Ed Lowe, 69, a much loved restaurateur and owner of Dallas’ original farm-to-table restaurant, Celebration fell to his death Wednesday in Big Bend National Park.

The eatery on West Lovers Lane near Lemmon Avenue opened in 1971 with a focus on local food. It became an ’80s landmark.

Ed Lowe(Celebration Restaurant)
Ed Lowe
(Celebration Restaurant)

Lowe was taking a five-day canoe trip down the Rio Grande with four other people, according to the National Park Service.

Alan Peppard, former society writer at The Dallas Morning News, says he remembers the day the restaurant opened in the early ’80s. He went for a double-date and the restaurant was packed.

“It’s a terrible tragedy, a heartbreaking loss for Dallas,” says Leslie Brenner, former dining editor and restaurant critic at The Dallas Morning News. “Ed Lowe was a restaurateur who celebrated all the best things about Texas — including its bounty — and expressed that at Celebration, his restaurant and market. He also understood and practiced true hospitality, which is one of the reasons Celebration has always been so beloved. He will certainly be missed.”