It's only been a few years since The Prophet Bar started serving booze -- a change that took place when the long-running Christian rock venue The Door changed its name to The Prophet Bar and moved into the space once occupied by The Gypsy Tea Room.
The new space for the venue also came equipped with a full-service kitchen, which has gone unused for years. Until now, turns out.
At the end of this week, Prophet Bar owner and Deep Ellum lifer Russell Hobbs tells DC9, the venue will start serving up food for its patrons.
"Basically, it's sort of a campaign to get use out of the place when we don't have a cool show," says Hobbs. "We've been totally show-oriented for years, but, at this point, there's a lot of venues, there's a lot of competition and there's not as many tours, so we're going to open up the realm inside our business where we can do no cover -- just come down, eat and drink, and have fun."
The menu, which is still being worked out, will consist of burger
baskets and other pub grub, as well as some interesting items like
brisket sandwiches and fajita tacos. And not long after the kitchen
opens, Hobbs has some other renovations in store for The Prophet Bar.
"We're kind of re-doing the whole place," he says. "We're opening a patio on the Elm Street entrance, too."
The introduction of food doesn't mean that the venue's concert calendar
will slow down, though. Hobbs just hopes that the food will be an added bonus for
concertgoers.
"When people have been drinking all night, they're not going to be
leaving like that -- intoxicated," Hobbs says. "I like people to leave
after they've had something to eat."