Word On The Street…
50 years of beers: Dallas bar Stoneleigh P celebrates milestone — then plans to move in 2024
Big news: The Stoneleigh P will move to a new address on its 51st birthday.
Dallas Morning News
By Sarah Blaskovich
9:38 AM on Apr 3, 2023
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.”
The story behind the name
We’ve called the Stoneleigh P the “grande dame of old Dallas bars.”
Some think the Stoneleigh P got its name from the 100-year-old Stoneleigh Hotel across the street. That fancy place? Garrison might say. No, the Stoneleigh P was once the Stoneleigh Pharmacy, a drugstore.
The pharmacy sign was still up as Garrison and his investors were getting ready to open in 1973.
“So all we did was black out ‘harmacy,’” he says.
He hung on to the theme, and in a 1990s photo shoot of the staff, everyone dressed as drugstore cowboys, wearing hats and looking like outlaws.
The building caught fire in the middle of the night in January 1980, and the P was a total loss. The landlord planned to open a car wash in its place, and that would be that, but Tom Garrison came up with a new plan to revive his old bar. He replaced the burned-out hole with another come-as-you-are bar. It was a little bigger, but not a lot different. Garrison bought new copies of Playboy to sit on the magazine rack next to literary journals.
Nobody went to the P because of the way it looked anyway, wrote Dallas Morning News architecture critic David Dillon in 1982. He described the old building — before the fire — as “a collision between a 1920s retail strip and a Tudor mansion,” and that was not a compliment.
Despite the P’s anti-establishment persona, it’s been talked about by people of all ages, all around the world. CNN took notice when the Garrisons wouldn’t let customers play Mariah Carey’s song “All I Want for Christmas is You” until Dec. 1. Despite this apparent war on Christmas, Laura Garrison acted as the spokesperson on that one. She said dryly: “I don’t hate Christmas.”
Perhaps that’s what inspired the Mariah Carey drag show that followed. The Stoneleigh P also hosted zydeco parties and a 24-hour dance-off. Tom Garrison shrugs when asked for an explanation for most of it. “It was fun,” he says.
No ketchup, no Coors
For decades, the P was beloved for its hamburger served with Creole mustard and house-made mayo. The News declared it the best burger in the city in 1990. By 1998, The New York Times took notice, which sent people from all over the country to Dallas’ Maple Avenue.
That came with problems, though: Oklahoma-born Tom Garrison doesn’t believe ketchup belongs on a burger. He claims he was slugged by a customer after she asked for ketchup and he responded, “What are you, a Yankee?”
Customers who required ketchup would bring their own bottles or packets, sometimes leaving them behind for like-minded diners. It wasn’t until Laura Garrison got older that her dad changed his mind: She said a bar with a great burger needed to have French fries. And if they were going to install a fryer and serve fries, they’d need ketchup.
Tom Garrison complied.
He also still holds that the bar shouldn’t sell Coors Light. As the story goes, a Coors Light rep would win a trip to Hawaii if she could convince Tom Garrison to add it to the Stoneleigh P’s menu. Tom Garrison didn’t want to, but he bought one case so the rep could go on the trip.
Once it was gone, it was never replaced.
“If there’s one thing he won’t do, it’s add Coors,” Laura Garrison says.
Another 50 years?
“I never dreamed I’d be in the honky tonk business for 50 years,” Tom Garrison says. The Stoneleigh P is not a honky tonk; it never has been one, but Garrison likes the phrase.
Perhaps more importantly, the bar never seemed like it would outlive its owner.
“It’s funny,” Garrison says, musing on the 50th anniversary. “You worry about the 10 years or the five years left on your lease. Day to day things. You don’t think in terms of something that long.”
At age 81, he’s still inside the bar more days than not. He’s been involved in a handful of bars over the years, including some in San Antonio and Oklahoma City that are still alive today.
But it’s inside this former pharmacy, which once was in an edgy part of Dallas, where Tom Garrison says he’s been “so lucky to be here, with all these wonderful people.”
“Now it’s up to her,” he says, grinning at his daughter.
Stoneleigh P is at 2926 Maple Ave., Dallas — for now. Stay tuned on where it will move.
The 50th anniversary party is 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. on April 15.
Stoneleigh P in Dallas sets closing date on Maple — 2 days before 51st anniversary
The historic bar will move to Lemmon Avenue in Dallas.
After nearly 51 years serving burgers and beers in Uptown Dallas, the Stoneleigh P will close April 13, 2024 on Maple Avenue. The landmark Dallas bar’s last service is just two days before its 51st anniversary.
Co-owners Tom Garrison and his daughter Laura Garrison invite customers back to the bar one more time to write on the walls before all the memorabilia is moved to its new home on Lemmon Avenue.
The Stoneleigh P is expected to open near Lemmon and Oak Lawn avenues before the end of April, Laura Garrison tells The Dallas Morning News.
The P, as many call it, is moving because landlord Bob Woody didn’t renew the lease.
Woody says he’s bringing “a nice addition to the neighborhood” in place of the Stoneleigh P, but he wouldn’t name the bar or restaurant yet. He operates a few dozen bars, including Buckshot, Blind Pig and Buford’s on 6th Street in Austin. He is building a Shakespeare’s Pub next door to the Stoneleigh.
After the Garrisons learned they would need to find a new home for the Stoneleigh P, Laura Garrison reflected on the change, saying “the area outgrew us.”For decades, the P welcomed an eclectic mix of “counter culture” drinkers, 82-year-old Tom Garrison said. “We were on the fringe,” he said of its home on Maple Avenue in Uptown. Here’s a point of reference: We didn’t start calling the neighborhood “Uptown” until 1983, former News real estate writer Steve Brown reminds.
The P is one of the rare remaining restaurants in Dallas with more than 50 years of history. It’s also one of many landmark spots that’s moving. Others that made the leap are The Grapevine Bar, which left Maple Avenue for the medical district; St. Martin’s Wine Bistro, gone on Greenville Avenue and moved to Bryan Street; and Bugatti Ristorante, no longer open for lunch or dinner on Northwest Highway but moving to Farmers Branch this year.
The P got national attention in the 1990s for its hamburger served with Creole mustard and housemade mayo. Tom Garrison wouldn’t serve the burger with ketchup, not even if you asked nicely. That’s the “Yankee” way to eat it, he’d say. He finally allowed the red stuff in the building after they installed fryers in the kitchen and started selling french fries in the early 2010s.
CNN brought it more national attention in 2021 when it was reported that customers aren’t allowed to play Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” until Dec. 1 on the P’s jukebox. Laura Garrison defended the decision: “I don’t hate Mariah Carey and I don’t hate Christmas,” she told CNN. She also doesn’t want Christmas starting before Thanksgiving.
The same rule will apply at the P’s new home. Some things never change.
The bar was lovably weird for decades — a site for political rallies, 24-hour dance-offs, first dates and maybe some breakups. It felt frozen in time, named after the Stoneleigh Pharmacy previously in the neighborhood.
With the move, the Stoneleigh will put new meaning on the “P” in its name.
“Over the past 50 years here on Maple Avenue, we have come to realize the ‘P’ truly stands for People. We hope you will continue to be ‘Stoneleigh People’ on Lemmon Avenue. There are plenty more memories to be made,” the Garrisons wrote on Facebook.
Crews have already started pulling out the pharmacy cabinets and installing them at 4218 Lemmon Ave., a former Eggsellent Cafe. The pool table will soon make the move. (It was one of the biggies, Laura Garrison said: “I had three criteria for the P: parking lot, patio and pool table. We got all three.”)
The farewell party is April 6, 2024 at 2926 Maple Ave., Dallas. A band will play from 3 to 6 p.m. on the patio. Then, the bar will be open for one more week — though expect it to get barer by the day.
Stoneleigh P is at 2926 Maple Ave., Dallas, until it closes April 13, 2024. The Stoneleigh P is expected to reopen at 4218 Lemmon Ave., Dallas, in late April 2024.
Historic Stoneleigh P signs new Dallas lease and will move in spring 2024
The beer-and-burger joint will relocate to Lemmon Avenue, near several other longtime Dallas restaurants.
After 50 years serving burgers and beer on Maple Avenue in Dallas, the Stoneleigh P will move to Lemmon Avenue, confirms co-owner Laura Garrison.
Her dad Tom Garrison opened the Stoneleigh P in Dallas in 1973, long before restaurants, hotels and apartments made Uptown a destination. The P’s transition from one Dallas street to another will make it one of the most notable reinvented restaurants in North Texas in 2024.
Customers can still order food and drink at the existing location on Maple Avenue until March or April 2024, Laura says.
Then, it will close temporarily while the team moves the P’s most beloved artifacts to a former Eggsellent Cafe at 4218 Lemmon Ave. The new bar will be between the Dallas North Tollway and Oak Lawn Avenue, near Wycliff. It will be neighbors with Mia’s Tex-Mex and Bob’s Steak and Chop House, two Dallas restaurants with decades of history on Lemmon Avenue.
Moving the restaurant and bar will mean displacing it from its one and only home, a former pharmacy. That’s how the Stoneleigh P got its name: It was the site of the Stoneleigh Pharmacy, a drug store. Founder Tom says they were low on cash and big on ideas in the early 1970s. They blacked out “harmacy” on the sign, and, bingo: The Stoneleigh P opened just after April Fools’ Day 1973.
The Dallas Morning News commemorated the P’s 50 years of beers in April 2023. “Over its 50 years, the Stoneleigh P has been home base for a host of curious characters — real people with nicknames like Texaco Becky,” we wrote. “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.”
What will replace the Stoneleigh P?
The Garrisons didn’t want to leave their longtime home on Maple, but landlord Bob Woody didn’t renew the lease.
Woody owns 28 properties in Texas, including Austin bars Buckshot, Blind Pig and Buford’s on 6th Street. Woody owns about an acre of property on Maple Avenue in Dallas, including the Stoneleigh P, which he purchased a few years ago.
He’s currently building a Shakespeare’s Pub next door to the P, and he has plans to turn the area into a bar district.
“It’s a really great location,” Woody says of that sector of Uptown.
He’s working on plans to open as many as “three or four clubs” on the property, which could possibly fit 500 to 600 people.
Which parts of the Stoneleigh P will move to Lemmon Avenue?
The Garrisons started hunting for a new spot nearly a year ago, when it was clear it was time to move on.
“I had three criteria for the P,” Laura says: “Parking lot, patio and pool table. We got all three.”
They may also move some of the pharmacy cabinets to the new spot.
And, sure, Tom will bring his counterculture attitude. For years, he refused to serve ketchup or Coors, two things he said his Texas bar didn’t need. The ketchup was eventually added after the kitchen started serving French fries. But Coors? Still no.
The move will be bittersweet, but Laura and Tom refuse to get sentimental. The people are what make the place, Laura says. Two of her staffers have each worked at the P for nearly 40 years — longer than she has been alive.
She calls the new location “intimidatingly big,” with more room to sell burgers, wings and Lone Star on draft. They’re hoping customers won’t mind the 1.8-mile difference from the old location to the new one.
Tom, who is in his 80s, never expected his bar to live until its 50th birthday. But now he’s planning for the 51st. Laura is hopeful they can blow out 51 candles at the new location, but she won’t make any promises yet.
“I’ll just have to see how the timing works out,” she says.
Stoneleigh P is at 2926 Maple Ave., Dallas — for now. It moves to 4218 Lemmon Ave., Dallas, in spring 2024.
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Sarah Blaskovich, Senior Food Reporter. Sarah writes about restaurants, bars and culture in Dallas. Follow @sblaskovich on Twitter and ask her what to do, where to eat or where to drink in your area.
50 years of beers: Dallas bar Stoneleigh P celebrates milestone - then plans to move
“The Stoneleigh P in Dallas should’ve opened almost exactly 50 years ago, on April Fool’s 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, beer and bizarre mix of people.”
Last Call: The Stoneleigh P to Relocate After Turning the Big 5-0
“‘My goal is just to have every generation, everybody that’s ever had a good time here, to just be here on one day,’ says Laura Garrison, Stoneleigh P general manager and daughter of owner Tom Garrison. ‘I really just want everybody to come together to talk about the P, to just celebrate this piece of Dallas history.’”
‘I don’t hate Christmas’ insists Dallas bar manager featured in CNN story
“Once the Christmas month hits, managers and owners at the P will allow the 1994 holiday classic just once a night. They prove it with a sign inside the bar — one that’s been in use for about three years and has been, among regulars, a very long inside joke says general manager Laura Garrison, in an interview with The Dallas Morning News.”
Texas bar limits the amount of times this song can be played
“A Texas bar is giving Mariah Carey’s mega hit ‘All I Want for Christmas’ the silent treatment.”
Mariah Carey Armors Up Against a Dallas Bar’s War on Christmas
'“A bar decreed ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ non grata, and the queen of Christmas isn’t happy about it.”
Luke Wilson comes home to Texas with ‘12 Mighty Orphans’
“You can still find the movie poster for Bottle Rocket displayed proudly at the Stoneleigh P, one of the Wilson family’s favorite restaurants, where Luke’s father, the late Robert A. “Bob” Wilson, often ate lunch.”
Stoneleigh Pharmacy History
“Everything seemed to be going along swimmingly when, in the early hours of January 26, 1980 a huge fire engulfed the group of buildings on the southeast corner of Maple and Wolf — according to newspaper reports, at least 15 “major pieces of equipment” and 75 firefighters responded to the multi-alarm fire. The 57-year-old building burned to the ground. Garrison rebuilt, and the new Stoneleigh P opened in the summer of 1981. It still stands and is something of a Dallas institution. It’s now an unbelievable 46 years old. Here’s how it celebrated its 18th anniversary.”
Help a Girl Out!
Kristy, a five year veteran of the P has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and will be undergoing chemo for the next six months. Without insurance, her medical costs are mounting and will continue to grow. Kristy has always been there to take care of us and now is the time to return the favor!
Where To Find Dallas’ Best Bar Fare
“A quaint neighborhood spot that’s been around since the early 70’s, Stoneleigh P proves that consistently good and “real” bar food alongside cheap drinks are a surefire way to stay successful. Order the quesadillas, a burger, or keep it light with a cup of soup made at the bar daily.”
Thrillist, 2018
An uptown staple with a neighborhood bar vibe
“In a world full of ultra lounges and trend chasing nightclubs in Uptown, Stoneleigh P is the constant that rides out the storm. A classic beer and cocktails joint located across the street from the historic Stoneleigh Hotel, this is the bar that could be considered the anchor of Uptown. But unlike the rest of Uptown, there will be no bouncers, cover charge, or terrible dance music on a night you want to rage.”
History of Dallas Food: Tom Garrison’s Stoneleigh P
“I bought this place 44 years ago,” Garrison says. “At first it was a center for the counter culture and an artists hangout.” He went on to detail some of the wild bar-top-dancing parties that went on and refrained from naming names of the rich and famous who partied there. “We had marathon dance parties and people danced until they almost died,” Garrison says. “I admit I’ve been behind the bar in drag more than a few times.”
12 Best spots in Uptown Dallas
“So you didn't curl you hair. You don't want gosh-darn bone marrow on your burger. Stoneleigh P is a comfy spot in Uptown that doesn't come with any pretense. Save it for drinks with good friends.”
The Stoneleigh P is Where You Want to Be
“Stoneleigh P is the quintessential neighborhood bar. The bartenders–Moe and Andy– have been there for years. Regulars pack the place. They have a pool table, juke box, an old cigarette machine and even a pet friendly patio. Everything about this place screams relaxed. Located in Oaklawn, the relaxed vibe is hard to come by. The menu is a mix of American and Mexican food with burgers and nachos. The bean nachos are some of the greatest.No frills. Just good food and good people.”
Longtime Dallas Watering Hole Stoneleigh P Bridges Generation Between Father and Son
“In a time when places have a troublesome tendency to exist for a blink of an eye, there’s something reassuring about how the P has maintained this corner of Uptown for more than 40 years, standing guard as young guns attempt in vain to establish themselves with gimmicks and false promises. It is a time capsule that hold thousands of stories, including part of my father's and mine. Although we never were able to create memories there together, whenever I walk in for a couple of rounds of pool and beers with friends, I can see my dad, as young as I am now, sitting in a booth with his coworkers, sharing stories and laughing as much as he ever laughs.”
Owner of Stoneleigh P relents: Ketchup ban is lifted
“Alan Peppard once wrote of the Stoneleigh P, the landmark Maple Avenue bar and grill, "Hard-core regulars love The P because it never, ever, ever changes." As my Spanish-speaking friends might say, El-Wrongo. Kim Pierce reports on our Eats blog that after 38 years, Stoneleigh P owner Tom Garrison has abandoned his one-man war against ketchup.”
Nachos and Baseball at the P
“In case you're wondering about the name, this historic watering hole used to be a pharmacy – called the Stoneleigh Pharmacy. It's as classy as you'd expect an Uptown bar to be, yet still manages a humble, welcoming, aw-shucks vibe. The parking lot may be full of luxury cars, but any place that sells $2 cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon, Schlitz and Pearl Light all day and every day can't be too uptight.”
Alan Peppard on the Stoneleigh P, Charles Barkley, Tom Garrison, Stan Farr
“After Charles Barkley shut the down the Stoneleigh P the other night, owner Tom Garrison said he'd consider Sir Charles' suggestion that he change the name of the bar to the Stoneleigh B…”
D Magazine, 2005
“In 1973, Garrison took over a tiny drugstore with a leaking roof and “rats the size of puppy dogs” and turned it into the Stoneleigh P, which is still a happening spot (see the cover story, p. 54). He partnered with Gene Street and Phil Cobb at J. Alfred’s, the first Black-Eyed Pea, and the Old Church but split to open 18 other restaurants, even investing in Le Texan in Monaco. Once quoted as saying that “remaining in Dallas was only slightly more appealing than glaucoma,” Garrison is still behind the bar at the P.”
Pride of Texas on a Bun
“Stoneleigh P, in Dallas, has taken the Texas hamburger about as up-market as it can go without looking like a dude. The house's signature burger, the Stoneleigh P, is a six-ounce patty served on a dome-shaped pumpernickel roll with lettuce, tomato, red onion, garlic mayonnaise and creole mustard.”
Dallas - A guide to journeys that are measured in days not weeks
“Right across the street is the Stoneleigh P, Dallas’s most heterogeneous, userfriendly bar, with a surprising jukebox and splendid burgers.”
The Best of America
Esquire mentions our jukebox!
Stoneleigh P
“Stoneleigh P is a Dallas institution that's stood on Maple Avenue in Uptown since 1973. The quiet afternoon atmosphere is perfect for a burger or bowl of gumbo, but come night, it's time to play some pool and kick back some beers. The old-school pharmacy aesthetic makes it unlike anything else in Uptown and places it squarely with Adair's as one of Dallas' best old-school drinking spots.”
Thrillist - The Stoneleigh P
“P marks the spot at Stoneleigh P, a historic gastropub that was once stood as Stoneleigh Pharmacy. The menu is heavily skewed toward tex-mex dishes, like nachos and quesadillas; however, there are also classic American burgers, like the “Legendary P,” which is served on a pumpernickel bun with lettuce, tomato, red onion, Creole mustard, and garlic mayo. Drinks at Stoneleigh P’s full bar are reasonably priced, and the open space on the patio is pet-friendly.”
Texas Monthly, Stoneleigh P
“Like a welcome blast from the past, the juke box still plays Franz Liszt, Billie Holliday, and John Coltrane; the rather large magazine rack is full of good reading material; and the dim interior sports black booths, dark red tile floors, and the original black marble counter. And the food hasn’t changed either. We savored every bite of the simple and delicious lentil soup; the cooked-medium burger on a pumpernickel bun with mustard, tomato, lettuce, and red onion; and a slice of cloudlike Godiva pie with a meringue crust and chocolate mousse filling. We love this no frills bar—long may its doors stay open.”