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Don't Look Back Triple brings tacos, like this seared cod with cabbage slaw, sour cream, cilantro, onion and lime, to Scott's Addition. (Photo courtesy of Don't Look Back).
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Don't Look Back Triple is located in the former billiards hall at 3306 W. Broad St. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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Interior of Don't Look Back Triple which has an occupancy of 130. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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Lounge area in Don't Look Back Triple. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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Pool tables were refurbished from the original Triple billiards hall. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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Mural by Mickael Broth on the back walls of Don't Look Back Triple. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
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Mural by Mickael Broth on the back walls of Don't Look Back Triple. (Photo by Eileen Mellon).
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Decoupage on the back walls including the cover of the Bob Dylan documentary Don't Look Back. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
Don’t Look Back Triple, soon to be opened in the former Triple billiards hall at 3306 W. Broad St., represents a marriage between the past and the future of the restaurant after a fire shut down the original Carytown location last July.
The black banquette seating is reminiscent of the style found in the first location. Picture frames along the walls are remnants rescued from the Carytown restaurant. Similar nostalgic decoupage decorates the walls, including an image of Bob Dylan from the 1967 documentary about his UK concert tour, "Don’t Look Back," a reference to the restaurant's title.
Don’t Look Back enjoyed five successful years and gained a cult-like following before shutting its doors after a kitchen fire. But it might have been time for a change. The restaurant had outgrown the cramped space that had taken a beating from the mere volume of diners. The flat-top in the kitchen was over-crowded and co-owner Hamooda Shami says on busy nights, wait times could be up to 40 minutes because there wasn't room to cook all the orders fast enough.
“It was traumatic, but we found a new home,” says Shami. “It feels like Don’t Look Back here and things worked out for the best.”
Last August, one month after the devastating fire, Shami viewed the Triple space for the revamped location. In February he returned with co-owner and head chef Nate Gutierrez, his wife Megan Mundy, and their newborn son Jamil and bar manager Cary Warren for a second look.
“I said, ‘If the baby starts crying, then I know it’s not the space,” says Shami jokingly. The baby didn’t cry, and everyone agreed, so Shami signed a 20-year lease.
Over half of the original staff will return when the restaurant opens. Warren offers a short explanation for former employees coming back to Don't Look Back.
“We're family,” he says.
Along the back walls of the restaurant, painted by local artist Mickael Broth, showcases a cowgirl in a wide-brimmed hat riding a white horse in the desert, leaving behind the town she once called home. A closer look finds a small brown house with the roman numerals of street addresses of Shami’s past restaurant endeavors – Don’t Look Back, New York Deli and Portrait House.
“It’s [references to the past] all mixed in,” says Shami. “It’s an acknowledgement and that’s the tongue and cheek, — it’s Don’t Look Back but we have these nostalgic touches. We're acknowledging it but moving forward.”
Shami says subtle accents throughout the space celebrate where their journey began. When choosing the interior wall color, he returned to the Carytown location to cut a piece off the wall, so he could match the paint color.
The new space itself is quite unique. Almost double in size, the restaurant is open and wide, featuring a lounge area with swanky black leather couches, three refurbished pool tables from the original billiards hall, which can be rented for $10 an hour, 10 beer taps home to local brews and space for shuffleboard tables.
Shami believes the restaurant will fill a niche in the growing Scott’s Addition area by offering lunch, a full bar and late-night hours.
“It feels like the perfect timing for what we are,” he says.
The menu will feature all of Don’t Look Back’s house-made staples like their braised, then grilled crispy carnitas tacos, shrimp tacos topped with cabbage slaw, sour cream, cilantro, onion and lime, and the Frito pie, a bag of Fritos (also in the mural) stuffed with pinto beans, red chile sauce, cheese, salsa, sour cream and lettuce. Small additons to their offerings include a Southwest salad and a kids menu.
“Basically, I knew what would mess us up, is if we tried to be cute and make big changes,” says Shami. “People want what was there before.”
Many of those people are part of the experience and culture Don’t Look Back offers — a homey, approachable, cool vibe. It’s not fancy. Shami says he wants people to come, eat tacos and not break their wallet. And even though they enjoy craft beer Shami says, “Sometimes you want a Budweiser with your taco.”
“Over the years we’ve established a bit of a culture and I feel like it translates through the staff and it’s one reason why Richmond kind of adopted us a little bit ..” he says. “We hope people do come back to us.”
Don’t Look Back Triple plans a soft opening on Friday, May 11, but check their Instagram for details. Don’t Look Back Triple will be open every day from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Don't Look Back South on Forest Hill Ave. is slated to open in late summer or early fall.
