Le Bilboquet - Dallas, TX

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.

In shaping the visual design of Travis Street Hospitality restaurants, Garcia is responsible for the distinctive ambiance and creative messaging of a brand portfolio that has become indelibly linked with the best of Dallas fine dining. With her husband, co-founder Stephan Courseau, Garcia has worked to create and establish important facets of the guest experience, from logos and menus to the overall interior design – the look and feel of each concept that are essential to brand identity and customer loyalty. Beginning with Knox Bistro (opened in 2017), Garcia took on a larger role in defining the design standards of the hospitality group’s projects that would include Georgie, The Georgie Butcher Shop, Le PasSage and Rose Café at Le PasSage. Garcia’s vision reflects her artistic background and training as a visual storyteller. She comes to the restaurant business with a strong academic foundation: a Bachelor of Arts degree from Fordham University where she majored in art history and painting. Her eye for detail is evident in everything from staff uniforms and floral arrangements to the colors, textiles, lighting and furnishings that make the restaurants special. Though each is unique, they share a common thread: Garcia’s and Courseau’s love of travel and appreciation for beauty. The aesthetic that governs Travis Street concepts is Garcia’s distinctive signature – written the highest standards of sophisticated design fused with the art of hospitality.

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.