Just shy of a year since it opened, East Dallas bar and restaurant Be Home Soon is closing.
The Casa Linda neighborhood spot, which had a weekly rotating menu of comfort foods and home cooking, will permanently shutter after dinner service on Oct. 25.
The bar and restaurant was not generating enough sales to stay open, said co-owner and chef Madison King. The current economy, she said, feels nearly impossible to weather as a small, independent restaurant trying to get its start.
Be Home Soon owners Russ Kirk, Madison King and Joey Fink opened the East Dallas neighborhood restaurant in November 2024.
Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer
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King, who has worked in the Dallas hospitality industry for years, said she’s had many conversations with local restaurant and bar owners in recent months who said they, too, are struggling.
“Every single person doing what we do has said this is the worst year they’ve ever had,” she said. “People can’t afford to go out to eat.”
They also aren’t buying alcohol anymore, King said.
“A big thing that I did not foresee is that people don’t drink anymore,” she said. “Even people who do drink don’t order more than two drinks, and that’s what I’ve heard from [bar and restaurant owners] across the board.”
When they were negotiating their lease in Casa Linda Plaza, King said it initially limited their liquor sales to 30%, which they wouldn’t have been able to survive on as liquor sales are a main driver of profitability for restaurants. They were able to secure a 50% liquor sales agreement, but it didn’t matter.
“We never even broke 30%,” King said. “That was one thing I never even imagined would be a problem. I thought we would be fighting to keep it under 50%.”
Be Home Soon’s menu was designed to feel like you were having dinner at a friend’s house, owner Madison King said. It was always changing, and always homey.
Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer
Since she first opened the restaurant in November 2024 with co-owners Russ Kirk and Joey Fink, it’s been a struggle, King said. It became especially more so during the summer months. Summer is predictably a slow time for bars and restaurants, so many of them rely on sales from the cooler months to float them through the hot ones.
“We were waiting for the summer to end and it didn’t,” she said. “Dallas slows down now from May to October, and I don’t know how people are supposed to survive that.”
On top of low alcohol sales and slow summer months, King said her business was also up against the high cost of goods.
Food costs for restaurants around the country have increased 35% in the last five years, according to the National Restaurant Association.
“If you have to look at four different vendors before you buy fryer oil, that’s not a fun job,” King said. “It sucks. You’re spending half your time just trying to pinch pennies. I just know how broke everyone is and how expensive everything is for operators. If your groceries are expensive, so are ours.”
Despite constantly racing against the bank account, opening and running Be Home Soon was a dream fulfilled.
“This was a dream realized and I really mean that,” she said, choking back tears. “Now I know how much it costs, and how hard it is to achieve a dream. I did it, though, and I’m very, very proud of that. It’s not going to stop me or slow me down.”
She won’t leave the hospitality industry, King said. With a break and some hindsight, she’ll find a way to keep doing what she loves.
Be Home Soon is located at 9540 Garland Road #407, Dallas. It will close Oct. 25, 2025. behomesoondallas.com.