D&K's

Yep...that's where I was sitting on Saturday for lunch.

Hi everyone, I'm Kathy from D&K's. AND, very new to SoWal. Thanks for posting the picture Kurt. I was in the cafe yesterday salvageing as much as I could before Doug threw it into the dumpster. Today I worked at our home on new decor for the cafe. I missed getting to see what the porch looked like totally empty, well almost empty! Pretty wild, isn't it?

Ya'll don't be too upset...this change will give us a family life now. And our staff will have more benefits. Keep your eyes peeled for more info in the newspapers. And don't believe every rumor you hear unless you hear it from us. LOL I will be posting as we go along.

We want to thank all of you for being such great customers. Change can be hard in the beginning. We should know, we've changed locations 5 times. But for those who ate with us at the "Real" D&K's some 6-10 years ago...then you know what you have to look forward to. If you think a fish sandwich is good..you'll love Doug's expertise at the grill. And for you gumbo lovers, it will still be on the menu.

That's all for now....Kathy
(the K of D&K's)

Kathy!

You have a lot fans here. I will watch your progress with interest. :clap_1:

Here are some "before" photos:

Hi Kathy! I will stop whining! We'll be there in June and will stop by - if you are open, great we will eat, if you are not yet open, we will peek our heads in and say hi!

Kathy, are you refering to the real D&K's as the old Cafe Tango spot? That was a while back.

Kathy, are you refering to the real D&K's as the old Cafe Tango spot? That was a while back.

Welcome Kathy....I am one of the whiners!!! I remember y'all from the little house SJ speaks of! And yes, we whined a bit when that closed as well! I feel a little better now that I have heard from you. You make some very good points that "spoiled" customers like me don't think of. I will remain a loyal D & K's fan....see you in October. BTW...where do we park to come dine with you in the evening?

So it's not good-bye....It's see ya later?

So it's not good-bye....It's see ya later?

for you, buh-bye

for you, buh-bye

Pour vous...toodles.

Thanks for the update, Kathy. I have a feeling that the best is yet to come. Soooo happy that you and Doug and Kalie will still be our favorite landmark in Grayton and our regular place for good eats.

Change is good...you go first! :clap_1:

Thanks for the update, Kathy. I have a feeling that the best is yet to come. Soooo happy that you and Doug and Kalie will still be our favorite landmark in Grayton and our regular place for good eats.

Change is good...you go first! :clap_1:

Are you kidding Donna...it's taken me 5 years to get Doug back into casual fine dinning. He has too much talent to be working with a conventional stove, two crock pots, and 2 toaster ovens!!!! Now THAT takes more then talent to pull off great food from a cubby hole kitchen.

Thanking all of you for the welcome to SoWal. The pictures of the cafe are great...and believe me we have our sad times too. Well, a little bit! And, yes, that was the original D&K's in the little red house known as Cafe Tango.
We sold it to them in 1999. Took a year off so I could write a cookbook. then came back to SRB. Been in Grayton Beach (again) for 5 years and now we step it up a bit.

I always welcome pictures. Pictures have played a big part in telling our story throughout the years in 5 restaurants....geez, now 6. AND OUR LAST!!!! When I get a little more time I will go into a more detail. I do promise to keep you posted. Doug may be a man of few words (while he's in the cafe)...LOL BUT I can chat away.

Thanks again, and hang in there with us!

Kat....trying to learn how to use all these fun things on the site
soon I will be holding the sign

Boy, miss a day or 2 on the board and I'm so out of it. Stopped by D&K for lunch today Better keep closer tabs.

D & K"S Update:

Don't get excited if you see the building turning a pinkish color...that's only a primer. I haven't seen it yet, as I've been out of town...but that's heads up from Doug.

Things are going very well. Some things faster then we planned, while others slower...yep that's renovation! But we are very excited as we invision the finished product.

We've been working hard...Doug overseeing construction, kitchen, and lots of phone calls, and myself.....the colors, carpet, tile, lighting, granite, and lots of phone calls. Both of crawl into bed at night.

Good news for all of you who loved our lunches. Our daughter Bonnie has opened a new little deli...today, in fact. She has previously worked, cooked, and waited in all of our restaurants over the past 15 years. She has all of our recipes and some great ones of her own. I think she has named it Paradise Deli, which I love. Our cafe in CoCoa Beach was named Paradise Alley Cafe. And, guess where Doug's crock pots are now???? He bestowed them on to her. Stop by and check out her menu, you'll see a lot of our old D&K's items on it. Plus, Bonnie is going to sell items by the pint!!!

Oh...she and her husband Paul are in the Grayton Corners General Store.

Back to business,
Kathy

D & K"S Update:

Good news for all of you who loved our lunches. Our daughter Bonnie has opened a new little deli...today, in fact. She has previously worked, cooked, and waited in all of our restaurants over the past 15 years. She has all of our recipes and some great ones of her own. I think she has named it Paradise Deli, which I love. Our cafe in CoCoa Beach was named Paradise Alley Cafe. And, guess where Doug's crock pots are now???? He bestowed them on to her. Stop by and check out her menu, you'll see a lot of our old D&K's items on it. Plus, Bonnie is going to sell items by the pint!!!

Oh...she and her husband Paul are in the Grayton Corners General Store.

Back to business,
Kathy

I can't believe you are Bonnie's parents. My girls used to work at the Deli with Paul and visit the Corner Cafe when he was there. How cool! Can't wait to try the new place! And of course your beautiful grandaughter has always been a favorite of my grandson! She was the "older" woman. :shock:

D & K"S Update:

Don't get excited if you see the building turning a pinkish color...that's only a primer. I haven't seen it yet, as I've been out of town...but that's heads up from Doug.

pinkish color would be an understatement. I saw the raftertails on the north side yesterday, and they are more like flourescent orange.:shock: I was beginning to wonder what kind of fine dining place would have a white building with flourecent orange rafter tails.

Oh, goodie! I can hardly wait to try out the new restaurant. I don't care what color it is. Kathy and Doug, we are doing our part by giving The Conch Out a new paint job so that your guests' views are not of "Mildew Mauve" walls!
We have a very special gift for you when we are there in October.

Well, that sounds quite good!

Hey Kathy- any chance y'all will be open by June 10th???

Hey Kathy- any chance y'all will be open by June 10th???

That would be a no.

That would be a no.

I'm not getting why that is funny??

I'm not getting why that is funny??

I have heard the question, "When will it be open?" too many times in my business life. My response is, "When you see it open, it is open." They still have a bit of work to do over there and your date of June 10th is really close.

Thanks for the info about PARADISE DELI......sounds great.....will try it this week!! Do they have THE TUNA DIP?? I am missing that sooooo much!!!

Let"s Give Them Something To talk About....Bonnie Raitt
This is our favorite song...that should tell you a little about us!!!

Let's give them something to talk about
A little mystery to figure out
Let's give them something to talk about

I'm holding my breath as I go and see it for the first time today with the primer. Ollie came over and Doug pulled a good one on him...telling him we wanted to do something a little different then we ever had. You can imagine the look on his face. Poor Ollie...Doug loves to be the prankster! But he showed him the colors going up...soon! Just not soon enough to keep from scaring the heck out of everyone. Don't worry, its going to be great!

Reopening June 10th? WE WISH! Try and do renovation in this area in one of the busiest times of the year. Electricians,plummers, A/C,...hey but the painters are on it! God Bless em' Doors take 6 weeks, granite...I'm not sure. We have our bar front coming from Costa Rica. It's going to be simple but very cool. We will go back to the old D&K's theme of New Orleans...which we love and do best. If you remember us in the little Red House where Cafe Tango is now, then you know somewhat how we will look.

Paradise Deli...I slipped in yesterday and saw food flying out the door with smiling faces following. I'll tell Bonnie about the Tuna Dip.

I enjoy your posts sooooo much. Makes my day!!! Hmmm....Donna has something for us??? Do we really have to wait till October Donna?

Gotta Run.
Kat

I can't believe you are Bonnie's parents. My girls used to work at the Deli with Paul and visit the Corner Cafe when he was there. How cool! Can't wait to try the new place! And of course your beautiful grandaughter has always been a favorite of my grandson! She was the "older" woman. :shock:

Yep, that's our girl! Your three are beautiful. You must be very proud like me!!! And Free, well she's growing fast....getting prettier every day. Bonnie and Paul's twins just turned 5...and precious! I am so glad she is taking the family recipes and running with them. And I love that she will be selling in pints....something I wanted to do, but couldn't talk Doug into it! :roll:

But I can't blame him...who wants to be in the kitchen longer then they have to.

Hope to see you soon,
Kathy