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Kitchen 1924 Closes: GM Speaks

Posted on July 29th, 2008 11:25am by Nancy Nichols
Filed under Closings, Restaurant News

Dishers, Kitchen 1924 general manager Michael Durkin left a comments in the post below. I’ve pulled it out to give him a proper platform:

On behalf of myself and Shawn I want to launch an honest “Thank You” to any and all of our customers and employees. Especially the employees. We hired our people based on character and experience, in that order, and we ended up with some remarkable talent. I am happy to report that most of them were free agents for about an hour and you will be able to see them soon at some of the other great dining rooms of the city.

Shawn may have an “official statement” at some point, but the reality can be shared on SideDish. The bottom line is that we were undercapitalized from the beginning and got a little under the weight of the operations. Despite great results, we were unable to get out of the hole and you know the economy story, blah, blah, blah.

Shawn is taking some time off, in the short term, and he will be bringing his big restaurant brain back to the city’s scene soon.

We had a blast and blazed a trail. Someone great, please take our space in that little strip shopping center in the heart of Lakewood; there’s good mojo there.

as we have often said here,
“Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride”
-Michael Durkin
General Manager, Kitchen 1924

…fyi; Durkin’s Pizza #1 under construction now on HWY 121 & Custer in McKinney open Oct. 1. Durkin’s Pizza #2(Tollway&El Dorado), Durkin’s Pizza #3 (HWY 75 & HWY 380) coming soon. Rock n’ Roll themed, throwback pizzerias…coming soon. That was an hyper-obnoxious plug, sorry.

13 Comments to “Kitchen 1924 Closes: GM Speaks”

Amy S @ July 29th, 2008 at 12:15 pm

I just want to cry, these guys had a great spot. Boys, please remember than most entrepreneurs have failed on either their first, second, third tries – they just don’t give up. I’m taking the ride up to 121 & Custer in October!
CDI @ July 29th, 2008 at 1:18 pm

Well this just stinks! One of the best places to eat in Lakewood.
Ryan Tole @ July 29th, 2008 at 5:44 pm

That makes two of, Amy. I’ll miss Kitchen 1924.
Ashley Sharp @ July 29th, 2008 at 11:09 pm

Shawn you had an awesome place that will be very missed. I will still be looking for that “lakewood love.”

Ashley from pp
RP @ July 29th, 2008 at 11:16 pm

I’m devastated. This was the site of our engagement dinner—and some of the best food around….
Carla @ July 29th, 2008 at 11:26 pm

Cheers to those few people left in the world who dare to make the sacrifices required to live the dream.. do what they love…try something new… and who have the courage to pick themselves up and keep going when things get rough.

….because we all still have to eat somewhere…
Jim Osterberg @ July 30th, 2008 at 12:51 am

I don’t think Dallas knows exactly what niche has just been vacated. Where else in this “progressive city” can one go and eat roast duck breast with a morel mushroom cream sauce and gouda grits while listening to “Straight to Hell” by the Clash on the PA? Is there another restaurant in the city or even the world where you can challenge the merits of Iggy Pop or The Pogues over a bottle of twentieth century Bordeaux? Where else can you dine with Jim “Reverend Horton Heat” Heath or Captain Kangaroo? This is truly the end of an era. I hope that Shawn can carry on the tradition he started at 1924. I hope that Mike Durkin’s pizza place in North Dallas can keep the vibe that he helped create in Lakewood. This was the perfect storm in the restaurant industry. While the Stephen Pyles’ and the Crafts and the Ghostbars conquered Dallas, only one restaurant over the past few years was able to capture the soul of a neighborhood, the attitude of a culture, and the charisma of a historic city, and that was Kitchen 1924. This week, we lost more than just a place to talk about, a place to be nourished, a place to nosh… we lost a brother. An innovative team put this together and I can’t wait to see what they do next.
A.Stewert @ July 30th, 2008 at 1:00 am

I am sorry to hear this…
k @ July 30th, 2008 at 9:24 am

I too will miss Kitchen 1924- but I think the location also helped kill the deal. There has to be a spot on Henderson that would be perfect for something similar. Aging boomers want “down home gourmet” mixed witht the Clash!
Bobby Ewing @ July 30th, 2008 at 2:27 pm

Boo hoo, boo hoo….thanks for the excellence.
Crystal and David Carroum @ July 30th, 2008 at 2:48 pm

We are heartbroken about the passing of 1924. We just did not believe it when we heard. Shawne, Michael, and staff–please don’t give up! Lakewood is your home and we will always support you in any venture. If we had only known this was a possibility, we could have rallied to save you. No one wanted to see you go. Please, please, please try again! And for heaven’s sake don’t go to Henderson!
Cindy and Stirling Mays @ August 1st, 2008 at 10:14 pm

OMG…we are totally devastated. Went over tonight to have dinner and found the place closed up! Kitchen 1924 is irreplaceable for us. Say it ain’t so, say it ain’t so!!!I hope you’ll let all of your loyal customers know where you all end up…we will soooooooo go there!!!
Meg Flynn @ August 20th, 2008 at 9:49 pm

my boyfriend was the former pastry chef at “the kitchen” as we call it, and he was devistated when i told him that i saw on here that it closed! we had so much fun there…the guys took him under their wings as the kid from kansas and he will always remember them i am sure…so durkin and shawn if you see this, we wish you the best and alex says hi!! dallas wont be the same when we come visit from kansas!!!! it was nice knowing you guys…let us know what you do next and we’ll make a trip to check it out…