Dan’s Silverleaf
Equal Parts History and Legend
In an alternate universe, Dan Mojica runs an independent bookstore in Chicago and probably still writes poetry. But in the actual timeline of our reality, Dan never opened that bookshop with his hippy, artist friends. Instead, he stopped in Dallas to “stand up at a friend’s wedding,” and got lost in the bar scene of 1980’s Greenville Avenue.
Pretty soon he was stumbling into early Stevie Ray Vaughn shows back when cover was only a couple bucks – or writing his own songs and attempting to hand them off, via cassette, to his favorite musicians when they passed through town. The trajectory of our hero’s life had been permanently altered just as his future entrepreneurial endeavors would go on to alter, sometimes on a nightly basis, the lives of so many of Denton’s loyal, beer-drinking citizens.
Dan loves bars. He knows the best ones in all his favorite towns. And probably a couple good ones in some towns he doesn’t even like. Running a bar isn’t just a job for him. It’s part public service and part art project. Over the years, he’s built, largely with his own hands, a festive, music-filled, beer joint for his countless friends. He’s given us a place to celebrate – and, when necessary, a safe space to mourn.
Dan’s Silverleaf, like Dan’s Bar before it, is a multigenerational phenomenon where you can find fathers sharing the stage with their sons – and daughters serving their mothers (and likely, their fathers, too) from behind the iconic concrete bar top. That’s pretty badass. Even if Dan does say so himself.
— Harlin Anderson
Here’s a play-by-play of how it all went down, straight from the man himself.
Part I: Dan’s Bar
1993. Dan Mojica, despite being a decorated preventer of airplane explosions, realizes he is unhappy with his job refueling commercial aircraft. He resolves to either get another one or stop whining.
Dec. 1994. Dan decides that opening a bar is his best bet for finding happiness, and cold beer, at work. Despite his family history of bar ownership, Dan has only ever BEEN a patron. Never a bar worker. Regardless, a space is secured at the old Stop Shop and Swap space at 109 N. Elm St in Denton. Dan cashes in his 401K, and approximately 4K is contributed by his Grandmother and Father-In-Law.
March 14, 1995. Dan's Bar, after a total investment of $12,700 and countless hours building out a previously empty space, opens its doors for the first time. Beer, wine, raw oysters, and peanuts are the main menu items. Maybe they are the only menu items. It was a long time ago and everyone was drinking.
May, 1995. The bar makes enough money, $2,000, to install air conditioning. Smiles prevail as the heat of the Texas summer looms ominously over Dan’s thirsty patrons and their sweating beers.
Local musicians literally start wandering in to check out Dan’s place. Many of them like what they find. Some of them never leave. Deep Blue Something signs their record deal at the bar. Pops Carter, Joe Pat Hennen, and Mary Cutrufello start booking shows regularly. Dan makes flyers out of actual paper. No computers necessary.
Dan's friend Pam Chittenden starts preparing high-class bar food in a rudimentary kitchen consisting of two hot plates. They eventually marry 20 years later, but that's a different story that involves many more hot plates.
1997ish. Details grow foggy. The main room spills into the next door space to accommodate more bands and bigger crowds. Theater seats are added near the sound guy’s perch. A makeshift bar at the back of the room, cash only if memory serves, pops up during shows, so thirsty revelers don’t have to miss any of the music. Slobberbone plays there. As do Brave Combo, Norah Jones, and Centromatic. Brian Lane wears a Dan's Bar t-shirt on the inside cover photo for Crow Pot Pie. Members of The New Bohemians are photographed in the same garb. Things start happening. The Gourds, The Drive By Truckers, Hamell On Trial, Little Jack Melody grace the stage. Word spreads.
Indeterminate Date, Autumn 1998. High Noon. Per Dan's suggestion, the Drive By Truckers play a pre-game tent party for a University of North Texas football game. It’s a family event, so Dan humbly requests that the band maybe not play Buttholeville.
Indeterminate Date, Autumn 1998. 1pm. The Drive By Truckers kick off the tent party with Buttholeville. Dan, no doubt, winces mightily while taking a pull off a cold beer.
Fast Forward to 2001. Mojica and company defy the odds. Considerable kudos are heaped upon the bar for both food and entertainment. Life is pretty not bad.
September 11, 2001. Circumstances prevail. The hospitality business takes an ominous turn.
November 15, 2001. Dan's Bar is celebrated on KERA's show DFW's Best Kept Secrets.
Fast Backward to November 14. 3am. Dan's Bar closes for the final time. People who would soon hear about it on the radio the next day are shit out of luck.
Part II: The Silverleaf
June 13, 2002. Denton doesn’t get the chance to miss Dan Mojica’s special brand of hospitality for long. Upon securing a new location at 103 Industrial St, Dan and his new partner, Rick Moore, officially open Dan’s Silver Leaf. The new bar has a totally different look – think bordertown bordello or Boy’s Town morphed into Middle-Aged Man’s town – but the vibe (Charles Bukowski might have written about it) and the regulars (Chuck might have drank with them) remain the same. The new location is a bit of a ghost town. The only neighbors at the time are two feed stores and a place where you could buy incense or have your fortune told. Dan frequents all three. Parking is never a problem, but people have trouble with the name (is it Silverleaf or Silver Leaf?). The Gourds bring down the house on opening night.
July 2002. The Silver Leaf forges on as a serious music venue, working with KHYI 95.3 The Range to establish the bar as a “go-to” spot for Americana. James McMurtry, Gary P. Nunn, Dale Watson, Eleven Hundred Springs, The Derailers, Bill Kirchen, Reckless Kelly, and Joe Ely become familiar faces.
May 2004. Rick Moore and Dan amicably agree to part ways. Dan approaches friend and part owner of Little Guys Movers, Chad Nichols, about becoming a partner. Nichols and fellow Little Guys Chris Hawley and Marcus Watson sign on for a wild ride, launching a long-lasting partnership and friendship. Chad eventually moves on to other endeavors, but Chris and Marcus can still be found drinking cold beer on the back patio to this very day.
March 12 & 13, 2005. Denton’s favorite sons and the greatest bar band of all time, Slobberbone, choose Dan’s Silver Leaf as the site of their final two shows. It’s a momentous occasion. Special guests are invited. Tickets sell out. Fans tailgate in the parking lot before, during, and after the show. A man walks into a road sign on the way home and momentarily knocks himself out. For two epic nights, the teal barroom of Dan’s Silver Leaf is a melting pot of Slobberbone fans from across the world. Unfamiliar voices sing along together. Tears are shed.
2006. Dan diversifies and the range of genres represented expands dramatically. Leon Russell, Allan Holdsworth, Ian McLagan, Jimi Tunnell, Hamell On Trial, Mike Stern, David Lindley, Bill Frisell, Eddie Gomez, Riverboat Gamblers, Brutal Juice, Mission From Burma, Monte Montgomery, Emily Gimble, Paul Barrere & Fred Tackett, and Shinyribs blast the repertoire into the A To Z category. Folks still can’t decide if its Silverleaf or Silver Leaf.
July 15, 2008. Whiskey Glass Eye, the preeminent Slobberbone cover band, plays a matinee show at The Silver Leaf. Tears of joy are shed. Vegetarians suddenly begin to eat meat. All is well in the 940 once more. An integral part of the soul of Dan’s Silver Leaf is restored.
And so on, and so forth. To this very day, Dan and his partners take the deepest of pride in curating fine music experiences in a welcoming setting. The sound is second to none, and the staff is almost always friendly. But don’t take our word for it. Stop in for a cold beer at Denton’s seminal music venue and see for yourself. Who knows? You just might catch a bit of soundcheck and decide to stay for the show.