FORT WORTH -- The 8.0 Restaurant & Bar, a Sundance Square centerpiece for 18 years, will close Feb. 24 and make way for a new, larger Flying Saucer Draught Emporium, owner Shannon Wynne said Monday.
The Flying Saucer will move in late April, said Wynne, who owns both restaurants. A new restaurant will replace the current Saucer in the historic Land Title Block building, which is due to be restored as part of Sundance Square's development of a central plaza and addition of a new adjacent building.The 8.0 will close with both a public farewell party and a charity benefit where the bar's original murals will be auctioned either whole or by the piece, Wynne said. He said the artists have agreed to donate the proceeds to the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.The restoration of the 1889-vintage Land Title Block spurred the move, Wynne said. A newer back annex will be removed, he said, eliminating the current kitchen and bathrooms."We confronted the fact that the Saucer would be without a home and decided to make the 8.0 a gigantic beer hall," Wynne said.The original 8.0 Restaurant & Bar opened in 1980 in Dallas, replacing brass-and-paneling 1970s "fern bars" with a sleek, contemporary design and artwork.After operating for 30 years in several cities, the 8.0 concept is ready for retirement, Wynne said."We're puttin' the old mare down," he said. "When I did my first 8.0, I had never run a restaurant. I wanted to do something unique."The name 8.0, now often mistaken as a software version, was his mother's idea, Wynne said.He was going to name it The 80s. She suggested 8-0: "She wanted people to say, 'I done ate there, and oh, it was good.'"The newer Flying Saucer concept has expanded to 16 locations in 15 cities. The Sundance location will open the week after the Main St. Arts Festival and will include a larger beer garden with shrubbery in place of the current 8.0 patio, continuing the tradition of concerts under the all-weather awning.The Saucer will remain open in its current location through April 22, Wynne said.All the collectible plates in the current Saucer will move, he said. "I'll be taking them all down and washing them," he said.The 8.0 closing will be marked with a public party Feb. 24 and a private Modern benefit Feb. 25, he said."We're going to have a party," he said."If people want to buy a piece of a mural, they can. If we can take down the whole mural, we'll sell it. Anything to raise money for the museum."Kennedy's Eats Beat column appears Wednesdays in Life & Arts and Fridays in DFW.com.Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
