- Local
- Community
- Journalism
Support the independent voice of Dallas and help keep the future of Dallas Observer free.
Quite a scene down at City Hall this very moment, as the council chamber's filled with Deep Ellum and Exposition Park regulars who jammed into the joint like there was an open bar and the promise of a Funland reunion. Alas, only bad news so far for most who'd come to the City Plan Commission's meeting during which several bars and live-music venues are having their specific use permit hearings.
Just moments ago, the commission voted, by a margin of 9-3, to deny without prejudice the Monkey Bar's SUP, which means that unless the venue formerly known as XPO Lounge (and, well before that, 500 Cafe and Mac's Barbecue) can get the city council to overturn the commission's vote, Monkey Bar is gone.
"Sure, we could appeal to the council, but I don't know what good it's going to do," Gerald Stogsdill, owner of the Monkey Bar (and former co-owner of XPO Lounge), tells Unfair Park. "Now it's going to be nothing. They'll have a vacant building down there."
After Monkey Bar's fate was decided by the comission, Minc Lounge's was put on hold for one week. Monkey Bar likewise got a one-week extension last Thursday, only to discover it was but a stay of execution after a majority of the commissioners sided with the handful of Monkey Bar neighbors who complained of excessive noise and, oh, the occasional vomit on the sidewalk. More to come shortly. --Robert Wilonsky
Keep the Dallas Observer Free... Since we started the Dallas Observer, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Dallas, and we would like to keep it that way. Offering our readers free access to incisive coverage of local news, food and culture. Producing stories on everything from political scandals to the hottest new bands, with gutsy reporting, stylish writing, and staffers who've won everything from the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi feature-writing award to the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism. But with local journalism's existence under siege and advertising revenue setbacks having a larger impact, it is important now more than ever for us to rally support behind funding our local journalism. You can help by participating in our "I Support" membership program, allowing us to keep covering Dallas with no paywalls.
