A Dallas bar announced that they will be closing their doors for good due to persistent violence they say is plaguing Deep Ellum.
Kanvas by Kevin Kelley is a sports lounge located in Deep Ellum, the well-known Dallas entertainment district. The concept has restaurants in Washington D.C, Charlotte, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Miami. Kanvas, which opened in 2024, announced on its Instagram that they have notified all staff that operations will cease on Sunday, July 19. The restaurant says that repeated cases of violent crime in the area have forced the decision.
“While we have been fortunate to maintain a safe environment inside KANVAS through the outstanding work of our security team and staff, we cannot control what happens throughout the surrounding community,” she statement reads. “We believe too much violence has occurred in Deep Ellum for us to continue operating there.”
This year, two separate shootings occurred on Cinco de Mayo outside of Kanvas. The two unrelated shootings resulted in five people being shot and injured, and one security guard being killed, which occurred within one block of one another, an hour apart. Detectives believed that the first shooting resulted from a massive bar fight that occurred within Kanvas.
“We recognize that the City of Dallas and Westdale Management are actively working to improve safety in Deep Ellum, and we sincerely hope those efforts are successful,” Kanvas’s closing statement said. “Deep Ellum is an important part of Dallas, and we wish the district, its businesses and its residents nothing but success.”
Dallas City officials have increased police presence, enforced tougher business permits, and implemented weekend street closures in Deep Ellum in response to recent incidents.
Kanvas did not respond to Chron’s calls in time for comment before publication.
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This article originally published at A Dallas bar shuts down due to violence in Deep Ellum.