Downtown News
Innovative art gallery to open in downtown Dallas with cocktail lounge on-site
There's a date for an innovative new gallery in downtown Dallas: Sweet Tooth Hotel, the immersive art concept, has a new permanent 6,000-square-foot location at 1511 Elm St., and according to a spokesperson, it's set to open on October 29.
Taking over a former FieldHouse gym space, it'll be a flagship location with nine gallery spaces, a gift shop with rotating artist and retail pop-ups, and cocktail lounge sponsored by Calirosa Tequila.
At more than five times the size of their original pop-up, it represents their largest location to-date.
Sweet Tooth Hotel was founded in 2018 by wife-and-husband Jencey and Cole Keeton as an immersive, adventurous art venue featuring emerging experiential artists. Exhibit themes have included everything from sugar to retro-futurism to yarn.
Opening in downtown's Central Business District was a perfect fusion of their desire for a permanent space combined with the landlord's goals to spice up that block of Elm Street, Jencey says.
"Woods Capital, who owns the building, has been absolutely incredible to work with, and we are excited to add to the evolving neighborhood on Elm Street," she says.
Like all Sweet Tooth Hotel experiences, guests will “check in” to a magical hotel and travel through the corridors, opening each room to discover unique art installations created by local and national artists.
Custom hotel key cards will unlock the hotel doors for guests as they make their way through the gallery spaces and discover hidden passageways and surprises.
The downtown space was big enough to accommodate a cocktail lounge, presented in partnership with Calirosa Tequila. A full "neon disco" lighting experience created by Duck Lights envelopes the bar; guests who order a Calirosa Tequila cocktail will make the disco balls spin.
Calirosa Rosa Blanco is blue agave tequila aged in California red wine barrels for 30 days, which they say summons aromas of strawberry, raspberry, and honey, and creates its signature pink color.
The menu will feature cocktails created in partnership with Calirosa, plus classic cocktails, plus a boozy tea party service. Events will range from local musicians to artist workshops.
The first installation will be called Dreamland, and feature emerging Texas artists including latch hook artist Bobcat & Birdie (McAllen), multimedia artist Shamsy Roomiani (Dallas), visual artist Tramaine Townsend (Dallas) and multimedia artist Molly Sydnor (Dallas).
Design and fabrication was completed in partnership with wvvy Studio, recently opened by Cole Keeton and Alan Lockwood and offering experiential design, fabrication, and content creation services.
Tickets for the exhibit range from $20-$45. Guests can also book an interactive scavenger hunt as part of their visit.