Wine Bar News

Funky winery from Denver uncorks tap room for Dallas' Deep Ellum

Infinite Monkey Theorem Wines Winery Austin

You can also get their wines at stores.

Photo by Matt McGinnis

Deep Ellum is in line to get something the bustling Dallas neighborhood does not yet have: a wine bar.

More specifically, it will be home to an urban winery and taproom called The Infinite Monkey Theorem from a Denver winemaker of the same name.

Taproom director David Goergen confirms that the wine bar will open at 2816 Main St., with a date tentatively set for 2019. It'll be the fourth wine bar for the growing concept.

"We are currently focusing on opening our Fort Collins, Colorado taproom," Goergen says. "My best guess is you might see a Dallas Infinite Monkey Theorem mid-to-late 2019."

Infinite Monkey opened a similar winery in Austin in 2015, in a former auto repair shop just off of South Congress Avenue, now home to wine tanks and walls tagged with graffiti. The funky winery has private tastings, tours, drink specials, art features, and live music.

Austin was the second Infinite Monkey Theorem taproom for the Denver-based winery, which opened in 2008.

Husband and wife team Aaron and Meredith Berman moved from Denver to open the Austin location and serve as the chief financial officer and la grande dame of wine operations, respectively.

The Austin incarnation of The Infinite Monkey Theorem makes wine the same way as the original Denver winery, shipping in grapes from the Texas High Plains.

Visitors to the Infinite Monkey Theorem tasting room can sample and buy well-known wine varieties like Cabernet, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Malbec and even Rosé made with Texas-grown grapes.

The winery tasting room has wines on tap, bottled wines, and wines in cans. Infinite Monkey Theorem wine is also available in stores and on tap at various restaurants and bars.

The Dallas location will go into one in a row of sweet vintage brick buildings on the south side of Main Street just west of MLK Boulevard. The most recent tenant was a fitness studio that closed at the end of 2014, and prior to that, it was home to the Palm Beach Reggae Club.

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RIP Al

Beloved Dallas restaurateur Al Biernat dies at 69 after ALS battle

Dallas restaurateur Al Biernat, RIP

Beloved Dallas restaurateur Al Biernat, founder of the acclaimed local steakhouse Al Biernat's, passed away on November 13, following a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also called ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease; he was 69.

Biernat was one of Dallas' all-time great hospitality figures, dating back to his days at The Palm steakhouse, for whom he worked in Los Angeles, Houston, and Dallas.

Biernat founded his namesake restaurant in 1998 on Oak Lawn Avenue, where his standard of excellence and doting charm made it a destination for special occasions, Park Cities swells, and celebrities in town.

His sense of hospitality had little competition in Dallas. He was a charming and personable host who genuinely liked people, and it didn't matter whether you were Conan O'Brien, David Crosby, or one of the other high-profile diners that visited his restaurants — or else just a regular schlub: He had a knack for making everyone feel special and remembered.

Biernat was born on August 20, 1955 and grew up in Michigan, then lived in Colorado, New York, Los Angeles, and Houston, before moving to Dallas to work at The Palm in the West End, where his dynamic presence gave the restaurant an incomparable vitality; it closed in 2017.

He opened Al Biernat's at 4217 Oak Lawn Ave. in 1998, followed by a second location in North Dallas at 5251 Spring Valley Rd. in 2017.

He began to experience ALS symptoms in May 2023, was diagnosed in December, and revealed his condition in February 2024. The revelation was met with an outpouring of sympathy and well wishes from the hospitality industry — a sign of the high regard in which he was held.

The average life expectancy for people with ALS is two to five years after diagnosis. Symptoms can begin in the muscles that control speech and swallowing, or in the hands, arms, legs, or feet. He began to have difficulty communicating in September, and spent his last days in a hospice.

On September 18, he broached the topic of dying, before ending on a note of gratitude to friends and family.

"Having Bulbar ALS I am realistic about my future," he said. "Friends and family have asked me if I’m afraid of dying, and this is what I say to them. Because of the salvation of Jesus, I will be rejoicing in my spirit to see him in all of his glory. Since we are all flesh, soul, and spirit, only my flesh is being left behind. But don’t get me wrong, I have a blessed life in this world, with a loving wife, and a beautiful family and many wonderful and caring friends. I am grateful!"

Both Al Biernat's locations will continue to remain open under the management of Biernat's nephew Brad Fuller, as they have for nearly the past two years.

Biernat is survived by Fuller, as well as his wife Jeannie and three daughters: Angelica Saylor, Kaitlin Biernat Connell, and Jess Biernat, plus five grandsons and two granddaughters. . According to family members, details regarding a celebration of his life will be announced soon.

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