3rd Place Commons wants you to ‘linger longer’

A long-running communal table. A candlelit tablescape with formal place settings. A set with a live DJ.

It’s a different type of dinner.

Though this dinner is not at a restaurant. 3rd Place Commons is a “collective community experience,” truly born out of passion.

“We’ve been running loosely, I would call it a supper club, but really just dinners out of our houses for anyone and everyone for years because Richard’s a chef and we love hosting,” Beckley Club Estates neighbor Renata Lannen says.

Couple Richard and Renata Lannen started serving the public in a more official capacity last April through a model that came together following the birth of their first son.

“We had lived here for a while and met a bunch of people and gotten sort of ingrained, but when our son was born, we were really looking for more community,” Richard says. (“Outside of just work and day care,” Renata adds.) “We’re like, ‘Oh, well, if we can just do what we’ve been doing at home with other people, we’ll be able to find that community.’”

3rd Place Commons’ multicourse meal is served in different iterations through their three main series -— Supper at Sundown, Howdy Commons and Out of Office. Every meal is different, but each meal is served family-style.

“We have one seating. It’s all synchronous. Everybody eats together, everybody drinks together. The courses come out together. You all have discussion questions,” Renata says. “The point is truly to engage across the table. So it’s not a restaurant, and it’s not catering. It’s this other thing.”

“We want it to be an experience,” Richard says.

As a chef with 15 years in the dining industry, some of those years including Dallas’ Sur La Table and Eataly, Richard uses the opportunity of 3rd Place Commons to experiment in the kitchen. There’s roughly a six-month to year-long menu planning process, with tickets releasing even before the menu is public. The collective reaches out to local farmers to see what’s growing and what’s in season as they design what ends up on the plate, with one to two meals each month.

Folks involved in the nuts and bolts of operations, from servers to photographers, are friends of the couple who started out as volunteers and are now paid. But 3rd Place Commons is not the couple’s full-time gig.

“It’s just a labor of love, really,” Renata says.

Locations are chosen based on partnerships, which also gives attendees an opportunity to explore a local third place.

Elmwood Farm served as the first location of their dining experience and is the location of the Supper at Sundown series, which has their next supper slated for April 4.

“There’s so few legitimate third places in this city. I think the farm is slept on, and we love it so much, more people need to know that it’s here,” Renata says.

Howdy Commons is in partnership with Wayward Coffee. Typically, the dinner runs out of the Davis Street location. Howdy Commons began this year at the coffee shop’s Design District location. Often, the food takes on a “Tex-talian” style.

“Italian cooking is in my background. Texas-style cooking is where I grew up, so being able to bring both of those together is really fun for me, too,” Richard says.

Renata adds that her family is Italian and Richard’s family is sixth generation Texan, so the fusion also represents their roots as a couple.

The first iteration of Howdy Commons this year included starters of cappelletti in brodo with caramelized leek filling, followed by a fennel and grapefruit salad covered, but not soaked, in a vinaigrette. The main course served a confit beef cheek with coffee polenta and wild mushrooms. The vegetarian version had a confit portobello heart. Finally, dessert brought out an olive oil cake with meringue frosting, plus bitter, yet sweet amarena cherries paired with a Wayward seasonal coffee. Wine throughout the three courses was selected by Lucky Draw Wine Club.

Their latest series, Out of Office, is a nomadic experience that pops up across Dallas.

Tickets for the upcoming dinners range from $78 per person, depending on the series and alcoholic or nonalcoholic pairing selected. Ultimately, 3rd Place Commons is about more than just the price tag.

“It’s truly supposed to be more of what’s a collective of friends and a collective of businesses that we want other people to linger longer at and find their people,” Renata says, “find their space that feels more comfortable to them.”