news. The Arboretum says 2026 is the last season for the 12 Days of Christmas gazebos. The twelve glass-sided gazebos have stood on the grounds since 2014, and this year's season is billed as "One Final Chorus." If your family has a gazebo photo from every December, this is the last one.

The Arboretum pairs well with the new plaza schedule. A daytime Arboretum ticket fits between a maman breakfast and a slice at 3:30. A nighttime holiday ticket on a Tuesday through Saturday comes after Salisbury's opens, not before.

One more breakfast is waiting in the wings

Another breakfast spot is getting ready farther down Garland Road. Norma's Cafe, the comfort-food restaurant that started in Oak Cliff about 70 years ago, has filed for a certificate of occupancy at 9004 Garland Road. That's the former Dickey's Barbecue Pit, in the same strip as Bike Mart and Good Records.

The two outlets that covered the filing describe it differently. The Dallas Observer reported in mid-August that city records showed a certificate issued July 28. The Lake Highlands Advocate reported on Aug. 18 that the certificate was still in inspection and that commercial work permits had been filed. Norma's hasn't announced an opening date for the Garland Road location. If it opens, this stretch of Garland Road will have two breakfast options.

Two more dates through December

Two more dates are on the same side of town. The Bath House Cultural Center's Día de Muertos exhibit, which marks 40 years of the tradition there, runs through Nov. 7, according to the Lake Highlands Advocate. The BMW Dallas Marathon festival is Dec. 11 to 13, during the Arboretum's holiday season.

A long day here might start with a Maple French Toast Latte at 8 on a Saturday, then a walk on the reopened stretch toward Winfrey Point, then the gazebos after Nov. 11, then a cheese slice once Salisbury's opens at 3:30. On Sunday and Monday, finish before maman closes at 6.

At Niche Realty Group, we follow the corners of East Dallas closely, like the Casa Linda handoff and the Garland Road openings. If you're thinking about a home near the plaza or the lake, let's connect. We can show you your home's value or start your search today.