Cafe Gecko closed in Addison after 30 years - The Dallas Morning News

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It’s been a tough season for restaurant closures in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Cafe Gecko, a Caribbean cafe in Addison that opened in late 1991, is officially closed as of Dec. 1, 2021.

Founder and CEO Dennis Dial has plans to move the bar to downtown Plano and reopen in 2022.

Regulars Richard Staggs, Clark Anderson and Walter Otstott share a last round before Cafe Gecko closed in 2021.

“We’re uprooting it,” he says: the staff and the stuff. But he recognizes the move across town is “of little comfort for people who have been going to Addison for 30 years.”

Cafe Gecko joins other long-time restaurants making their exits this year. Cosmic Cafe on Dallas’ Oak Lawn Avenue closed after 26 years; the Metropolitan Cafe closed in downtown Dallas after 20 years; Luna’s Tortillas y Hacienda, near the medical district in Dallas, closed after 13; Oak steakhouse in the Dallas Design District closed after 10.

Bavarian Grill in Plano is closing after 28 years — but moving to a new spot, like Cafe Gecko. So is the original Fred’s Texas Cafe in Fort Worth: closing at the end of 2021 after 43 years and relocating 7 miles away.

Anvil Pub and BrainDead Brewing closed recently, too.

Cafe Gecko’s lease was not renewed after its 30-year stay on Belt Line Road. “It wasn’t my choice,” Dial says.

Cafe Gecko was open from 1991 to 2021 in Addison. Here's a photo from our 1992 restaurant review.

He recounts a heartfelt history in his come-as-you-are beach bar:

“It’s kind of crazy to me that I started it on a shoestring, on a whim 30 years ago. It took on a life of its own,” he says in an interview. “People have met there, got married, then they had kids and their kids are coming in there. The 30-year span is kind of mind-boggling.”

Addison was Dial’s first Cafe Gecko. Others are in Richardson, Fairview and West Plano, and they will remain open, operated by Dial, his partners or former employees. The new one, in East Plano, will open as soon as possible, Dial says.

Roland the Moose — a fixture in Addison — will move to the downtown Plano shop. (What’s that all about? Our critic Waltrina Stovall explained way back in 1992: “Cafe Gecko is named after a tropical lizard, so it seems odd that a moose head looks out over the black tables and booths. But then again, the cafe is all the better for being unpredictable.”)

Cafe Gecko is a meet-up drinking spot, but Dial thinks its difference-maker is the food. The sour cream enchiladas and seafood nachos are the most popular dishes, and they’re all available at the other Cafe Geckos and at the coming-soon one in East Plano.

“Anybody can make a cocktail. Anybody can make a beer cold,” Dial says. “It’s the food that’s kept us going, through the ups and downs.”

Cafe Gecko in Addison was at 5290 Belt Line Road, Dallas. It closed Dec. 1, 2021. The others remain, at 6145 Windhaven Parkway in Plano; 239 Town Place in Fairview; and 1381 W. Campbell Road in Richardson.

A new Cafe Gecko is expected to open soon at 1410 Avenue K in Plano.

For more food news, follow Sarah Blaskovich on Twitter at @sblaskovich.

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Cafe Gecko closed in Addison after 30 years - The Dallas Morning News
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