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Uncle Uber’s Sammich Shop has been pushing out some fantastic sandwiches for about a decade now. So, when a hangry editor popped over for lunch about a month ago and the door was locked, he needed answers.
Owner Ken Rothman has had businesses in Deep Ellum for 25 years, and he’s seen the ever-changing faces of the neighborhood, which led him to rethink how they’re using the space now.
“It didn’t make sense to close at 8 at night when there are all these bars just opening up around us at that time,” Rothman says, who has two other local bars, Harwood Tavern and Green Door Public House.
So, they shut down the restaurant for about a month to reinvent the space, allowing them to extend hours to accommodate a late-night crowd. Rather than “Sammich Shop," it now bears the more mature “Bar and Grill” surname.
EXPAND"I really like what I’m seeing," Rothman says of the pre- and post-pandemic vibe in Deep Ellum. "It’s restaurants, not just bars. And the crowd is starting much earlier. Instead of being dead until 10 or 10:30 at night, now people are here at 7 o’clock on Friday and Saturday nights. And I think it’s already busy again [post-COVID capacity restrictions]. And the clubs haven’t even opened yet.”
The biggest difference regulars will notice, or have to get used to, is its table service. So, instead of ordering at the counter, grab a table. Or grab a bar stool for a to-go order.
The full menu is still intact and always available, only now it's available well into the night. Plus, there are a few new late-night bar items.
Otherwise, the interior is less cluttered with a new coat of cream paint on a brick wall in the back with a large TV in the middle. A garage door was installed to open the space up with a few tables spilling onto the small patio. There’s a pool table and TouchTunes jukebox too (to play your walk-in music).
Rothman says they might do some live music down the road on the small stage in the corner. The past two weekends they’ve had a DJ at night.
Uncle Uber's Bar and Grill, 2713 Commerce St. Open 11 a.m. to midnight Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday.
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