The Kitchen Cafe owner Tony Hakim’s love of music is helping him and his restaurant survive
In a bustling restaurant district in Far North Dallas, across the street from Shelton School, a local jazz club makes for a hidden musical getaway. Originally, it was conceived as a restaurant by day and a jazz club by night. Today, The Kitchen Cafe is now open only in the evenings with music as the heartbeat among an eclectic crowd.
On any given night, guests can look forward to local performers gracing the stage, delivering passionate sounds by way of vocals and live instrumentation. Dimly lit spaces with soft-seated tables make for a relaxing space for talking with friends while enjoying performances, while eating comfort dishes like tortilla soup, maple ginger salmon and a pot roast, the last of which is absolutely divine. Jazz bands, singer-songwriters and a cappella vocalists have all gotten their turn at sharing their original works and covers.
Photo: Mia Valdez
Years before The Kitchen Cafe became an underground venue for singers, songwriters and instrumentalists, owners Tony Hakim and his wife Lisa Reichenbach were bound together through the power of music. Hakim, who is a guitarist and a singer, was performing at a restaurant for a birthday dinner that Reichenbach happened to be attending.
“During a break, He came over to meet everybody at the table and wish the birthday lady Happy birthday,” Reichenbach recalls.
At the time, Reichenbach lived in Murphy and didn’t visit the aforementioned restaurant — which was in Dallas — that often. But when another friend of hers started managing said restaurant, she began to go more often, and she would occasionally run into Hakim while out on the town.
A few years after Reichenbach and Hakim met, Reichenbach began working as a catering manager at Hakim and his dad’s catering business. This allowed Hakim to concentrate on music. By 2012, they were able to house their two passions, music and food, in one beautiful spot.
“He would often talk of having it all under one roof,” Reichenbach recalls. “I don’t think he was actively looking for a place, but somehow he found out about this being a space. He came up and looked at it, and it looked really different than it does now… It didn’t even have a stage He took the opportunity to have musicians and dinner at night, and do catering in the daytime. So it all worked out to all be under one roof.”
Photo: Mia Valdez
According to Reichenbach, Hakim often sources The Kitchen Cafe’s performers from the University of North Texas or via YouTube. One of those performers is singer Rosana Eckert, who has spearheaded The Kitchen Cafe’s crowdfunding campaign and played a major role in raising funds to keep the space open.
Back in April, Hakim was diagnosed with cancer. Weeks after, Eckert launched a GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign to help keep the beloved jazz lounge open as Hakim recovers. At the time of writing, 280 people have donated over $63,000.
“That was a terrible, terrible time,” Reichenbach says. “But it seems like it was long ago now.” Reichenbach has been by Hakim’s side throughout the entire journey. At the time of our conversation, she couldn’t help but shed a tear when reflecting on what Hakim has gone through.
“To hear that you have cancer for any person is shocking and scary,” says Reichenbach. “But for a singer, they may never sing again. It probably started inside the mouth — could’ve been the cheek, could’ve been the tongue, gums, throat and all these scary places that nobody would want cancer.” The next step was to have a biopsy and see where it was coming from. It turned out it was a pinky-sized piece on the back, back, back of his tongue. “We didn’t realize how far tongues go back,” says Reichenbach. “They’re way down there.”
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Photo: Mia Valdez
By May, Hakim underwent surgery, and doctors had to use robotic technology to reach the mass
“His sister sat with me during surgery, and when they told us we could go into the ICU, she said to me, ‘Whatever we see, we have to have a calm face. We don’t know what to expect yet,’” Reichenbach says. “Poor Tony. He was so nervous about everything. ‘What if they cut my tongue? What if they take some of my tongue?’ And I had a lot of fears about that. None of that happened. It did safely remove all of the cancer, and that was a wonderful thing to have happen.”
As of September, Hakim’s recovery has continued, slowly but surely. He is absent during our conversation, as Reichenbach notes he is “getting some sleep.” But Reinchenbach, Hakim and the local music community remain optimistic about the future.
“Tony’s condition has been slowly improving,” wrote Eckert in a September note on The Kitchen Cafe’s GoFundMe page.
Hakim recently performed a full show with his band for the first time since his surgery. Though he’s still working with doctors to manage neck pain and discomfort, the performance marked a big step in his recovery and lifted his spirits.
Photo: Mia Valdez
Since Hakim’s diagnosis, Reichenbach feels that The Kitchen Cafe’s community has become even more tight-knit. She says that many people ask for her and Hakim’s numbers, so they can keep in touch with him throughout his recovery journey. Other cancer survivors also share that they can empathize with Hakim.
Though some have suggested Reichenbach stay home and take a break as she processes the emotions that come with a diagnosis like Hakim’s, she says being surrounded by people has been a key part of the emotional healing.
“The Kitchen Cafe has taught me more about people than probably all my jobs in the past,” says Reichenbach. “In here, it’s in a more intimate way, because we’re in this same little room together from they start coming in at 6:30, and they walk out about 10:30, and I’ve learned more about people than I would have if I stayed home. It’s almost like good people just found their way here. Everybody who walks through the door is a good person, a kind person and a giving person.”
This article originally appeared in Local Profile Magazine.
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