Steakhouse News

4 big Dallas restaurant names to open at hip McKinney development

You'd know that big carrot anywhere.

Photo courtesy of Bob's Steak & Chop House

A new development in McKinney will open with some big Dallas restaurant names. The development is District 121, a $250 million mixed-use development at the northeast corner of State Highway 121 and Alma Road, adjacent to Craig Ranch.

According to a release, the restaurants will include four restaurants featuring steak, Tex-Mex, pizza, and craft beer, as follows:

Bob's Steak & Chop House, which will occupy a 7,600-square-foot standalone building, which will also incorporate a cigar bar
Mi Cocina, which will occupy a 6,600-square-foot standalone location, which will also incorporate an upscale bar similar to the Monkey Bar at its Highland Park location
Common Table, a bar/eatery with a friendly neighborhood vibe
400 Gradi, the upscale Italian restaurant with Neapolitan pizza

Phase One of District 121, which will open this spring, will include Kaizen's office building with an 800-space parking garage. The first restaurants will open in spring 2023.

District 121 sits on 17.85 acres adjacent to Craig Ranch and is anchored by Kaizen Development’s 200,000 square-foot, Class A, eight-story office tower, which recently topped out.

The retail/corporate/restaurant development also includes 520,000 square feet of office, along with other uses such as a hotel. District 121 focuses on corporate headquarters and daytime employment. There's no residential component; according to the release, there's an unprecedented 6,500 residents living within a two-block radius.

How about some quotes.

"It is exciting to see the vision of District 121 coming to fruition," says David Craig, Chairman and CEO of Craig International, whose subsidiary, District 121 Retail, LLC , is developing the project along with Craig International's Miles Prestemon. "We are creating a unique ambiance that includes some of the most successful restaurants in the metroplex overlooking a magnificent park. It would not have happened if the City of McKinney did not share in this same vision. The City, along with the McKinney Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and the McKinney Community Development Corporation (MCDC) all played significant roles in making District 121 become a reality."

Bob's Steak & Chop House founder Bob Sambol says he's excited about being one of the first restaurants at District 121, and takes a delicious shot against chicken.

"Our restaurant has become part of the community and where people have dined and celebrated all their special occasions since 1993," Sambol says. "When it’s time to gather and celebrate you don’t say 'Let’s go out and have some chicken.' You go to Bob’s and have a great steak. Our District 121 location will look and feel like the original location on Lemmon Avenue and it will have the added attraction of a Cigar Lounge."

M Crowd Restaurant Group president/CEO Edgar Guevara says this will be the 23rd Mi Cocina. God bless him, he also mentions the Mambo Taxi.

Guests will enjoy Mi Cocina favorites like enchiladas, fajitas and of course, the legendary Mambo Taxi in the uniquely-designed restaurant," Guevara says. "This newest location will also feature an upscale, elevated bar on the second floor for adults to enjoy margaritas and cocktails, while overlooking the District 121 Park and Stage below."

Thomas Glendenning, partner with SHOP Companies, and the genius who is leasing these retail and restaurant spaces along with fellow SHOPper Landry Kemp, says more tenants are on the way.

"I’ve never been part of a more successful pre-leasing activity than what I’ve witnessed in District 121," Glendenning says. "We've had an overwhelming response to this project and expect to announce more tenants soon."

"These first restaurant tenants have set the stage for District 121 to be the new 'it' place to be in DFW," says Michael Jones, Senior VP at Texas Bank and Trust, which is the loan originator for the project. "The combination of restaurant favorites and new eateries will give this destination an unmatched energy and liveliness once it's complete."

openings

Burger News

Family-owned Patty Lou's Smashburgers will open in old downtown Plano

Photo by Sara Aurora Cimminiello on Unsplash

Smashburger

A new restaurant starring a buzzy burger is coming to old downtown Plano: Called Patty Lou's Smashburgers, it will feature the namesake smashburger, and will open at 1004 E. 14th St. #105, in a historic location that was most recently home to a Starbucks.

Patty Lou's is a new concept from Urban Family Concepts, the hospitality company whose other restaurants include Urban Seafood Co., Urban Rio Cantina & Grill, and Italian restaurant Urban Crust, all located in the downtown Plano area.

Patty Lou's is their burger entry, a quick-service spot serving smashburgers, the flattened version of a burger with crisp edges that's been a hot trend for the past year.

According to Urban Family Concepts partner and spokesperson Dana Blaugrund, the restaurant will open in late spring.

Patty Lou's is also a sweet homage to a family member — named for Patty Lou Peters, of "Patty Lou and her Texas Sweethearts" fame, an all-female country & Western / Western swing group founded in the '40s, when female groups were a rarity.

Patty Lou was the mother of Bonnie Shea, who co-founded Urban Family Concepts with her husband Nathan Shea. Infusing the personal touch into everything they do is part of the company DNA, says Urban partner Michael Lee.

"Urban is generally driven by what we like," Lee says. "Urban Rio, our Mexican concept, came about because Bonnie loved that cuisine, and Urban Seafood Company, Nate loves seafood. Burgers are a favorite of their son-in-laws."

Their version of the smashburger will feature American cheese and onions that melt into the meat, Lee says. They'll be served on potato buns, and there'll be some toppings — but they won't go too crazy.

"It'll have onions, lettuce, and pickle, but we're going to stay minimal, with additional toppings on the side," he says. "Going overboard with ingredients can get complicated. Our goal is, very simple burgers that taste very good, at a value price, so that everyone can enjoy coming back and getting a burger."

The menu will also feature smashed chicken burgers, hand-cut French fries skin on, lightly battered onion rings, and milkshakes. They'll also serve alcohol, including bottled beers, wine by the glass, and a signature frozen cocktail. Eventually, they'll add specials like a burger of the month.

The location was originally home to the Ice House, built in 1917, an institution that provided ice products to Plano residents and businesses, says Urban partner Payton Hickey.

"You could pull up and get a block of ice from workers with tongs," Hickey says. "During remodeling, we could still see the raised floor where the freezer was, where they kept the ice."

They operated a licensed location of Starbucks in that space until 2024, when Starbucks opened a store nearby with a drive-thru in the former longtime Jack in the Box at 15th Street and US-75.

Decor at Patty Lou's will embrace a diner feel with counter seating, while incorporating elements from Patty Lou Peter's life, Blaugrund says. (It's a nice coincidence that her name syncs up with "hamburger patty.")

"We'll have her original guitar and some memorabilia in the restaurant — a cool mixture of country music and burger restaurant," Blaugrund says.

burgers openings