Breakfast News
Restaurant in Dallas' Lakewood closes despite crowd-pleasing hours and brunch
Buzzbrews classic entree with famed garlic marble potatoes.
A popular brunch spot in Dallas' Lakewood neighborhood has closed: Buzzbrews Kitchen, the local chain of diner-style restaurants that specializes in both breakfast and late-night hours, has closed its location at 5815 Live Oak St. at the intersection of Skillman.
A spokesperson confirmed that the Lakewood location had closed on August 30 after nearly a decade in the space, and that employees from that location would join the crew at the other two remaining locations in Deep Ellum and off US-75 near Fitzhugh.
You could not ask for a more customer-friendly concept than Buzzbrews, with its affordable menu of American and Mex-tinged dishes such as migas for $11.49 and chicken in tomatillo sauce for only $13.
Buzzbrews also keeps long hours, open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and well into the late night as well. Finding places where you can get half-decent food at 1 am is not easy.
On August 16, the Lakewood location foreshadowed its departure with a post questioning why someone in the neighbohood had called Dallas Code Compliance with a complaint about a banner sign that was hanging on the restaurant exterior. (The banner was just the restaurant's name but apparently someone found it to be unattractive.)
"We have stuck it out over the past 4 1/2 years not for profit but for the coummunity," the post said. "Life is funny. You don't miss it until it's gone. What a wake up call. It's been a great 8 years serving this community. We thank you."
The post does not say which inhospitable neighbor made the complaint, but overall, Lakewood can be a notoriously tough crowd for restaurants.
On Wednesday, neighbors observed a "for lease" sign on the corner and staffers moving furniture out of the building, noting that "someone had recently called code enforcement on their little vertical banner signs which wasn't real neighborly."
Other factors to consider: A few months ago, the location was robbed and management said there was not enough money to pay staff, prompting one customer to do an online fundraiser. And on August 30, the landlord posted a notice on the door for nonpayment of rent, although that may have been after the restaurant had already decided to vacate.
Buzzbrews stuck it out in a location that's had a lot of history. It was once Tipperary Inn, a popular Irish pub, which closed in 2009. Another pub called Molly McGuire's gave it a shot for a couple of years, but closed in 2011 when the landlord terminated the lease because they were supposedly searching for a "national-level tenant". Maybe the landlord is the problem here.
In 2012, venerable home cooking/breakfast joint The Mecca, which would have seemed like a slam-dunk, moved into the space. They closed in 2014.
Buzzbrews surely gave it their all with drag brunches, open mic nights, and other entertainment, and briefly tried to split the space in two and adding a pub called the Brewers Arms, but never marketed it as such.
The Denim Danger is one of Lemma's popular specialty drinks.Photo courtesy of Lemma Coffee Co.