Waldo bar has closed after 9 years. Here’s the plan for what comes next

David Hudnall
·1 min read

Johnny Kaw’s has closed in Waldo.

Brett Allred opened the bar in 2015 at 7439 Broadway after opening Shot Stop in the same location in 2013.

Allred, who also owns several bars in Westport, said Johnny Kaw’s will become Waldo Bar & Rec, a game bar featuring vintage arcade systems, shuffleboard, pop-a-shot and other games. He opened a similar concept, also called Bar Rec, in October at 4120 Pennsylvania Ave.

The cornhole setup inside Bar Rec, which opened in Westport in October. Owner Brett Allred is planning a similar concept at the former Johnny Kaw’s at 7439 Broadway.
The cornhole setup inside Bar Rec, which opened in Westport in October. Owner Brett Allred is planning a similar concept at the former Johnny Kaw’s at 7439 Broadway.

“It should be open by summer,” Allred said of the Waldo location.

Two other Allred establishments have closed over the past year. Johnny Kaw’s Yard Bar, which opened in 2018 at 4115 Mill St. in Westport, shut down in the fall. Bridger’s, a hip-hop nightclub at 504 Westport Road, announced in February it was closing temporarily but has not since reopened.

Allred said Tuesday that he has plans for new concepts for both spaces but wasn’t ready to share them yet. He said he expects both to be open this summer.