B.J. Kirby
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B.J. Kirby |
Resurrecting a Great
'Old Dallas' Classic
Kirby's Charcoal Steaks, "Dallas' Original Steakhouse," was owned and operated by B.J. Kirby (no relation) at the original Greenville Avenue location beginning in 1954. For many longtime residents and newcomers alike, it provided a taste of the "Old" Dallas:
It was a place where it was easy to picture the city's movers and shakers from the Fifties and Sixties rubbing elbows with Jack Ruby over the all-you-can-eat salad bar, the great huge baked potatoes and the gigantic, well-marbled smoke-flavored steaks. When B.J. closed the restaurant and retired in 1987, it was to many the National Tragedy of Dallas, a felony compounded by the razing of the building a few short years later to make way for...what else but a parking lot.
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We put the emphasis on wide-open spaces,
earth tones, and just a touch of the old Wild West saloon for an
contemporary update that can still trace its roots to
Past. |
The idea of bringing Kirby's back to Dallas was conceived at a neighborhood gathering: The Ingram family, next-door neighbors to B.J., purchased the name and the recipes -- and then asked Rex Kirby Designs to create the newer, sleeker decor and atmosphere for the second incarnation of Kirby's -- while paying respectful homage to the memory of the old place.
We were both flattered and challenged: The old Kirby's was loved partly because it was such a claustrophobic, ramshackle, ugly duckling of a joint: With the low ceilings, a patchwork layout, carpet dating to the back to the first Roosevelt Administration and the whole place darker than a root-cellar at midnight, it wouldn't exactly suit a brand-new premium restaurant on the brink of the 21st Century.
It was one of our favorite projects. We had just finished doing the Texas Embassy Cantina in London. Being able to come back here for our next project in our own adopted neighborhood, the Lakewood area of Dallas, was a real treat.
What we wanted was Texas Chic, but with some of the feel of Lakewood mixed in. And of course we wanted to be respectful of the history of the place, yet also reflect the fact that it was back in a newer and more modern edition.
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Contemporary spot lighting, traditional Early American
furniture, cozy wood shelves and books and mementoes from the 'old"
Kirby's result in a down-home yet thoroughly modern
restaurant. |
So we used touches of limestone and sandstone, materials which are common in Lakewood. As for the history, we wound up with a whole wall of photographs and memorabilia from the original Kirby's.
The new Kirby's has been well received by both the public and the press.
The Dallas Morning News named Kirby's one of the year's top 10 best new restaurants in Dallas. The Zagat Restaurant Survey placed Kirby's number one in the "Traditional American Restaurant" category for the Dallas Fort Worth Area. And Kirby's opened a second RKD-designed location in Plano at 3408 Preston Road at Parker.
"B.J. looked forward to Kirby's return to Dallas," said Kirby's widow. "While he passed away shortly before the reopening, I know he wished for its success." Kirby's is owned and operated by John and James Ingram, Monte Hough, and Chris Simmons, and they have dedicated their restaurants to the memory of their friend B.J. Kirby.
At RKD, we like to think our design and decorating efforts helped honor that memory.
Visit the Kirby's Steakhouse Website
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