Bishop Arts News
Record store in Dallas' Oak Cliff to spin off hip new restaurant-lounge
There's a hip new lounge bar restaurant opening in Dallas' Bishop Arts: Called Ladylove, it's going into the favorably located space at 310 W. 7th St. previously occupied by Dallas Grilled Cheese Co., and is forecast to open in early 2023.
Ladylove, whose subhead is "Lounge & Sound," is from David Grover and Kate Siamro, the same amazing team who own Spinster Records, the vinyl record store in Bishop Arts.
Siamro says this fulfills a dream they've nurtured for a few years.
"David and I have been talking about having a lounge but it really came to fruition a few months ago," she says. "It'll be a restaurant and lounge but our main goal is to bring more music to the neighborhood. We feel like Bishop Arts needs more sound."
To that end, the space will include a stage and a DJ booth.
"We love the idea of a spot where you could come on a first date, with a warm and welcoming atmosphere and inspiration from the conversation pits of the '70s, a place you can sit and have a drink for hours," she says.
Grover and Siamro are a cosmopolitan duo who bring a fresh splash of color to Dallas: Grover is a musician who fronted '90s band Loud Sugar and was singer for L.A. bands Drop and The Fizzies, before going to work for retailers like Best Buy. Siamro is a native of Canada and unapologetic "music nerd" who comes from glamorous stock: Her father was in '80s new wave band Direktive 17 and her mother was a model.
They opened Spinster Records in 2014, a pioneer not only in the now-burgeoning vinyl record renaissance but also a relatively early settler in Oak Cliff, first opening at 829 W. Davis St. before relocating to 408 N. Bishop Ave., in the thick of Bishop Arts in 2019.
For the lounge, they initially considered a storefront next to their record store, but then Dallas Grilled Cheese Co. suddenly became available in September.
"At first, we thought it might be too big, but once we walked in, we could envision a great lounge," she says.
Ladylove will draw some inspiration from Spinster, including walls lined with vinyl records, and record-listening nights where you "BYOV," V for vinyl. The lounge will also be available as an event space, with album-release parties surely being one obvious example, but also engagement parties and other festive milestones.
"We hope to have an interesting space with good food and drink, but the quality of sound will be important," she says.
"Listening lounges are a popular concept that haven't yet hit Texas, where you hear vinyl records on high-end equipment," Siamro says. "When you work in the audio industry, it can be challenging going into restaurants with poor sound quality. We want to bring high quality sound, and also offer the opportunity if people want to buy gear like speakers."
For food and drink, they're consulting with Jimmy Contreras, owner of Taco Y Vino, the acclaimed taqueria also in the neighborhood.
"The menu will be concise, with a small selection of cocktails and tapas-style bites — high-quality bites in portions you can share, and not in any one cuisine," she says.
They'll probably go light on beer out of respect to the new brewery and bakery being opened next door by the owners of Oddfellows.
"But think about how great it will be to be able to source our bread from the bakery right next door," Siamro says.
One item that's already been requested reflects the legacy of the space: "People have asked if we'll be offering any grilled cheese sandwiches, I expect we'll have to have at least one," she says.