Cowboy Cafe

There has been a restaurant at the sight of Cowboy Cafe since the late 1940s. Some longtime residents may remember the Clam House Restaurant, owned and operated in later years by John Lange of Lange’s Plumbing. By the time Lange sold to the second owner in 1991, the business had become more of a dive bar than a restaurant. 

When Charlie Cambell took over in 1991, the Cowboy Cafe was born. Legend has it that the name came from one of Charlie’s previous jobs in Colorado where he messed up an order, and the manager yelled, “What do you think we are running here, a cowboy cafe?” In those days, the bar was more of a hang-out for local bikers than the welcoming place it is today. Regardless, for the last three decades, Cowboy Cafe has carried the torch as one of the last remaining dive bars in Arlington, and if the current owners have any say, it will stay that way.

Current co-owner Jim Barnes is an Arlington local who took over the Cowboy Café with his brother and two best friends from Yorktown High School. All the owners, at one time or another, worked at the original Lost Dog Cafe and were in the process of opening Lost Dog franchises when they found out the Cowboy Cafe was available. They knew the place well and loved the vibe and name, so they decided to add it to their restaurant portfolio in 2011. 

Though they manage several restaurants together, they consider each a living, breathing entity. Because of this, they want to make the best decisions for the Cowboy Cafe to celebrate what it has been while allowing it to evolve. They aim to protect their people while providing regulars and new customers with a consistent and welcoming environment. The owners have kept a lot of the history and artifacts from throughout the building’s history, in fact, the only significant changes they have made are opening the main room and adding a family-friendly, biergarten-style patio. There are also the murals. 

After seeing the mural go up down the street on K&H Art & Framing, Jim worked with the Langston Boulevard Alliance and the county to bring a mural to Cowboy Cafe. Fans of street art, the owners tracked down local artist MasPaz, who created the distinctive and vibrant exterior you see today. The theme of the artwork highlights the local response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The murals continue inside, where you will find one that pays tribute to the history of the Cowboy Cafe. It features all the previous owners, some loved employees, and an all-time favorite customer, Jerome Williams, who passed a few years back. The murals, like the bar itself, celebrate the local history and community of Langston Boulevard.