The Romeos at Midway Point included, from left, Phil Faulkner, Denis McMahon, Charlie Doyle, Joe Bates, Richard Welch, Bob Kelly and Roger Nolan. (Photo by Lauren Law)
Popular Preston Hollow watering hole Midway Point reopened with a bang on June 1, at 14831 Midway Road in Addison.
First established in 1980, Midway Point relocated from a space south of LBJ on Midway Road when it lost its lease due to sale of the property which is being reconfigured into an urgent care facility. The new location is exactly 1.8 miles north of the old location in Midway Square Center (next to Ferrari’s), between Beltway and Proton on the west side of Midway Road.
After seven long weeks of packing, loading furniture and memorabilia, cleaning out and reorganizing the new space (formerly Tailgaters), Ellen and Jim Latchaw opened for lunch to a large crowd of loyal customers. I stopped by, sat at the bar and for the first time I enjoyed one of their delicious old-fashioned hamburgers I’d heard about. I’ve never had a burger that tasted quite like this one — crispy cool lettuce and tomatoes on one side and a warm, juicy hamburger patty with cheese on the other. Later that night my husband and I returned for the all-you-can eat catfish night (served every Wednesday after 6 p.m.) and though we took it to go, he thoroughly enjoyed his catfish and I loved my chicken Caesar salad.
All of the regulars were there opening night, including the Culture Club, a group of widows and widowers who have been meeting at Midway Point each week for the last 10 years. Missing from the crowd were the Romeos (Retired Old Men Eating Out Socially), who decided to give the place a week or so of being open before reuniting their group. The Romeos have been meeting at Midway Point every Wednesday for lunch for the last 20+ years. Bob James, now deceased, originated the group in the late ‘90s at the very first Midway Point, which was located in the shopping center just south of the last location off Midway.
The current Romeos are a wonderfully interesting group of retired businessmen who worked in the fields of sales, law, insurance and international purchasing. Phil Faulkner, a retired insurance company executive, has been to Ireland 31 times; Roger Nolan, spent his career in the Army & Airforce Exchange, and Richard Welch was an international purchasing agent and has traveled all over the world. Joe Dominy, a retired businessman and company owner, takes a lot of cruises; Joe Bates was an attorney in the securities field; Denis McMahon sold paper cups and containers to companies like Southland/7-Eleven and McDonalds; Charlie Doyle was in pharmaceutical sales for Wyeth and J&J, and, Bob Kelly was an entrepreneur, sales agency owner and volunteer tall ship sailor (see my recent story about Kelly’s adventures). Deceased member, Bob Flatley was a WWII fighter pilot who flew a P-38 Lightning, a propeller-driven fighter aircraft, before becoming a mattress salesman. Ironically, members who continue to meet are all of Irish descent (not a requirement) and range in age from their late 70s to mid-80s.
While sitting there having lunch with this group of gentlemen and my son, I asked what advice they had for a 13-year-old as he contemplates what he may want to do in life. Kelly advises, “Find something you like to do and find a way to make money at it.” That’s the same piece of advice he gave all his children and it is great advice for anyone seeking employment or contemplating their next career move. As I was sitting there listening to the Romeos, I paused to realize why I like mom and pop owned places. Midway Point is a little piece of Americana right in North Dallas, filled with real people and untold stories that is what makes living in this part of the city so unique.
Midway Point is open Mon-Thurs 11am-midnight; Fri-Sat 11am-1:am; and, Sun 11am-11pm.
