Cajun-Asian restaurant Krio closed in late September 2023, but co-owners Connie Cheng and Dan Bui are already planning for its next life as a sports bar.
The as-yet-unnamed sports bar will be a “totally different concept,” Cheng says — one that has higher alcohol sales and less of a focus on hard-to-get seafood.
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Construction on Krio started before the COVID-19 pandemic, but the restaurant didn’t open until June 2020 — three months into social distancing and mask-wearing, and during a season of on-again, off-again bar restrictions for pandemic safety reasons.
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“We did the best that we could,” Cheng says of operating a new restaurant under the financial constraints of the coronavirus pandemic.
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She cites rising food and labor costs, coupled with the “big boom of restaurants opening after COVID,” as factors that made it hard for Krio to compete for business, despite its lovely Instagram presence. Parking was tough because of continued construction in the area, Cheng says.
A “more numbers-driven” establishment is what’s needed at their corner of W. Seventh Street and N. Zang Boulevard, near the heart of the Bishop Arts District, Cheng says.
All chicken wings at the coming-soon sports bar in the Bishop Arts District will be gluten-free, made with rice flour batter. The sauces are also gluten-free. (Krio)
The sports bar will amp up the alcoholic offerings. Instead of serving snow crab and other high-cost seafood formerly found at Krio, the bar will focus on chicken wings and boiled shrimp. They hope to have crawfish boils during Mardi Gras season, and customers who enjoy the Cajun flavors found at Krio will find some of those at the new bar.
“We will be open seven days a week, for lunch and dinner, to capture that business and hospital crowd,” Cheng says. “With a sports bar, we’ll be able to watch food costs better, with a smaller menu.”
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Longtime Krio fans might be glad to hear the gluten-free batter on the chicken wings will carry over to the sports bar.
Will they keep the chargrilled oysters, a deliciously garlicky appetizer Krio was so known for? Maybe, Cheng says.
The white, airy room with stylish tile will be gutted. Las Vegas casino-style TVs — a big block of televisions showing a variety of games — will be hung up high, with elevated booths that act kind of like stadium seating.
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Bui co-owns a cocktail bar in Oak Cliff called Atlas, and Cheng says Krio kitchen staffers can work at that bar while the restaurant is renovated.
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“It was a very bittersweet goodbye,” Cheng says of Krio. The sports bar in its place is expected to open before the end of 2023.
Krio closed at 233 W. Seventh St., Dallas, on Sept. 25, 2023. The sports bar is expected to open in its place in late 2023.
For more food news, follow Sarah Blaskovich on X (formerly Twitter) at @sblaskovich.
Sports bar in Oak Cliff will replace Cajun-Asian restaurant Krio, now closed
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