Cafe Gecko closed in Addison after 30 years
It has been a tough season for restaurant closings in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Cafe Gecko, a Caribbean cafe in Addison that opened in late 1991, is officially closed on December 1, 2021.
Founder and CEO Dennis Dial plans to move the bar to downtown Plano and reopen in 2022.
Regulars Richard Staggs, Clark Anderson and Walter Otstott share one final round before Cafe Gecko closes in 2021.
“We’re uprooting it,” he says: the staff and the stuff. But he realizes that moving across town “is of little comfort to folks who have been to Addison for 30 years.”
Cafe Gecko joins other long-standing restaurants that are leaving this year. Cosmic Cafe on Dallas’ Oak Lawn Avenue Closed After 26 Years; the Metropolitan Cafe in downtown Dallas closed after 20 years; Luna’s Tortillas y Hacienda, near the medical district in Dallas, closed after 1pm; Oak Steakhouse in the Dallas Design District closed after 10am.
Bavarian Grill in Plano closes after 28 years – but moves to a new location like Cafe Gecko. So did the original Fred’s Texas Cafe in Fort Worth: closed at the end of 2021 after 43 years and moved seven miles away.
Anvil Pub and BrainDead Brewing also recently closed.
Cafe Gecko’s lease was not renewed after spending 30 years on Belt Line Road. “That wasn’t my choice,” says Dial.
Cafe Gecko was open in Addison from 1991 to 2021. Here is a photo from our restaurant review from 1992.
In his come-as-you-are beach bar, he tells a warm story:
“It’s kind of crazy to me that 30 years ago I started on a whim on a small budget. It has developed a life of its own, ”he says in an interview. “People got to know each other there, got married, then they had children and their children come in there. The 30-year span is kind of stunning. “
Addison was Dial’s first Cafe Gecko. Others are in Richardson, Fairview, and West Plano, and they will remain open and operated by Dial, its partners, or former employees. The new one in East Plano will open asap, says Dial.
Roland the Moose – a fixture in Addison – will move to the Plano shop in the city center. (What’s that supposed to mean? Our reviewer Waltrina Stovall said back in 1992: “Café Gecko is named after a tropical lizard, so it seems strange that a moose’s head looks over the black tables and niches. But then again, the café is all the better because it’s unpredictable is.”)
Cafe Gecko is a hangout for drinking, but Dial believes that food makes all the difference. The sour cream enchiladas and seafood nachos are the most popular dishes, and they’re all available at the other Cafe Geckos and the upcoming Cafe in East Plano.
“Anyone can make a cocktail. Anyone can make a beer cold, “says Dial.” It’s the food that has taken us through the ups and downs. “
Cafe Gecko in Addison was at 5290 Belt Line Road, Dallas. It was closed on December 1, 2021. The others stay on Windhaven Parkway 6145 in Plano; 239 Town Square in Fairview; and 1381 W. Campbell Road in Richardson.
A new Café Gecko is expected to open shortly at 1410 Avenue K in Plano.
For more food news, follow Sarah Blaskovich on Twitter @sblaskovich.
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