Brunch News

Oak Cliff-style brunch headed to old Kel's space in North Dallas

Chicken and waffles at Jonathon's Oak Cliff restaurant

Chicken and waffles and cream gravy.

North Dallas is set to get the brunch it deserves with the opening of Jonathon's, an Oak Cliff breakfast and brunch institution which will relocate to 5337 Forest Ln., AKA the former home to Kel's Restaurant.

Officially called Jonathon's Oak Cliff, the restaurant opened at 1111 N. Beckley Ave., next to Spiral Diner in 2011. It soon drew a following for down-home dishes such as chicken-fried steak & eggs, and biscuits & gravy.

Christine Erdeljac, who owns the restaurant with her husband Jonathon, says they were facing a rent increase.

"It was an unfortunate situation where we couldn't come to a lease agreement," she says. "There's been a lot of change in the neighborhood. There are new apartment complexes that are charging $1500 for rent, and I think our landlord hopes to get more rent for the space."

The couple also owns a spinoff a few blocks down the road, at 1619 N. Beckley Ave., which was originally called Kessler Eating House, before they rebranded it as Jonathon's Diner in 2016. That location will stay open in Oak Cliff.

The rent climb proved fortuitous, because they ended up getting a space Christine had eyed for many years: the former Kel's Restaurant at Forest Lane and Inwood Road, a beloved dive with its own breakfast following that had been in business since 1963 before closing in 2014.

"I've always thought it would be so cool if we could open a restaurant in that space," she says. "I have a personal attachment. I went to Ursuline and was a Jesuit cheerleader, and we would go to Kel's all the time."

Christine would drive by and also tried unsuccessfully to reach the landlord.

"The space was sitting there vacant," she says. "I tried to get ahold of someone for years but could never track anyone down. One day I was driving through the parking lot and saw a for lease sign. I couldn't dial fast enough."

The space is gutted right now and she says it will probably be late fall before they can open.

Oak Cliff will still be able to get its Jonathon's-style brunch at the Jonathon's at 1619 N. Beckley Ave. Meanwhile, their last day at 1111 N. Beckley Ave. is Sunday August 29.

brunch breakfast oak-cliff

Wings News

New chicken wing joint sells 'em by the pound in Dallas' Deep Ellum

Wings By the Pound

A no-nonsense wing spot has debuted in Dallas' Deep Ellum: Called Wings By the Pound, it sells exactly that, at a shop at 2707 Main St., in the former home of the Slutty Vegan burger joint, which closed in 2024.

Wings by the Pound states proudly that it "isn't a combo joint" but is instead "a counter built on one idea — call your weight, watch it hit the scale, and take it off the scale." Then presumably you take it home, you eat it, end of story.

It presents itself as an alternative to typical wing spots which sell wings by the number. Numbers are complicated.

"We sell you weight. Pick wings or tenders, call your poundage from a half-pound to four, and we weigh it up in front of you," they say.

From there it's the standard wing-joint set of choices: wings or tenders, level of heat, sauces, and sides. "No combos, no guessing," they brag, although is there a lot of guessing with wings?

Here's some very specific numbers:

One pound of wings, which they approximate at 12 pieces, is $15.05. Two pounds, or 24 pieces, is $27.11.
One pound of tenders, which they approximate at 8 pieces, is $17.02. Two pounds, or 16 pieces, is $25.06.

They also sell french fries — crinkle cut — in choice of plain, cheese sauce, or "pound sauce" for $8 to $15. Pound sauce is their version of the prototypical secret sauce, which generally boils down to Russian-ish dressing, i.e., mayonnaise and ketchup with various add-ins, spicy and otherwise; the version at Wings By the Pound incorporates hot sauce.

There are wet sauces, including Thai, chipotle, hot honey, and garlic Parm; dry rubs, including suya (peanut) and jalapeño-lemon; and five dips: cheese sauce, ranch, bleu cheese, honey mustard, and pound sauce.

Some might recall that there was a Wings By the Pound concept that first debuted in 2020 at Trinity Groves, the restaurant incubator in West Dallas, but that closed in 2022.

This Wings By the Pound is a new concept from ArkDal Hospitality Group, headed by Cary Thompson, Royce Colley, and Mo Wells, which also operates Velour Restaurant in Victory Park.

The location in Deep Ellum has no seating on premise and functions as a take-out spot only. A spokesperson said that the location opened in mid-June.

chicken deep ellum openings