Food Halls
Chef John Tesar's Knife Burger and others bail on Plano Legacy food hall
Everything is not coming up roses at Legacy Hall, the food hall in Plano, which is seeing an exodus of chefs including high profile Top Chef contestant John Tesar.
Tesar, who opened his burger stand Knife Burger in November 2017, tells the Dallas Morning News that he will close, following a dispute over his contract with food hall owner Front Burner Group, stating that the profits are "tilted in their favor and they just keep tilting it."
Tesar follows other departures that include Deep Ellum's Monkey King Noodle Co. and Tight Quarters, a bowl concept from chef Tim Byres.
Other recent closures include Glazed Donut Works and Chez Dip, the French dip sandwich place from chef Tom Fleming, which closed after six weeks at the hall, according to Escape Hatch Dallas.
According to Fleming, Legacy Hall management claimed there would be 5,600-6,000 people a day at the hall, but Fleming saw only one day when traffic came close to that number.
A spokesman from Food Hall Co., the management company, told the DMN that the slowdown was seasonal.
In a Facebook post delivered in his customary style, Tesar says that Legacy Hall was beset by "chaos, confusion, no parking, and terrible management," and suggested that diners get their Knife Burger at Willow Bend in Plano or at the Fort Worth location on Crockett Row.
The DMN cites other issues beyond a lack of customers that include a wonky payment system requiring customers to pay with credit cards or hall gift cards; and the fact that Legacy Hall eats up all the alcohol profits since it owns all of the venues selling alcohol.
Legacy Hall recently reconceived their wine bar, now called Blush Wine Bar; and added High Bar Kitchen & Tap, a full-service kitchen with additional seating on the third floor by the Unlawful Assembly Brewing Co. space.
About 50 different beer, wine, bourbon, and cocktail options will be on the tap wall. Photo courtesy of Stone & Oak