Big news: The Stoneleigh P will move to a new address before it hits its 51st birthday.
The Stoneleigh P in Dallas should’ve opened almost exactly 50 years ago, on April Fools’ Day 1973. Actor Jack Nicholson was supposed to attend the grand opening for the Uptown Dallas bar that would eventually be known for its burgers, beers and bizarre mix of people.
But the April 1, 1973, opening didn’t happen — something about a missing floor drain and an unsatisfactory inspection. Nicholson missed the big day, and the Stoneleigh P opened about two weeks later, on April 15, in its own offbeat way and not according to plan.
Which might be a good way to describe the next 50 years at the P.
“We were on the fringe,” says owner Tom Garrison. He would have preferred to be on Knox Street or Oak Lawn Avenue, but what he could afford was $23,000 to spruce up a former pharmacy on Maple Avenue. Current-day Uptown Dallas is filled with skyscrapers and restaurants, but back then, it had gravel roads and a “counter culture” personality.
“If somebody was willing to pick up some garbage around here, we’d give them a bowl of lentils and maybe even an iced tea,” Garrison says.
Over its 50 years, the Stoneleigh P has been home base for a host of curious characters — real people with nicknames like Texaco Becky. It got a reputation for being a hole-in-the-wall with a great burger, and its patrons didn’t seem to care who was who. Journalists hung out next to millionaires. Celebrities ate here, too, like Lauren Bacall, Luke and Owen Wilson, and Kenny Loggins. It also hosted fundraisers for politicians Kinky Friedman and Jimmy Carter.
Now’s a good time to scoot into a squeaky booth — yeah, sorry, the jukebox doesn’t work anymore — and celebrate the Stoneleigh P’s 50 years. The bar will close before it turns 51. Garrison says the landlord won’t let them re-sign a lease, and he and daughter Laura Garrison, 28, are planning to relocate within four blocks of the original location.
Tom Garrison never thought the bar would last this long anyway. He says it’ll be in better hands with Laura in charge.
“Laura first danced here with me,” Tom says, cradling his arms and showing how he danced zydeco when Laura was a baby.
“She was raised here. And she’s going to be a better operator than me. I can tell.”
