Photo by Lauren Drewes Daniels
Audio By Carbonatix
The Observer has a column — the Weekly WTF — in which readers submit burning questions about anything related to North Texas. And then we find out. It’s fun, and we love opening the mailbag, so please send us your questions. Here’s the latest we dug into:
From Anna F:
“WTF is up with the old Dickey’s restaurant at 9004 Garland Rd? It is across the street from the former Barbec’s restaurant, which y’all covered recently. Both locations have been getting renovated, but it seems someone may be actually making a move on Dickeys. Hoping for a breakfast joint at one of the locations!!”
Great question, Anna! Yeah, there are two big empty restaurant spaces just across the street on this busy stretch of Garland Road. Seems like a budding chef or baker would snatch one of these up. We read some comments on our piece about Barbec’s, which is still sitting empty, that the asking price was high. So, empty it sits.
We dug into the city portal data and found that (big drum roll) Norma’s Cafe has filed paperwork with the city for the space at 9004 Garland Road! Congratulations, Anna. Dreams do come true on Garland Road. Dreams filed with Mile-High Pie, breakfast and homecookin’.
What TF happened?
Dickey’s has been at that spot on Garland Road for about 20 years. The barbecue chain got its start in Dallas in the ’40s and has more than 800 restaurants across the U.S. now.
The original franchisee at this location, Shahrukh Siddiqui, ran the store for 20 years before retiring in early 2024. In April 2025, he was called off the bench; after he left, the new management team lost an estimated $20,000 per month in sales, according to Yahoo Finance. Ouch.
Siddiqui’s effort was brief, like a whiff of smoke. Perhaps too many bad reviews had been dropped. The shop closed again in early 2026.
The Accela Citizen Portal shows that on July 28, 2026, a certificate of occupancy was issued to Norma’s Cafe. We reached out to the local diner for more information, but didn’t hear back.
Hey there, Norma
Norma’s is one of our favorite diners in Dallas. Their history in the city will do the space and neighborhood well. The diner got its start in Oak Cliff in 1956, and that original location is still thriving with giant breakfast plates and nostalgia.
There are five Norma’s Cafes across North Texas; this will make six. If your arteries aren’t laced with their Mile High Pie or chicken fried steak, then you’re not a proper Dallasite.
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