Coronavirus closures: These Dallas restaurants are shuttering temporarily

March 16, 2020 Dallas News Comments Off on Coronavirus closures: These Dallas restaurants are shuttering temporarily 266 Views

Parks, libraries and cultural centers in Dallas are closed, and most major events have been canceled or postponed. North Texans are being asked to avoid large crowds.

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, some restaurants and cafes have chosen to close, too.

“For me, there’s a lot of social pressure not to be part of the problem,” says Richard Ellman, co-owner of two restaurants that have temporarily shuttered. He operates four restaurant brands in Dallas-Fort Worth. At the remaining two, his plan is to stay open and double down on food delivery.

He’s worried about what’s to come. “Most restaurants cannot survive without sales,” he says. “If this thing goes for more than a few weeks, it’s going to be game over, unless a lot of people are extremely forgiving to restaurants.”

Below is a list of Dallas-area restaurants closing temporarily because of COVID-19 concerns.

We’ll continually update this story. Email sblaskovich@dallasnews.com if you hear of a closed restaurant not on this list.

Gather Kitchen

Downtown Dallas fast-casual restaurant Gather Kitchen is closing temporarily. “The truth is that this decision is the hardest I ever made and might ruin our small business,” writes owner Soraya Spencer, “but it is also the most selfless and responsible one I can make.”

She intends to offer meal-prep options and writes, “this too shall pass.”

Gather Kitchen is at 1601 Elm St., Dallas.

Maru Ramen

Richardson restaurant Maru Ramen closed March 13, with its operators writing on Instagram, “we feel it is best to close until the situation is under control.”

“We hope by doing this, we will do our part to eliminate any chances of potential spreading for any customers,” they write.

Maru Ramen is at 400 N. Greenville Ave., Richardson.

Oak

Dallas Design District steakhouse Oak announced it would close until dinner on March 20. The restaurant has called patrons with reservations to inform them of the closure.

Ellman believes customers at the high-end Oak “don’t want to be part of the problem. I don’t want to be encouraging people. Do we try to market to people to come out anyway, and are we really helping — when we should just say, ‘stay home?’” He says his hourly workers won’t get paid while the restaurant is closed; his salaried workers will.

Oak is at 1628 Oak Lawn Ave., Dallas.

Merchant House

A quirky restaurant near Old Parkland has said it will close until dinner on March 20. Merchant House and Oak are owned by the same parent company, ARG Concepts. They have chosen to keep Pakpao Thai Food and El Bolero Cocina Mexicana open for delivery purposes. ARG Concepts is also working on opening an upscale restaurant on the AT&T campus in downtown Dallas called Hawthorn. The opening date for that is in limbo, Ellman says, until they have a clearer vision of how coronavirus concerts will affect the restaurant.

Merchant House is at 4040 Maple Ave., Dallas.

Center Cafe

The coffee and pastry shop in the AT&T Performing Arts Center, located in the Dallas Arts District, closes at 5:30 p.m. on March 13 and is expected to remain closed through March 19. The news comes in tandem with widespread closures at the ATTPAC, including performances by Dallas Theater Center and The Dallas Opera.

Center Cafe was previously open weekdays only, 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m, and for two hours before ATTPAC performances. It serves coffee, lunch and pre-theater food.

Center Cafe is at 2353 Flora St., Dallas.

Gold Rush Cafe*

Lakewood diner Gold Rush Cafe announced it would close March 14 and 15 as operators worked “on a proper plan moving forward to ensure the safety of our customers and employees, a.k.a. family, during the COVID-19 outbreak.”

*Update on March 15: The restaurant — which is popular among Lakewood regulars — announced on March 15 it would be open for to-go orders only. A post on social media notes “this is on a week to week basis.”

Gold Rush Cafe is at 1913 Skillman St., Dallas. 214-823-6923.

Jimmy’s Food Store*

*Jimmy’s Food Store is not closed completely, but its restaurant is closed to dine-in customers for now. Anyone stopping into the East Dallas haunt for a sandwich can take food to-go.

A statement from Jimmy’s also says that it’s low on grocery supplies. The shop is known for its pizzas, pasta, meatballs and cheese. “If you’re coming to buy some of our house made specialties, let me save you a trip,” says a company statement. “We are out of or low of most of them.” When the owners posted this note, they said their shop still had dried pasta, frozen pizza dough, cheese and the like — but call before you go.

Jimmy’s Food Store is at 4901 Bryan St., Dallas.

Other cities are experiencing restaurant closures as well. In New York City, restaurateur Danny Meyer’s restaurants such as Gramercy Tavern and Union Square Cafe are “closed until further notice,” says a New York Times article.

In Spain, Italy and France, all restaurants have closed. All three countries have seen higher COVID-19 numbers than in the United States, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

On March 15, state governments in Illinois and Ohio ordered all bars and restaurants to close. The governor of California is requesting that bars, nightclubs and wineries close starting on March 16 — but hasn’t mandated the full closure of restaurants yet.

What about the Dallas restaurants that are still open?

Many restaurants in North Texas have posted plans to sanitize their kitchens and dining rooms. Others are starting to offer delivery services so customers don’t have to leave their homes.

On March 12, Dr. Bijal Balasubramanian, epidemiologist and regional dean of the UTHealth School of Public Health, Dallas campus, told The Dallas Morning News “it is OK” for healthy people to eat in restaurants. Here are her suggestions.

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