{"id":369650,"date":"2025-11-10T17:33:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T17:33:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/369650\/"},"modified":"2025-11-10T17:33:18","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T17:33:18","slug":"longtime-deep-ellum-spot-headed-toward-closure-saved-by-dallas-couple","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/369650\/","title":{"rendered":"Longtime Deep Ellum spot, headed toward closure, saved by Dallas couple"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dallas\u2019 AllGood Cafe, a friendly hangout for artists craving comfort food in Deep Ellum, was in jeopardy of closure. In a swift decision to save AllGood, a Dallas couple will \u201crevive and freshen up\u201d the 25-year-old venue, said Robin Gill, one of the new owners.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s joined in the effort by her partner, Dallas musician John Pedigo.<\/p>\n

The two wouldn\u2019t have dreamed of owning AllGood even a month ago, they told The Dallas Morning News. A friend mentioned the Main Street haunt was probably going to close because founder Mike Snider \u2014 a longtime fixture in Deep Ellum \u2014 was ready to retire.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said, \u2018That can\u2019t happen,\u2019\u201d Pedigo said. \u201cThis is a really important place. Somebody wants to buy it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Restaurant News<\/p>\n

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He and Gill ended up being those somebodies. <\/p>\n

\"Long-timers<\/p>\n

Long-timers who don’t want AllGood Cafe’s memorabilia to be touched shouldn’t worry: The new owners understand the venue’s importance to Deep Ellum.<\/p>\n

Tom Fox \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

Gill went to culinary school and has a career in restaurant operations. Pedigo is a musician and record producer, currently working with Joshua Ray Walker<\/a> and the Old 97\u2019s. He\u2019s known in Dallas for his bands The O\u2019s and Boys Named Sue, and he also runs a radio show on 95.3 the Range.<\/p>\n

Pedigo\u2019s role at AllGood will be to set the music schedule. Gill will run the restaurant day-to-day. They both want to spruce up AllGood: maybe knock some dust off the posters and streamline the menu, the two say. But, they\u2019re aware this 25-year-old cafe has deep roots in Deep Ellum. Bars come and go. Deep Ellum gets rowdy<\/a>. AllGood was always there, like a worn-in couch at a friend\u2019s house.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to be very respectful of the space,\u201d Gill said. \u201cAnd of its legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

AllGood Cafe, then and now<\/p>\n

When Snider opened AllGood in mid-2000, he was already a music promoter for venues like the Sons of Hermann Hall and the Gypsy Tea Room.<\/p>\n

\"As<\/p>\n

As the COVID-19 pandemic and downtown Dallas riots in mid-2020 caused some business to close, AllGood Cafe stayed open.<\/p>\n

Juan Figueroa \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

His vision for AllGood was to create a casual place where musicians and their friends could hang out. Maybe they\u2019d grab a guitar and pick a few songs up on the modest stage. <\/p>\n

From the way Pedigo tells it, Snider wanted AllGood to feel like a Dallas version of Threadgill\u2019s in Austin, now just a memory after the historic spot closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

From AllGood\u2019s start, the slogan was \u201cmake love, not money.\u201d It\u2019s still on the T-shirts today.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you know how many people who live in Dallas get up and have one passion in life, which is making money?\u201d Snider said a quarter-century ago in a Dallas Morning News story. \u201cThat\u2019s what they live for 24 hours a day. We like to make love, make food, make music, make fun and make friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

(They also make a mean huevos rancheros, chili, meatloaf and chicken-fried steak.)<\/p>\n

\"AllGood<\/p>\n

AllGood Cafe\u2019s chicken-fried steak is a staple.<\/p>\n

Tom Fox \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

While the idea of \u201cmake love, not money\u201d is a good one, Gill and Pedigo say their role, as the next generation of AllGood, is to keep it afloat<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe at least need to be profitable, or else it\u2019s not going to be there,\u201d Gill said. \u201cIt\u2019s not been doing great the past few years.\u201d <\/p>\n

Said another way: They need to get more butts in seats. <\/p>\n

\"AllGood<\/p>\n

AllGood Cafe’s awning needs a touch-up, the new owners say.<\/p>\n

Tom Fox \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

Still, a romantic view of AllGood lingers. Pedigo has been visiting the restaurant as long as it\u2019s been open. Before that, in the late 1990s, he was a teenager trying to play shows in Deep Ellum. Snider held the keys to several important venues.<\/p>\n

\u201cEventually, we beat him down,\u201d Pedigo said, only half joking. \u201cWe started to become friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gill moved back to Dallas in 2001, a year after AllGood opened, and started hanging out with musicians. AllGood was home base.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the one constant place we always go,\u201d she said. AllGood felt like an \u201canti-Dallas\u201d spot. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a place for people to go who don\u2019t necessarily want to go to all the fancy restaurants,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s laid back and calm.\u201d<\/p>\n

After spending a quarter-century there, Pedigo said he feels a responsibility to the modest cafe that survived decades in a cutthroat Dallas neighborhood.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand what Mike is doing, and I want to continue that legacy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Sendoff for Snider\"Mike<\/p>\n

Mike Snider, pictured here in 2013, was a champion for live music in Dallas for decades. He’s retiring from AllGood Cafe, the restaurant he opened in 2000.<\/p>\n

Jerry McClure \/ Special Contributor<\/p>\n

Snider deserves \u201csome much needed R&R,\u201d Pedigo said. A team of Dallas musicians have planned a retirement bash on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, at Sons of Hermann Hall to honor the long-time Deep Ellum promoter.<\/p>\n

Snider\u2019s \u201caloha party\u201d will raise funds to send him to Hawaii, one of his favorite vacation spots.<\/p>\n

The concert features a host of Texas bands: The New Bohemians, Old 97\u2019s, Zydeco Blanco, The O\u2019s, Lucky Pierre\u2019s, The Sutcliff\u2019s and more. No tickets required.<\/p>\n

Mike Snider\u2019s Aloha Party is at 7 p.m. Nov. 16, 2025, at Sons of Hermann Hall, 3414 Elm St., Dallas.<\/p>\n

AllGood Cafe remains at 2934 Main St., Dallas. Open seven days a week. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dallas\u2019 AllGood Cafe, a friendly hangout for artists craving comfort food in Deep Ellum, was in jeopardy of…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":369651,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,6329,1596,7712,24726,57571,28968,24354,975,170657,9733,988,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-369650","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-breakfast","10":"tag-dallas","11":"tag-dallas-fortworth","12":"tag-deep-ellum","13":"tag-diner","14":"tag-historic-restaurants","15":"tag-lunch","16":"tag-music","17":"tag-music-clubs","18":"tag-restaurant-news","19":"tag-restaurants","20":"tag-texas","21":"tag-tx","22":"tag-united-states","23":"tag-united-states-of-america","24":"tag-unitedstates","25":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","26":"tag-us","27":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115526605630286629","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369650","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=369650"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369650\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/369651"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=369650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=369650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=369650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}