RJ Cooper opens Punk Noir June 2

RJ Cooper is opening Punk Noir in Dallas’ Design District on June 2, adding a new tasting-menu-only restaurant to the city’s fine-dining market. The restaurant will serve a 20-course menu priced at $295 per person, according to local reports and the restaurant’s promotional material. Punk Noir is located at 139 Turtle Creek Blvd., Suite 130, and is being developed by Dallas owners John McKeel and his sons, Cole and Clay McKeel. The concept pairs Cooper’s cooking with a multi-room, design-heavy format that the owners say is meant to break from conventional fine dining. ### When does Punk Noir open, and where is it? Tuesday, June 2, is the opening date Punk Noir has given for the restaurant’s launch in Dallas’ Design District. CW33 reported the restaurant will open that day at 139 Turtle Creek Blvd., Suite 130, while the Dallas Business Journal separately reported the June opening timeline. (cw33.com) Dallas’ Design District has become a growing restaurant corridor, and Punk Noir will enter that market as a reservations-driven tasting-menu venue rather than a standard à la carte restaurant. Reservations are open ahead of the opening, according to the card briefing and local coverage. (cw33.com) ### What exactly will diners be paying for? The headline number is $295 per person for a 20-course tasting menu. CW33 described the meal as an “evolving, multi-act sensory narrative,” beginning with an “agrarian prologue” and moving toward seafood-focused courses later in the experience. (cw33.com) September 2025 coverage from CW33 said Punk Noir planned only 26 seats per seating and two to three seatings a night in a 9,500-square-foot space. That earlier report framed the concept as intentionally limited-capacity, with guests moving through multiple rooms during the meal. (cw33.com) ### Who is behind Punk Noir? RJ Cooper, a James Beard Award-winning chef, is leading the kitchen at Punk Noir. Local coverage identifies the owners as Dallas natives John McKeel and his sons, Cole and Clay McKeel, describing the project as the family’s first Dallas restaurant venture. (cw33.com) Cole McKeel said in a press release cited by local outlets that Punk Noir is “a rebellion against the ordinary.” He said the group wanted cuisine that was “refined” and “world-class” while making the experience “energetic, immersive and unforgettable.” ### How is the format different from a typical tasting-menu restaurant? (cw33.com) Punk Noir is being marketed as an immersive, multi-room experience rather than a single-room chef’s counter or dining room. CW33 reported the space includes an open kitchen where Cooper will present some courses, a dining room with chandeliers and large-scale punk paintings, and a Noir Lounge where guests can end the evening. The earlier CW33 report also said the restaurant would use projection-mapped visuals, graffiti art and a neon-lit dining room. Those details suggest the operators are positioning the restaurant around atmosphere as much as around the menu itself, though that framing comes from the restaurant’s own promotional description. (cw33.com) ### What happens next before the doors open? June 2 is the next concrete milestone, when Punk Noir is scheduled to begin service in Dallas. Before then, reservations are the immediate next step for diners seeking seats at the 26-seat tasting-menu restaurant, where the published price is $295 per person. (cw33.com 1) (cw33.com 2)