Texas-Based Bar and Arcade Kung Fu Saloon Is Headed for Midtown

Midtown's bar scene is getting yet another new addition, as Kung Fu Saloon, a bar and arcade mini-chain based out of Texas, is moving into the vacant property at 1921 Division Street. Slated to open this summer, it will be their first outpost outside the state, with locations currently in Austin (with a second on the way), Dallas and Houston.

Last August, The Tennessean reported that Michael Lohmann, one of the directors of ABC's Nashville TV series, had purchased the vacant property for $3.5 million, with leasing the building to an 'arcade gaming saloon' mentioned as one of the potential options.

Each Kung Fu Saloon location features between 15 and 20 vintage arcade games, Skee Ball machines, foosball tables and more. They offer a full bar with 24 beers on tap, as well as a dedicated sake bomb menu. Kitchen offerings tick all the typical bar food boxes, aside from the slightly challenging-sounding sandwich 'The Dank,' consisting of two cheese and jalapeno stuffed beef patties crammed between two grilled cheese sandwiches.

But it hasn't been all fun and games for Kung Fu Saloon, as just this past June U.S. attorneys in the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division filed a complaint in Dallas federal court as part of a settlement with the bar's owners in response to numerous allegations of racial discrimination revolving around inequitable enforcement of dress code policies at all of Kung Fu Saloon's locations dating back to 2011. Prior to the filing, the bar agreed to pay a small fine and clean up their act, with the Justice Department signing off on the changes, including the dress code policy's language and how those policies are enforced.

But now, with a message of inclusiveness and a link to the dress code policy displayed on their website's homepage, hopefully those issues are a thing of the past.