“We just never got busy,” says Finch of the restaurant’s closing. “We opened in the middle of the shutdown and that was a struggle. I kept thinking ‘OK, well, this is over. We’re going to get busy.’ (...) We just never got busy enough to stay open. We just didn’t have enough customers to keep going.”
Thunderbird Station’s launch at the height of the pandemic was a feat in and of itself, with delays being caused by both lockdown and changes in TABC regulations. But its spacious and laid-back patio was an exciting and much-needed new spot for socially distanced hangouts.
In addition to serving down-to-earth comfort food such as bologna sandwiches and Frito pies (we dubbed its menu Best Late-Night Grub in our 2023 Best of Dallas issue) and refreshing specialty cocktails such as the Push-Up Pop-inspired Peel Out, Thunderbird Station also hosted some notable events, such as a special performance from Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova after the 2021 Dallas Reproductive Liberation March.
Pussy Riot’s performance at Thunderbird Station was the last stop of the 2021 Dallas Reproductive Liberation March.
Karlo X Ramos
“As much as I didn’t want to walk away, it was time to cut the losses,” Finch says. “It never made enough to pay for itself. (...) I was going more in debt to keep it open.”
After all the positive attention and goodwill Thunderbird Station accrued during its short run, Finch is as confused as anyone as to why the restaurant still failed to grow a customer base and become sustainable.
“I kind of just have to chalk it up to timing,” she says, sounding unsure and almost phrasing it like a question. “Of course, the first two years [it was] definitely the pandemic. Now it’s just a different world and maybe people just don’t go out as much.”
As for the much-loved menu at Thunderbird Station, we may not have seen the last of certain items. Finch’s other bars, Double Wide in Deep Ellum and Single Wide on Lower Greenville, don’t have kitchens and won’t be able to replicate the food items, but the return of the cocktails is not off the table.
“Some of the drinks might make a guest appearance at Double and Single,” she says. “We’re already talking about how the Peel-Out would make a great summer seasonal at those two since I do frozen seasonals. And I do want to bring over our mocktails because we really had fun doing those mocktails and there are a lot of people not drinking right now. So those will probably come over.”
Finch currently has no plans to open another restaurant and wants to focus her energy on her existing businesses as well as offering assistance to others in marketing and branding their own establishments.
“That’s the fun part,” she says. “Coming up with a fun idea.”
