D Restaurant: Latin cuisine, family environment

D Restaurant, located at 500 W. Madison St., Suite A1, offers a wide range of Latin cuisine to its customers, including dishes from Central and South America, including the countries of Brazil and Peru, plus a Latin twist to traditional brunch food. Music from a variety of Latin countries can be found playing throughout the restaurant.

Owners Sara Mallord and Carlos Dominguez, who are originally from Honduras and Veracruz, Mexico, respectively, wanted to offer Waxahachie an experience that differs from the typical Tex-Mex restaurant.

“We have a variety of dishes from other countries, so that people can come and enjoy and experience what they could have been enjoying and experiencing (in) other countries if they ever go,” Mallord said.

They use recipes provided by friends and family from across Latin America. Everything in the restaurant is made fresh – from the salsa to the chips to the refried black beans to the enchiladas. Dominguez said customers will notice the difference no matter what they order, even if it’s simply scrambled eggs, beans and tortillas.

“It’s very simple, but the flavor is there,” Dominguez said.

Mallord told about a customer who came in after cycling 25-30 miles. He ordered scrambled eggs, black beans and a piece of toast. When she stopped by his table to ask if he liked his food, he shared that he travels a lot, and he had not a enjoyed a plate like that in a long time.

While they hope to give people a new experience, Mallord has also seen the restaurant give people a taste of home. Since opening, she’s met people from Puerto Rico, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela.

“We have so many cultures in our community that I myself didn’t know they were there,” she said.

The dishes aren’t the only thing different about D Restaurant. Art decorates the walls of the main dining rooms, with TVs only found in the secluded bar area. Dominguez and Mallord shared they want people to interact with one another instead of watching a screen.

“The most important thing for Carlos and I is to make sure that we have families and friends gathering and enjoying a good meal stay here for a while and talk about anything,” Mallord said.

Employees are trained to interact with customers by name, and multiple employees stop by a table throughout their meal.

“The idea is for these people to be touched by everybody,” Dominguez said. “Maybe the customers don’t want to say anything to the server, but they may say something to the other person. I feel the results has been working with us, and that’s why a lot of people are coming back.”

“We want people to come and feel comfortable when they come here,” Mallord said. “They’re not just another table. We are very selective of who we hire. We try to hire people that may not be the quickest or fastest servers, but they have great manners. They know how to treat people. They interact with people and know how to make them feel special. That’s the most important thing.”

For years, husband and wife, Dominguez and Mallord, have been working toward opening their very own restaurant.

With their background in both the hotel and food and beverage industries, they opened a food truck and catering business, SJ Kitchen Table, in 2018, while also overseeing the cafeteria for St. Joseph Catholic School in Waxahachie. SJ Kitchen Table quickly became the main food truck at Railport Brewing Company. The couple used the food truck as a learning experience, interacting with customers and better understanding how best to serve them.

They never forgot about their dream for a restaurant and began looking for a place. They found the home for their restaurant just down the street from Railport. The building was once an old cotton gin, Mallord said.

“Everyone started asking so when is the restaurant going to open, and our last name is Dominquez, so we’re like let’s just call it ‘D Restaurant’ – short and simple for people to remember,” Mallord said.

The building was so big, Dominguez said, so one day, they came in and dreamed of what the restaurant would look like, marking the ground with crayons to highlight where each element would go.

The two main office rooms now house the bar and small seating area, while a portion of the cotton warehouse now holds the main dining room and kitchen. They decided not to change anything on the walls or the floors, wanting to keep it the same way as it used to be. All the wood along the walls is the same, treated and stained.

They had planned to begin the project in October 2019, but the COVID-19 pandemic paused everything. Finally, this year, they finished construction and opened D Restaurant.

“We’re just thankful,” Mallord said. “We can’t really sleep at night, thinking of so much that we have to do. Little by little we start getting things out of the way, and I am grateful to be open now.”

“To us, people trusting us on what we’re doing on our food is a lot of motivation,” Dominguez said. “Even though we (are) exhausted working all day or prepping. Sometimes the day to day, my mind is (can no longer) think, but when people come in and say your food was very good, (it) is payback you know. (It) gives us the motivation (for the next day).”

For more information, follow @DRestaurantWaxahachie on Facebook and @drestaurant_waxahachie_ on Instagram.

Originally published August 3, 2023 - https://www.waxahachiesun.com/business/d-restaurant-latin-cuisine-family-environment/article_e09e164a-322b-11ee-8dc4-239933d3b69b.html