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Dream Cafe Closed For Now, But Owner Vows To Reopen

 Dream Cafe & Grille is closed.
Dream Cafe & Grille is closed.
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DNAinfo/Andrea V. Watson

ENGLEWOOD — Englewood's health-conscious eatery, Dream Cafe & Grille, closed its doors — but its owner says he plans to reopen.

Owner Howard Bailey announced the June 16 closure in a post on Facebook.

"The management of Dream in order to better serve You in the future has decided it's in our best interest to take a step back refocus, restructure and relaunch. ... We thank ALL for the support and look forward to BETTER serving the community in the upcoming year."

It opened in January 2015.

Bailey, an Englewood native, told DNAinfo Thursday that he needed time to focus and find ways to better serve the community. He gave no timeline for reopening.

Right now he's working on opening a dance and movement studio. When that's in place, he said he will bring back Dream Cafe with a twist. There will be a bodega, which will give independent entrepreneurs  space to sell their products. Howard said he got the idea after watching some small business owners get discouraged with pitching their products to be sold to a larger market. The Whole Foods Market Midwest Small Business Outreach event, for example, gave entrepreneurs the chance to show off products but not everyone was in a position to take advantage of the opportunity, he said.

Howard said once some realized how much work it would take to be able to distribute their products on  a larger scale, they became uninterested.

 Howard Bailey (left) and chef Russell Moore. Dream Cafe & Grille  opened to the public on Jan. 19, 2015.  and it closed earlier this month.
Howard Bailey (left) and chef Russell Moore. Dream Cafe & Grille opened to the public on Jan. 19, 2015. and it closed earlier this month.
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DNAinfo/Andrea V. Watson

"I want the bodega to be middle ground," Howard said. "I want to give people the chance to be able to maybe concentrate on 5-10 items every six months. They can focus on pushing their brand and this will give them the opportunity to take the leap to bigger distribution if they choose."

This will also give those "ma and pa's" an outlet to sell their products, Howard said.

Overall, he thinks the Englewood Whole Foods Market, slated to open in August — along with other businesses that are coming — is a good change for the community, Howard said.

"Englewood had nothing to really stand on before and attracting more businesses gives us something to stand on," he said, adding that city and government officials will take Englewood more serious once its generating tax dollars.

Howard said he's excited about the new businesses because Englewood needs them.

"One of the big things in Englewood right now is there are no tax-based institutions," he said.  "There are a bunch of nonprofits, a bunch of things that don’t generate any money. In order for a neighborhood to have any type of growth outside of handouts, there’s got to be something to take from."

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