Dec. 28, 2023

Kenards Grille in The Gaslight Lounge has closed, but the owner hopes to bring it back as a food truck someday.

It would become the second food truck for Ken Leonard and his wife, Calain, who started Tacos de Gringo in 2021.

“It was good, and I had a lot of regulars,” Leonard said of his kitchen takeover in the West 12th Street bar. “The volume that I needed wasn’t there.”

He opened Sept. 1, mostly serving dinner but also trying out lunch hours.

“The food wasn’t the problem at all,” Leonard said. “I think it was just the marketing and the exposure. … Outside of doing paid marketing, I tried everything I could.”

The menu at Kenards – at least the burgers, chicken sandwiches, a turkey bacon melt and fries – will live on this winter with occasional appearances on the Tacos de Gringo food truck.

The truck is booked several times at Buffalo Ridge Brewing in Hartford and Blind Butcher Brewing Co. near Larchwood, Iowa, so Leonard plans to alternate his taco and sandwich menus. Dates will be posted on the Tacos de Gringo Facebook page. 

Gaslight owner Chuck Carey is open to the idea of another pop-up restaurant in the bar but said he wants to evaluate options.

“I’m going to take my time and not just jump into something right away.”

Before Kenards, the small kitchen in the back of the bar at 2206 W. 12th St. was home to The Dive. It operated there for a year and opened its own restaurant in Park Ridge Galleria in March.