Strangeways Fights for its Right to Stay Open

When sibling co-owners Eric Sanchez and Rosie Ildemaro announced they were closing Strangeways in October after 12 years, the news hit many like a 10-ton truck. Since then, countless friends and former regulars have passed through the door for the pleasure and the privilege of saying goodbye to the beloved East Dallas bar. Those farewells may be premature, however.

Sanchez and Ildemaro are currently in the process of taking legal action to stop the sale of the building. They cite their first right of refusal, built into their lease, as their case to negate the sale. With the building tied up in legal limbo, Strangeways remains open.

“We're fighting for it,” Sanchez said. “We appreciate everyone's support, and we're going to fight tooth and nail to laugh about this, hopefully in the super near future, and say, ‘Remember when we almost lost Strangeways?’ So, fingers crossed. That's what we're fighting for.”

They have hired a lawyer, dug the lease out of storage and filed a lawsuit against the sale of the property. Both owners say they didn’t know they had legal standing to challenge the sale until customers, who were attorneys or worked in real estate, encouraged them to act. “We know drinks,” Ildemaro said. “I know shoes. Eric knows drinks. We know a lot of things. We don't know the law. We don't know real estate law. And also, we just thought it was our landlord's decision to walk away from us.”

Sanchez and Ildemaro say there has been a significant amount of confusion surrounding the sale.

“I think everyone just rushed to try to scoop this up before anyone realized what was happening,” Ildemaro said.

Strangeways remains open, but circumstances had forced the owners to adjust their business. After all, they’ve been operating under the assumption that they were closing for almost two months. They lost two employees: a bartender and a member of the kitchen staff. On a recent visit, Sanchez was the one preparing food. They also recently sold off some of the rare beers they had on hand.

But staying open has also allowed people to pay their respects and revisit a place that holds countless memories for many after more than a decade. Sanchez and Ildemaro say they love seeing familiar faces return after life had intervened, keeping them away for whatever reason.

“Just seeing the support was the biggest silver lining, actually,” Sanchez said. “Just seeing how much we meant to so many people we hadn't seen in eight, nine years. And I get it. Life happens. We all grow up — kids, marriage. We're not going to be at a bar three, four times a week. I get that.

“But it was cool to see everybody come and make a pilgrimage and say, ‘Oh my God, this is where I had my first date. I'm married now, and we have children now because of the first date here. There's some magic about the building, you guys, the music,’ and all that stuff. We heard that time and time again.”

In that regard, the uncertainty surrounding Strangeways’ future has been a blessing. No matter how the legal drama surrounding the sale of the building unfolds, the impression Strangeways left on the people who called it home ensures its light will never go out.

“Every day that goes by and I get to unlock the doors here, it's just a win,” Sanchez said. “So, yeah, so happy to still be here. And I said, hopefully in the near future, we can look back and say, ‘Goddamn, that was a close one,’ but we're still here.”