Latin American restaurant Mar y Sol Cocina Latina on Dallas’ McKinney Avenue closed to make way for a sports bar called Victory Tap
“We were busy on weekends and not on weekdays,” said Alberto Lombardi, owner of more than a dozen restaurants in Dallas-Fort Worth, including Toulouse and Taverna on Knox Street and Bistro 31 in Highland Park Village
Lombardi opened Mar y Sol in summer 2024. Many Dallasites remember this address as Abacus, a fine-dining restaurant open for about 20 years. When it was reinvented as Mar y Sol, its plates took inspiration from cuisines in Mexico, Peru, Brazil and Argentina
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In its two years, Mar y Sol “didn’t lose money, but it didn’t make money,” Lombardi said. That wasn’t a winning formula
“You cannot survive without business during the week,” he said
Lombardi believes this restaurant, located near the fast-moving Knox Street, should be an “approachable” sports bar instead. He said many of the neighbors are young and single, and he believes they’re better served with “a casual place for a burger and a beer. And a place to meet.”
Mar y Sol served its last dinner on Aug. 15, 2026. Lombardi hopes to reopen the space as Victory Tap by October 2026
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Lombardi has already tested the sports bar in Plano, where D-FW’s first Victory Tap opened before the World Cup. The West Plano bar has 32 TVs and an F1 simulator. The Dallas restaurant will have a few dozen TVs, too, and two F1 simulators on the terrace
What happened to Mar y Sol?
When Mar y Sol opened, it was a hot spot in Dallas. Diners ordered plates of crudo, expensive tomahawk steaks and $20 margaritas.
The restaurant interior, designed by Filipao Nunes, out of Monterrey, Mexico, was a mix of neutral tan and creams, with an Instagrammable ceiling of driftwood on the terrace and chic pottery lining the private dining room. It was a restaurant made to feel alive, Lombardi said in 2024. But when the dining room was not full, he said in August 2026, Mar y Sol wasn’t vibrant
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Still, it’s hard to imagine the beautiful design of Mar y Sol, scrapped.
Lombardi, a nearly 50-year veteran of Dallas restaurants, doesn’t agree. He’s learned not to get attached, he said. “With restaurants, you have to find a Plan A, Plan B, Plan C.”
What to expect at Victory Tap
Designer Nunes is reinventing the restaurant, changing it from sleek neutral tones to a cozier series of rooms with couches and fireplaces. Walls are dressed with navy plaid wallpaper. Renderings show pool cues, tennis rackets and baseball bats cleverly used as light fixtures and design features
The Dallas menu is expected to include Plano’s bestselling smashburger as well as pizzas, sushi rolls, birria brisket tacos and shareable bar snacks like chicken wings, queso and guacamole. Fish and chips have also been popular in Plano, Lombardi said, and they will be sold in Dallas
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An early look at the menu calls for $10 appetizers on weekdays from 3 to 6 p.m., plus $1 off beers and $2 off wine and cocktails
Lombardi is content with his new plan. “When you are in this business, you invest money — and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.”
Mar y Sol closed at 4511 McKinney Ave., Dallas, after service on Aug. 15, 2026. It’s expected to open in fall 2026 as Victory Tap
