Tango Frogs at Taco Cabana. Photography by Danny Fulgencio.
The Tango Frogs are getting an update.
Most recently, the dancing statues were located at Truck Yard, located on Sears Street near Greenville Avenue. But since Truck Yard closed a couple of months ago for a renovation project, the frogs have been moved, and they’re now being repainted.
The artist fixing up the statues, Ken Robison, says he worked with Bob “Daddy-O” Wade, the creator of the frogs, who died in December 2019. Along with other works, the frogs got a shoutout in Wade’s obituary in The New York Times.
When Robison is done, he says the frogs will be reinstalled at Truck Yard. Robison asked that we not share a photo of the frogs while he’s still working. But we are keeping an eye on the situation, and we’ll share an update when the frogs are camera-ready.
The statues were first located at the Tango nightclub on Greenville Avenue. That was back in the 1980s, and there were six frogs then.
Later, they were moved to Carl’s Corner truck stop on Interstate 35 in Hillsboro. After a fire, three were sent to a Chuy’s in Houston, and three stayed in Texas. In 2014, Taco Cabana on Lowest Greenville (now a Starbucks) brought three of them back to our neighborhood, their original home.
The Advocate reported in 2020, after Taco Cabana closed, that the dancing frogs would be donated to Truck Yard, a bar that has come to be known for its humorous signs.
“Truck Yard has always desire and worked toward being an iconic Dallas location that our city can be proud of,” Truck Yard owner Jason Boso said at the time. “We will position the ‘Tango Frogs’ so they can be an Instagram-worthy staple in our city and to show appreciation of this ‘unfrogettable’ artwork.”
Truck Yard, which opened in 2013, was hesitant to share any details about its ongoing renovation project. However, as of publication, the bar tells us it’s planning to reopen in March.
From the street, we can see that a new structure has been added, and there is new concrete. We’ll share updates on progress as we learn more.
Truck Yard is closed for a renovation project. Photography by Renee Umsted.
