La Calle Doce on Skillman reopened last week after a fire shuttered it last year, and it’s got a jazzy new look. Manager Jesus Sanchez said he could’ve reopened in three months with much the same look as before, but he took almost seven months because wanted to rethink the restaurant’s design. "When we took over 10 years ago, it was a jazz club and it was laid out like a club," Sanchez said. The bar was at the back of the space and raised a foot or so higher than the rest of the floor.
Sanchez moved the bar to the front of the restaurant and had the concrete floors lacquered a shiny blue to go with the restaurant’s blue-and-white color scheme. A loft, which had been an enclosed office, was opened up and now has a few tables. Overall, it has a brighter, more spacious look. The space has a homey feel reminiscent of the restaurant’s other location in Oak Cliff but with a few modern touches, such as slender pendulum lamps and recessed shelving for a tequila collection.
Patrons of the original Oak Cliff location on 12th Street will wait an hour for a table on the weekends, but Lakewood folks are more impatient, and they have more options, Sanchez said. The bigger, more inviting bar space and a bigger lobby area were designed to keep them hanging around a little while longer during busy dinner services. Sanchez is planning a grand reopening in about three weeks. We’ll keep you posted on that.
