14 June 1 - 7, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Home Sweet, Home The Grapevine, one of Dallas’ best dive bars, is moving. And, no worries, they’re taking the basketball court. BY LAUREN DREWES DANIELS T he Grapevine Bar on Maple Av- enue is one of Dallas’ most loved dive bars. It’s long been a place for everyone and anyone, in- cluding many Observer happy hours both when our offices were just next door and since. Last year the eclectic small bar with a courtyard big enough for a basketball court an- nounced its lease was up and it was packing up and moving out. The land and building were purchased by Crow Holdings, the Dallas real estate company owned by Supreme Court Jus- tice Clarence Thomas’ bestie Harlan Crow. The bar has been on Maple Avenue 27 years, so saying goodbye to the space will be sad. Co-owners Michelle and Ronny Honea have spent decades adding touches of hu- mor and snark. They’ve said they will pack up all the key elements to take with them. So, the big question for everyone is: What’s the forwarding address? For the past couple of weeks, the Honeas have been dropping hints about the new space on Facebook, enhancing and magnify- ing small details of photos, leaving everyone to guess the next location. It was a border- line mean tease. There are photos of wood, benches, the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, an outline of University Park and Highland Park. Some were just photos of their recent vacation in Mexico. The new home of The Grapvine Bar will be the former restaurant and bar Redfield’s Neighborhood Tavern (2213 Butler St.), which closed late last year and is less than 2 miles from the current location. “It was very hard,” Ronny says about finding a new space, “We looked at so many different places. It was looking like we were going to have to lease a place and do a com- plete redo, and it was discouraging. We hate to see that Redfield’s is no longer around, but the timing was perfect.” This new location checks all the major boxes for them with some bonus elements. “There’s so much more space inside. We don’t have to do anything except add the Grapevine flare,” Ronny says. Plus there’s a fully equipped kitchen. “We’re definitely going to have food, al- though not at first,” Michelle says. There’s no timeline yet for when they’re moving out of The Grapevine Bar on Maple and into the new space. Michelle says that Crow has been “very generous and flexible.” And there are still permits to acquire, which will take some time, but the Honeas are looking at “the summer.” “We don’t want to throw a timeline on it and put unneeded pressure on ourselves,” Michelle adds. “We’re definitely going to give everyone enough time, definitely going to have a big bash. But there might be a few days of us being nowhere. There might be a gap.” The new location has enough room for the basketball court. “It’s another great thing about this place. It has it all. We’ll also get to have live music,” says Ronny. Shade trees and a large patio also sold them on this space. The only hard part is going to be hiring more people. The Grapevine has long held onto its bartenders and servers, some for decades. “With all this space, we’ll need to hire more people, and we’ll need another 10 years to train them the right way,” Ronny says with a laugh. ▼ OPENINGS ALL HAIL THE QUEENS HAMBURGER MARY’S ARRIVES IN DALLAS AT A TUMULTUOUS TIME FOR DRAG PERFORMERS. BY ALEX GONZALEZ A n iconic West Coast drag destina- tion is coming to Dallas. Pride Month will kick off with the open- ing of Hamburger Mary’s Bar & Grille in the Oak Lawn and Cedar Springs neighborhood, Dallas’ LGBTQ+ nightlife district. The Dallas location will open June 1 in the space previously occupied by Cedar Springs Tap House. It will be the LGBTQ-centered burger chain’s 14th site. Tanner Roberts, who previously managed Cedar Springs Tap House and has helped with the operations at Hamburger Mary’s West Hollywood loca- tion, is in town from Chicago to help open the Dallas location. “The drag scene is so massive in Dallas as it is,” Roberts says. “I feel like the queens needed another venue to showcase their tal- ent to get the spotlight on them. “ And he’s not wrong. Several of Dallas’ drag performers have gone on to competitions like RuPaul’s Drag Race, including Asia O’Hara, Kennedy Davenport and Alyssa Edwards. Lo- cal queens like Cassie Nova, Rocky Tacoma and Bleach are staples in Dallas’ drag scene, with regular sets at venues such as JRs and Station 4. Dallas’ own Liquor Mini will be the show director at the new Hamburger Mary’s loca- tion. During our interview, Roberts and Lauren Drewes Daniels The Grapevine bar is moving two miles away. | CITY OF ATE | ▼ Dish >> p16 Tanner Roberts Hamburger Mary’s is opening in Dallas.
