Greenville Avenue Closure

Quirky Greenville Avenue bar The Vagabond turns out the lights

It's been said that you can't go back and in the case of the Vagabond, a Greenville Avenue bar with a nostalgic bent, that would seem to be correct: It is now closed.

The bar, which opened in January 2014, closed over the weekend. Stewart Jameson, who served as general manager until he left in April, says that the place had its ups and downs but was a great concept.

"It was great to work at such a small place with good food and music," he says. "But parking was a bit of an issue, and then the building was old and rundown. We had one thing after another falling from the ceiling. We had to re-do everything in that place."

The closure is a departure from the otherwise endless prosperity that Greenville Avenue is enjoying, with one of the most robust bar and restaurant scenes in Dallas.

The Vagabond opened in January 2014 in the former J. Pepe's space, which was home decades ago to an original Vagabond. Owner John Kenyon was a Greenville Avenue fixture who owned such '80s and '90s venues as Fish Dance and Red Jacket.

For this revival, his menu devised by Jameson consisted of burgers, three salads including a Caesar, and starters such as pork wings and duck-fat steak fries, plus Dallas and Texas craft beers.

It previously had a pool which it filled with sand to create a cool bocce ball court, one of its most popular features.

Kenyon, who was unavailable for comment, called on a number of celebrity friends for backup including singer-songwriters Joe Ely, Butch Hancock and Terry Allen, and most oddly, sports announcer Eric Nadel, listed on the restaurant's website as the club's music director.

There were high hopes for it being a music venue, but its lineup of acts were quirky. The last performer was Wesley Geiger with The Texas Gentlemen on August 5.

Musicians who were scheduled to play during the remainder of August were told that the bar hoped to reopen under new ownership in next few months.

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Coffee News

Pinkies brews up coffee and cocktails on Cedar Springs in Dallas

Pinkies

Coffee at Pinkies

A gay bar in Dallas' Oak Lawn neighborhood has transformed into a coffee and cocktail lounge: Called Pinkies, it's now open at 3900 Cedar Springs Rd., in the space previously occupied by the Mr. Misster bar.

Pinkies comes from Trey Stewart and Meghan Harris, who also owned Mr. Misster, which they opened in 2019.

According to Stewart, they were looking to provide a more relaxed and cozy space, one that was less focused on nightlife. They figured others might also appreciate a coffee and cocktail concept along the Cedar Springs strip.

"Myself and my husband, who I met at Mr. Misster four years ago, no longer find ourselves out on weekends as consistently as we used to," he says. "We enjoy a nice craft cocktail, a cappuccino after dinner, a comfortable setting, and a place where we can socialize with our group of friends."

The menu features coffee and espresso drinks such as lattes, cappuccinos, and mochas, as well as teas including a popular matcha latte. A small selection of pastries includes doughnuts, coffee cake, blondies, and sweet breads including lemon-blueberry and white-chocolate-raspberry.

Cocktails incorporate some of their morning ingredients such as their espresso martini and matcha martini; they also offer martini flights.

They've updated the space, including painting the exterior a vivid pink, to make it easy to spot. Inside, there are magenta accents and it still feels a little clubby, with purple tile walls and touches of neon lighting. One wall is covered with floral wallpaper and a massive Pinkies Up neon sign. Furniture is a mix of modern white tables and big tufted banquettes.

They hope it will still fit in with the lively night scene in Oak Lawn, since It’ll be a coffee shop by day and high-energy lounge by night.

"Over the past six years, Meghan and I feel that we accomplished our goal of shaking things up on Cedar Springs, and some of the elements that once made Mr. Misster so special have slowly been replicated and duplicated down the block," Stewart says. "That was always our initial intention, to spark change and growth."

"With Pinkies, we wanted to offer a place where you can plug in, sip something great, and get things done without feeling out of place," he says. "Unlike a grab-and-go coffee spot, we want you to sit and stay for a while."

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