Jimmie Harris and Johnny Meredith of Kel's Kitchen: Photo by Mark Davis

Jimmie Harris and Johnny Meredith of Kel’s Kitchen: Photo by Mark Davis

Rumors spread for months about the fate of the neighborhood dining institution, and the Dallas Morning News confirms it. Owner Johnny Meredith has been struggling to keep Kel’s open and held out hope that someone else would buy it. A deal never materialized, which means it’s the end for beloved dive, in business since 1963.

When people say Kel’s regulars were loyal, they mean it. I’ve met people who dine there on eggs and bacon every single day (good for the soul, maybe not for the arteries). I interviewed Meredith in 2011, and he told me of a time many years ago when a tornado hit the area, causing the roof to blow off and parts of the building to fall on top of parked cars. “It was scary,” owner Johnny Meredith said. “The place was packed, and people were still saying, ‘Where’s my hamburger?”

If you want to say farewell to Kel’s, you’d better get there quick. He told the DMN the doors would close “any day.”