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Food

Cafe Izmir closed in Plano. But don't worry about the funky Dallas restaurant's future

Step off of Greenville Avenue into Cafe Izmir, and there's no doubt where you've landed. The food, the wine, its intimate, funky vibe: It just works.

Cafe Izmir's northernmost location, on Preston Road in Plano, struggled to recreate that Dallas feel. So the restaurant announced Friday that the Plano shop would close on April 7.

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"Our Plano restaurant was a departure from the smaller footprint of the other Cafe Izmir locations," a statement said. "Despite our best efforts, we could not overcome the challenges of operating in a larger restaurant space."

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Open for more than 20 years, the original location on Greenville Avenue has been a standard stop for dinner before a concert at the nearby Granada Theater or a night bar hopping down the popular strip.

That location boasts a packed crowd most nights. Navigating through the close turns of the interior might be tight, but once you're seated under the fairy lights on its enclosed patio, it's oh-so-worth the wait.

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Expect crowds at Cafe Izmir on Lower Greenville: It's a sign that locals like it.
Expect crowds at Cafe Izmir on Lower Greenville: It's a sign that locals like it. (NGUYEN, Huy)

Locals love its live jazz musicians and attentive DJs who help set the mood. That's to say nothing of the food, family recipes, with Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavors.  

The statement calls the closure of the Plano location sad, but "an effort to go back to our roots and core identity."

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Dallasites can still visit Cafe Izmirs on Lower Greenville and in downtown Dallas.