Just one week after the owner of Amsterdam Bar, one of Exposition Park's longest running bars, announced it would shutter, news comes that it will be replaced.
Eight Bells Alehouse, a venture by Meri Dahlke and Michael Hickey of Ten Bells Tavern in Bishop Arts District, is slated to move in and, if all goes well, open its doors by the end of May, according to Dahlke.
"We've actually been looking for a second location for a while now and that spot became available," she said by phone. "It was really perfect timing."
Ten Bells Tavern is named for a pub in London where Dahlke frequently visits - once a year for the last 25, to be exact. She said the pub was originally called Eight Bells, taking its name from a church near where it is located. When the church added bells, the pub's name changed.
Dahlke says she and her crews won't do much in terms of changing the space; keeping the bones and repainting to make it their own. The concept will resemble Ten Bells in atmosphere.
"A casual spot where you can grab a pint or house-made cocktails," she said. There will be food, too, with a European influence, but the details are still in the works.
Some recently argued that Exposition Park is becoming a gravesite for former bars, but Dahlke doesn't see it that way. In fact, there are two additional new business that plan to open up in the neighborhood soon, according to a press release from Madison Partners, which manages real estate in the area:
- Expo Bar and Grill, from the former owner of Lakewood Theater and Arcade Bar. This will take over the space formerly Meridian Room and promises " a small menu of well-crafted comfort food and will be designed as a comfortable and approachable neighborhood saloon featuring local craft beer," according to the release.
- Noble Coyote Coffee Roasters will be moving operations from East Dallas to the space at 819 Exposition Avenue near Sandaga. The space will serve as both a roaster and a retail location. It's expected to open late-spring, according to owner Kevin Sprague.
These businesses join cult favorites like Craft & Growler and Pizza Lounge right near the entrance of Fair Park.
