McKinney has a new burger joint that is already lighting up the Collin County foodie scene. Called Loyo Burger, it's part of the Local Yocal empire, and is newly opened in downtown McKinney at 216 W. Virginia St. #102, in the space next to Sugarbacon that has had some turnover (it was one a location of the Mad For Chicken chain).

The Local Yocal empire starts with Local Yocal Farm to Market, the artisanal butcher shop founded by rancher Matt Hamilton in McKinney in 2010. That was followed Local Yocal BBQ and Grill, a steakhouse and BBQ restaurant he opened in 2018.

Now comes Loyo - an abbreviation culled from Local Yocal - featuring a chef-driven menu of burgers with bold toppings, and featuring patties made from a blend of Wagyu ground beef, supplied by the butcher shop.

According to the restaurant team, Loyo was inspired by the best selling burger at Local Yocal BBQ & Grill. It's a gourmet cheeseburger with Tillamook cheddar, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, and sauce - but with ingredients made from scratch including house-made pickles and house-made sauce.

Loyo is similar to "better burger" concepts like Hopdoddy Burger Bar, with a lineup of burger options, most made from beef but also chicken, salmon, and veggie, as follows:

• Spicy Vaquero with jalapeño, caramelized onion, tortilla strips, tomato, smashed avocado, ghost pepper jack, and chi mayo
• Berry goat with a mixed berry bacon onion jam, goat cheese, and arugula
• Cowboy breakfast with bacon, fried egg, smashed tots, American cheese, and charred jalapeno/tomato jam
• Wagyu Yaki, with coffee rub, grilled pineapple, Tillamook cheddar, fried onion, arugula, bourbon teriyaki, & Fresno Chile mayo
• Crispy chicken thigh sandwich with pickles & Nashville hot sauce
• Salmon patty with roasted tomato, capers, kalamata olive, arugula, and dill mayo
• Dan burger, a quarter-pound patty with mustard, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, & Duke’s mayo

The name of their veggie burger is amusing: It's called “Necessary Evil” and consists of a housemate patty with avocado, tomato, Bibb lettuce, and crispy onions.

Sides include fries, garlic & sea salt tater tots, sweet potato fries, onion rings, fried pickles, and pork rinds. Fries are hand-cut, not too thick but not too thin, and onion rings are large and crunchy.

To get an idea of how exacting it all is, here's the description for their fried pickles: "Housemade Fried Pickles - Kirby cucumbers pickled in-house, breaded in a scratch-made batter, fried and served with our housemade ranch."

There are also two salads, a house salad and a Greek, with an ice cream sandwich for dessert.

Prices run from $11 to $14 for the burgers, and sides are $3 to $5. They also have a full bar, although a spokesperson says that for now, they have cocktails and beer only; wine is still TK.

It's a handsome space with a rustic vibe featuring wood tables and shiplap on the walls. Service is streamlined: You place your order sy a kiosk and they bring the food to you.