Knox Bistro Dallas - French Bistro

In more than three decades as a restaurateur, the French-born Stephan Courseau has held almost every job in the hospitality industry. Arriving in New York from France in 1987 – and without knowing English – Courseau set in motion what can only be described as a true American success story. From his first job as a dishwasher, he rose through the ranks within the highly competitive New York restaurant world, leveraging his considerable charms and hospitality instincts to land key front of house responsibilities. His work with legendary chef/restaurateurs including Alain Ducasse, Daniel Boulud and Jean-Georges Vongerichten enhanced a resume that led to a pivotal role as general manager of Manhattan’s original Le Bilboquet, the French bistro renowned as much for its glamorous A-list clientele as for its signature menu dishes. After moving to Dallas in 2010 and licensing the Le Bilboquet name, Courseau and his partner and wife Daniele Garcia opened a Dallas outpost of the chic bistro in 2013. Recognizing the city’s appetite for technique-driven French cuisine (coupled with a pitch- perfect understanding of how Dallas dines and socializes), the partners established what quickly became a formidable restaurant group. Taking its name from the address of its first concept, Travis Street Hospitality has grown to include Knox Bistro (opened in 2017) and Georgie (opened in 2019) – both recognized as Recommended dining in Michelin Guide’s first Texas survey in 2024. Along with The Georgie Butcher Shop and the newest brands, sister restaurants Le PasSage and Rose Café at Le PasSage, Travis Street has grown to become a Dallas hospitality giant as well as a portfolio of distinguished businesses that have become synonymous with the city’s iconic Knox-Henderson neighborhood.

If there’s something grand, sweeping and even cinematic about Edward Goemans’ day-to-day oversight of some of Dallas’ beloved, buzziest restaurants it’s for good reason. The onetime auteur traded a lucrative career in Hollywood for a starring role in the hospitality industry. After studying film at New York University, Goemans spent more than a dozen years working for some of the biggest names in the motion picture business, first at assistant to producer Scott Rudin, then as an executive at Paramount Pictures working under CEO Sherry Lansing. Throughout a career the resulted in 30 productions (as vice president of production at Paramount he shepherded hits such as “School of Rock,” “Four Brothers” and “Nacho Libre”), Goemans developed a fascination with the restaurant business. When he decided to make a life change – wanting a better work/life balance and starting a family – he moved to Dallas in 2009 where he nurtured a dream of having his own restaurant. In order to learn the restaurant business from the ground up, Goemans became a server at the legendary farm-to-table restaurant Bolsa. During his three years there he met Courseau who persuaded him to help open his first restaurant, Le Bilboquet. Instead of opening his own restaurant Goemans became a partner and integral part of Travis Street Hospitality. A dozen years later he remains in the pivotal role of overseeing day-to-day operations of all the company’s restaurants. “The unifying element between making movies and working in hospitality is the singular focus on always taking care of your ‘talent’ and your ‘guests,’” Goemans said. “It’s critically important that your number one asset in your business – in the case of restaurants, your guests – feel embraced, taken care of, and emotionally invested in the experience.”

You can take the boy out of France, but you can’t take France out of the boy. Born in the Loire Valley and raised in farm-to-table traditions ingrained in his soul, the classically trained chef has carved out a stellar career that has taken him from august restaurants in Paris, London and Los Angeles to presiding over a Michelin-star restaurant, Alain Ducasse’s Mix in Las Vegas. In 2009, Texas came calling: Davaillon assumed the culinary reins at the renowned Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek where during his six-year tenure he earned his first James Beard Award nomination for Best Chef: Southwest in 2012. His work as executive chef of Bullion restaurant brought him more recognition: named Restaurant of the Year by D Magazine in 2018 and a James Beard semifinalist nod (again, for Best Chef: Southwest) in 2019. Today, as executive chef of Knox Bistro and culinary director for Travis Street Hospitality where is mastery of French technique has distinguished the restaurant group and dramatically enhanced Dallas’ culinary profile. Under his direction, Travis Street’s Knox Bistro and Georgie both earned Recommended dining status in Michelin Guide’s first Texas survey in 2024. While undeniably one of the country’s top chefs, Davaillon’s culinary philosophy remains rooted in his boyhood in France where working with farm animals and garden produce wasn’t just tradition, it was daily existence. As a chef, mentor and role model, Davaillon exemplifies leadership and a commitment to culinary excellence that have made Travis Street Hospitality restaurants (including its newest stars Le PasSage and Rose Café at Le PasSage) essential, unforgettable dining experiences.

Three years ago, when Francois Spach left New York to join the Travis Street Hospitality team in Dallas (where his longtime friend and restaurateur Stephane Courseau had long since moved), it marked yet another chapter, and another city, in a long, rewarding career in hospitality. Born in Casablanca and reared in Normandy, France, Spach’s restaurant life began in London where for five years he worked in small restaurants while he learned English. In Paris, however, his passion for the service industry grew. His posts in the City of Light included work as assistant maître d’hotel at the historic and much-loved brasserie Closerie des Lilas and as a captain at Restaurant Garnier, the great seafood-centric brasserie. Armed with impressive service and hospitality skills, Spach set out for New York, spending 10 years at the famed Central Park Boathouse, first as a server and eventually as assistant general manager. He spent an additional decade as manager for the family-run Café de Soleil which specialized in French bistro comfort fare. Thanks to a 20-year friendship with Courseau, Spach found himself in Dallas after the pandemic, tapped to help refine and grow the Knox Bistro brand. He did just that: The bistro earned Recommended status in the 2024 Texas Michelin Guide, calling it “a perfect fit” for Dallas’ sophisticated dining scene. For Spach, it was an honor of a lifetime. “Like the cherry on the cake,” he said. Or should we say like the cerise? Mais oui, we’re a French bistro after all.

It was a single glass of Domaine de Montevac Vacqueyras – a noble, elegant red from an array of terroirs, sipped at the storied Le Pe Catelan in Paris – that did it for Daniel Bowman. From that, a career that encompassed nearly every role in hospitality (from washing dishes and bussing to front-of-the-house operations) magically distilled into a single focus on wine. Having found his passion in wine and beverage, Bowman concentrated his efforts on amassing knowledge and credentials in the often byzantine and competitive world of wine education. He passed his first exam in the Court of Master Sommeliers at a young age and has continued with the Certified Sommelier exam as well as the rigorous Advanced Knowledge Assessment. Next step: the Advanced Theory exam. A board member with the Dallas Sommelier Society, Bowman has traveled extensively (Japan, Europe, Mexico) to sharpen his food and wine knowledge. After joining Travis Street Hospitality in 2021, Georgie earned Wine Spectator’s Best of Award of Excellence. In 2024, Knox Bistro and Le Bilboquet both achieved Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence. Bowman’s work throughout the broad range of Travis Street concepts is marked by a continued commitment to delighting and surprising guests with the worldly pleasures beverage bring to the fine dining experience.