The Sandbar Cantina and Grill at 317 Second Ave. in Deep Ellum will have a soft opening this weekend. They're hosting the College Beach Volley Regional Championships on Saturday beginning at 8 a.m. and some league play on Sunday.
The guys behind Sandbar are a group of friends who have played beach volleyball at various levels. Currently they run the Champion Beach Volleyball Club, which was a program designed by former Olympic gold winner Phil Dalhausser and former pro Skyler Davis. The facility is a place to train and host tournaments, but they also decided to add a few amenities for lesser inclined athletes.
In addition to the courts, there's a bar, cantina, plenty of patio space, white Caribbean beach sand, some 20-foot palm trees and eventually a pool. Mike Morgan of Sandbar said, "We want to recreate a beach environment in Dallas. We've been calling it 'Beach Ellum.'"
The kitchen isn't cooking yet, but will be within two weeks. Sticking to the whole "finely tuned athlete" thing, they'll offer healthy fare in addition to some high-end cantina grub (the menu hasn't been released yet).
Sandbar will serve different purposes for different groups. At some point they hope to host, Crossfit 214 sand training classes. They'll also hold club volleyball practices and events, including local leagues.The bar and grill will serve food and drinks and the second story patio provides a great view of downtown.
Sandbar is jumping through hoops to work out all the amazing Mensa-esque details with city of Dallas' permit and code procedures. Once that's nice and tidy, they'll be beach ready. But, beginning Saturday, the bar is open and the games are on.
