By Taylor Adams Cogan
Walking into Elm Street Saloon can feel like you’re entering a place where everyone seems to know each other. And if they don’t yet, they will before last call. Behind the bar, you can commonly find Rajeev “Raj” Pole, greeting folks like old friends. For him, this space isn’t just a business. It’s the latest chapter in a career spent chasing connection, creativity, and community, all of which he’s found in Deep Ellum.
Raj grew up in the suburbs but was always drawn to the energy of Dallas.
“Even when I didn’t live here, this was where I wanted to be,” he says.
In his twenties, he found himself spending more and more nights in Deep Ellum, pulled in by its mix of music, artists, and the sense that you could show up as yourself and still fit in.
He met JR Muñoz, now his business partner, through the local bar business, the two easily bonding over their shared love of hospitality and their belief that a good bar should feel like home. They spent years talking about opening a place together – something rooted in Deep Ellum’s history but not stuck in it.
“We wanted a bar that felt like this neighborhood: real people, real stories, no pretense,” Raj says.
That idea became Elm Street Saloon, which opened in 2022, bringing life back into the former Black Swan space. The goal was simple: keep the soul of Deep Ellum alive while giving people a space to gather, unwind, and belong.
“We didn’t want to reinvent anything,” Raj says. “We just wanted to give people a place that feels like Deep Ellum, music, friends, maybe a little chaos, but always love underneath it.”
The bar quickly found its rhythm. Locals stopped by after work. Musicians came in before and after their gigs. And visitors – many taking in Deep Ellum for the first time – were welcomed in like regulars. The saloon’s walls filled with laughter, stories, and a few hazy memories.
“We get everybody,” Raj says. “The old-school folks who’ve been here for decades, and the new kids just finding it. That’s what makes it special.”
He sees Elm Street Saloon as both a tribute and a contribution, a way to keep Deep Ellum’s spirit visible even as the city around it changes.
“There’s always been this heartbeat here,” he said. “You can feel it in the music, in the people who’ve stuck around. It’s not about nostalgia. It’s about carrying that forward.”
Running a bar in Deep Ellum is hardly ever easy, but Raj embraces the challenge. He’s proud to be part of the neighborhood’s ongoing story, one that’s messy, creative, and deeply human. “You’ve got to love this place to be here,” he says. “You’ve got to love the weirdness, the noise, the people. I do. That’s why I’m still here.”
On any given night, you might find him wiping down the bar, talking with guests, or stepping outside for a quick hello to someone passing by. It’s the kind of easy connection that continues to define Deep Ellum, the feeling that you’re part of something bigger just by being here.
As Raj puts it, “Deep Ellum’s always been about people. That’s the magic. It’s not one bar or one band or one era. It’s everybody who shows up and cares.”
And that’s exactly what he does, night after night: shows up and cares.
