The Elephant Lounge plans to serve dishes that feature a taste of France, Italy and other global cuisines at Flower Mound’s Parker Square.
It will take the place of Vieux Carré, a French restaurant that closed toward the end of 2025.
According to owner Mike Lawson, some minor renovations are underway, but The Elephant Lounge is expected to open before June 1.
Lawson will also the head chef, using his extensive cooking background to create a unique menu.
He first graduated from Texas A&M University, where he served in the core of cadets before changing career paths and attending the Culinary Institute of America.
Lawson said the name behind the restaurant comes from the “elephant pants” worn by the A&M core of cadets and a little restaurant he often visited during his time at the Culinary Institute.
“There was a little wine bar called The Elephant that really opened my eyes,” he said. “It was just a guy cooking and his wife running the bar at this tiny place and it showed me a restaurant doesn’t have to be a massive undertaking, it’s just the importance of good food.”
Lawson lives near the area and has previously been a chef at some major Dallas restaurants, including Eataly in the Northpark Mall, the Sachet Restaurant and Gemma Restaurant.
“It’s been a journey,” he said. “I’ve worked in some extremely fancy places and some of those techniques will come into play when making a dish, that seems very simple, shine.”
While working in a variety of luxury restaurants has given him a plethora of different experiences, Lawson said The Elephant Lounge isn’t going to be a Michelin-star restaurant, rather focusing on quality food and quality service.
The Elephant Lounge plans to serve some Italian cuisine based on his previous work with Italians and some French cuisine he learned during his time at cooking school.
Lawson said they’ll be serving everything he enjoys to make and tastes well.
“It’s going to be a local place that people can just enjoy coming to,” he said. “That’s the key for us.”
Lawson said he is excited to get to open up his own concept in the area, so the community won’t have to travel to Dallas for good food.
