Highland Village Town Center will soon be home to Salerno’s Restaurant and Rift to Reef Aquatics.
Salerno’s, a long-time area Italian staple, is scheduled to open in the southwest corner of the Highland Village Town Center shopping center on FM 407 in the space formerly occupied by The Village Grill.
Salerno’s opened in Flower Mound in 1985, and has been in the same location, with a couple of expansions, ever since. Salerno’s was one of the first restaurants to open in Flower Mound and received the very first liquor permit issued by the town.
Morris Salerno and his cousin Mike opened the restaurant and ran it together until Morris opened The Grotto in Highland Village in 1994. Mike has been overseeing the operation at Salerno’s, which has grown into a local staple.
“Mike and I are looking forward to the rebirth of Salerno’s and partnering again in Highland Village,” said Chef Morris Salerno, Jr. “This location is the perfect place for our rebranding. We will be keeping many of our classic dishes and revamping a lot of others.
“Our emphasis will be on using the freshest ingredients, while making homemade pastas, breads and pies. I’m so excited about being able to put my own touches on the new menu.”
New features coming to the new Salerno location are a wood-burning pizza oven, a chicken rotisserie and a Tuscan-like outdoor patio, giving it a true Italian atmosphere. The new Salerno’s is anticipated to open mid-January 2019.
Directly next door will be Rift to Reef Aquatics, a freshwater and saltwater aquarium design and installation store. Rift to Reef is currently serving existing clients and anticipates opening the store in October.
“The success of Painted Tree Marketplace has generated interest in Highland Village Town Center,” said City Manager Michael Leavitt. “The opening of Salerno’s and Rift to Reef brings two long-standing end-users that provide a quality product in aquarium supplies and an exceptional family-owned Italian restaurant that will make this center a destination for Highland Village and the surrounding area.”
“We value our partnership with the City of Highland Village and their role in helping us bring a popular locally owned restaurant and a full-service aquatics retailer to Highland Village Town Center,” said Lauren Bottonari, senior leasing representative for property owner Brixmor Property Group. “These relevant retailers will continue to transform the center into a shopping destination that respects and serves the needs of the Highland Village community.”
