Courtesy of Hattie B’s, Joseph Woodley
Audio By Carbonatix
Deep Ellum has always been a hotspot for restaurants, clubs, music and, more recently, hot chicken. In 2022, the Nashville-based chicken shop, Hattie B’s, opened on Main Street in the heart of the entertainment district. This was the chain’s fourth location outside its home state.
Today the company announced that the Deep Ellum restaurant will close on Aug. 2 at 8 p.m.
“We’re grateful for the opportunity to operate in Deep Ellum,” Hattie B’s vice president of operations Jonathan Carothers says. “While we’ve made the difficult decision to close this restaurant and focus efforts on opening in Oak Lawn this fall, we’re thankful to the community and our staff, most of whom will continue to serve our Dallas guests in a few short months.”
As mentioned, earlier this year Hattie B’s announced plans to open in another area of the city – in the standalone former IHOP at 3827 Lemmon Ave. The space has also served as an Einstein’s Bros Bagels and, more recently, a Lucky’s Hot Chicken. The new restaurant is expected to open in the fall, which poses the curious but perhaps not surprising point: it’s not the city that wasn’t working, but the neighborhood.
Deep Ellum is constantly trying to find its footing, from a live music mecca in the ’90s, ebbing and flowing with high-end shopping at one end (Patagonia) to divey live music venues. The pandemic certainly changed things when downtown workers started working remotely, and many restaurants lost a reliable lunch crowd. The daytime weekend crowds at markets and restaurants feels different than in the evening. Deep Ellum is a kaleidoscope of changing faces.
Hattie B’s marks the second chain closing in just a few weeks; the clubstaurant Federales closed abruptly on July 2.
The company reports that management at the Deep Ellum restaurant notified workers that the location is closing earlier this week, “offering two bonuses in addition to regular pay through Aug. 2, and the opportunity to work at the forthcoming Oak Lawn location.”
The new Hattie B’s on Lemmon Avenue is expected to open in the fall.
