Another restaurant surprise in Arlington: One of the oldest sports bars changes hands
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Bobby V’s Sports Gallery Cafe, an old-time sports bar where patrons have gathered since 1985 to watch baseball and dine on former Rangers manager Bobby Valentine’s burgers and pastas, has a new owner.
Vivek Rajbahak of Bankhead Brewing, a former Pabst Brewing Co., executive, said Friday he has bought Bobby V’s from the estate of late owner Dennis Stanczak. Stanczak had owned the restaurant since 2008.
Bobby V’s is “authentic” and doesn’t need any big changes, Rajbahak said.
“It has great food, a great atmosphere and a nostalgic feeling,” he said.
“You don’t find many places like this.”
The restaurant, 4301 S. Bowen Road, was one of the first to open when southwest Arlington was new.
It originally opened as a 1950s-themed restaurant named The Cafe, the second location for another Cafe that had opened in 1984 off North Collins Street across from today’s Champions Park.
In 1996, then-Rangers manager Valentine became a partner with founders Carey Don Risinger and Glenn Terrell in both restaurants, changing the name and adding baseball memorabilia along with pastas from another Bobby V’s in Connecticut.
Bobby V’s became known as a neighborhood bar for southwest Arlington. It had one of the first and largest array of 1990s tube TVs showing every Major League Baseball game imaginable plus other sports and news events back in the era when most games were widely available on broadcast and cable.
It also became known for its version of “Irish” potato-skin nachos, which originated at Arlington rival J. Gilligan’s, and for pastas such as penne with bacon, avocado and tomato or with blackened chicken and spinach Alfredo.
“You don’t find a lot of sports bars serving gourmet pastas,” Rajbahak said, acknowledging that he doesn’t know much about baseball lore but “I plan to learn.”
His Bankhead Brewing restaurants, 611 University Drive in Fort Worth and 3840 Main St. in Rowlett, have an old-time roadside-Americana theme.
The sale follows a change at another longtime Arlington restaurant, Skillet N Grill, 1801 W. Division St., will close Oct. 1 and convert to the fourth location for Dixie House Cafes.
Bobby V’s remains open daily for lunch, dinner, and late-night games; 817-467-9922, bobbyvsports.com.
