A former Dallas restaurateur thinks Duncanville, the city southwest of Dallas, is brimming with potential.

“We want to be the Bishop Arts District south of I-20,” says Bryan Kaeser. He just opened Duncanville’s first craft-beer bar and restaurant, Mudhook.

He says some Duncanville residents make the drive to Oak Cliff on Friday and Saturday nights in search of nightlife. It’s a mere 10 miles away. But what if Duncanville had a homegrown restaurant with craft beer and Texas whiskey? What if it had an independent coffee shop?

Mudhook's tidy menu includes bar snacks, burgers, sandwiches, beer and cocktails. (Lynda M. Gonzalez / Staff Photographer)

Kaeser operates both of those, both on Main Street in Duncanville. His coffee shop Black & Bitter opened in summer 2019 and is aiming to be a community hub for artists, work-from-homers and coffee enthusiasts. For a teeny, 400-square-foot space, the calendar is stocked with events: poetry readings, book signings, live music and more.

Mudhook is a burger joint with a stout bar, informed by Kaeser’s previous role operating Dallas Beer Kitchen for several years on Lowest Greenville in Dallas. Kaeser, a Red Bird resident, thinks Mudhook, Black & Bitter and other independently owned shops like them could help create a more lively scene on Duncanville’s Main Street.

“I really have faith that the people who go to Bishop Arts or Deep Ellum will come here till 2 a.m. if we give them what they want,” he says. “Now, we just need to listen to them.”

Kaeser’s landlord is no stranger to southern Dallas County. Monte Anderson, who restored the Belmont Hotel in West Dallas, owns the building in Duncanville where Mudhook and Black & Bitter operate. Anderson is now a Duncanville resident and a city council member and has purchased or revamped more than 15 buildings in Duncanville over 20 years.

“I’m probably the only developer in Duncanville,” he says, chuckling. But he compares the slow growth to parts of Oak Cliff: “Many people worked on Bishop Arts — for many, many, many years — before it became popular. [Duncanville] is similar. It barely moves ... and all of a sudden it starts to get momentum. That’s what’s happening in downtown Duncanville right now.”

The Lonestar burger from Mudhook comes with the spicy addition of jalapenos. Mudhook's sandwich buns come from Village Baking Co., a company in Dallas. (Lynda M. Gonzalez / Staff Photographer)

Anderson likes the urban feel of Duncanville, and how it’s accessible to Interstate 20, Highway 67 and Interstate 35E. He notes that people come “right through Duncanville” to access Cedar Ridge Nature Preserve, a wooded area with 8 miles of trails for bird-watchers and hikers.

Anderson calls Duncanville "just a really pleasant little place to live, with good quality of life,” he says. "We’re getting ready to put bike lanes in. Even without those, it’s a very good bike-riding city. It’s pretty flat and there are all kinds of back roads.

“It’s very much like a littler Oak Cliff.”

Owner Bryan Kaeser (right) visits with customers during the soft opening of Mudhook in Duncanville. (Lynda M. Gonzalez / Staff Photographer)

The development in Duncanville doesn’t yet feel like today’s Bishop Arts District. But projects like Main Station in downtown Duncanville could make it more walkable and hip.

“It’s a hidden secret down here right now,” Anderson says. “It’s a fun place to work and live. It’s cool. It just needs a few more pieces put in place.”

Mudhook sells what Kaeser calls “gourmet” burgers, like a double-double with cheese and a Beyond Meat burger for vegetarians or vegans. Fans of Dallas Beer Kitchen will recognize the Fight Club, a chicken sandwich on sourdough bread with pesto, bacon, avocado, Swiss and onion rings. Other bar snacks include bacon cheese fries, roasted Brussels sprouts and pork belly bites.

Mudhook is Duncanville’s first craft beer bar, and its 12 taps will be dedicated in part to local shops like Peticolas Brewing Company and Manhattan Project Beer Company. The bar will stock 20 to 25 Texas wines and “almost every Texas whiskey you can find,” Kaeser says.

Mudhook will eventually open for lunch and dinner six days a week. Temporary hours are 5 p.m. to midnight Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays; 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Fridays; noon to 2 a.m. Saturdays; and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays. Mudhook is at 100 S. Main St., Duncanville.

For more restaurant news, follow Sarah Blaskovich on Twitter at @sblaskovich.