Food Hall News

Uptown Dallas food hall unveils late-night hours and fun michelada bar

New decor feels more like a lounge and less like a mall.

Photo courtesy of The Commons

One of Dallas' original food halls has undergone a reboot with a new name, new managers, hours, vendors, and a totally new focus. So many new.

The venue formerly known as Uptown Urban Market is now called The Commons at Cedar Springs, and will celebrate its grand opening on March 3 with an amusingly dubbed event called Brunch the Pain Away.

The new sheriff in town is SBBC Hospitium, the management company headed by brothers Chris and Mark Beardon that owns clubs such as The Tipsy Alcheist as well as Ill Minster Pub, the bar that is part of the food hall.

"The Commons at Cedar Springs is a communal food hall, work space, and local hangout that's open to the public," Chris Beardon says. "We have comfortable seating, free wifi, TVs, elecrical outlets, and premium food and drink vendors."

Located on the ground floor of the Gables Villa Rosa apartment building, this space has seen a number of concepts come and go; it was once the sushi restaurant Naan.

Uptown Urban Market opened with a splash in late 2016, with food stalls from familiar names such as Tiffany Derry, La Duni, and Fireside Pies.

"Their approach was to have some higher end vendors, but I think it didn't fit the demographic of the area," Beardon says. "We were doing well with the Ill Minster Pub, and we didn't want to lose that, so we volunteered to take over the hall ourselves."

They've replaced the former food stands with a fresh new lineup that includes OMG Tacos, Totta Yama Sushi, Ampersand Coffee, and a new pizzeria concept called Slice-O Pizza.

"When we went looking for food concepts, we looked for young, enthusiastic vendors who really wanted to showcase what they do," he says.

Other big changes include longer hours and a remodel of the interior to give it more of a lounge feel. Stuffed couches and sexy lighting make it feel less clinical and more like a bar.

Their new extended hours run later — a smart offering in a neighborhood filled with bars and clubs.

"The OMG Tacos folks stay open until 3 am every night, and the pizza guy will stay open until 3 am on the weekends, and that's a big bonus," Beardon says. "There are so many people looking for a bite after the nearby clubs close at 2 am."

Ampersand was exactly the right coffee vendor because it already has experience serving day and night customers. "In the morning they'll be there for commuters or for people who want coffee and a breakfast taco, but they'll also do some fun adult coffee beverages," Beardon says.

There'll be dollar mimosas and a fun "michelada bar" where customers can buy a can of beer and create-their-own. "Every Saturday and Sunday, we'll set up a high-top table with all of the ingredients you can add yourself," he says.

They're also in talks with a "healthy option" that will fill the missing piece of salads and sandwiches to-go for lunch.

"Our main goal is to have something inviting for the neighborhood, for the young professionals and students that live and work in the area," he says.

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Hot Dog News

Shorty's Coneys & Cocktails to dish sophisticated hot dogs in McKinney

thembites.com

Coney-style hot dogs will be on the menu at Shorty's Coneys & Cocktails.

A fun casual restaurant concept from a savvy player is coming to McKinney. Called Shorty's, it'll open in McKinney's charming Historic Downtown Square at 109 N. Kentucky St., where it will channel a quintessential Northeast-style hot dog shop.

According to owner Bryan McVay, it'll open in mid-March.

McVay is a food & beverage veteran who's worked in management and corporate finance for hospitality groups such as FB Society. He's also a native of Pittsburgh who worked at such a shop in his teens.

"In that part of the country, every town has a hot dog shop, and I worked at one through my high school days," McVay says.

But Shorty's is more than a hot dog shop. The full name is Shorty's Coneys & Cocktails, and it will surely serve hot dogs — but also burgers, sandwiches, and bar-style appetizers like fried pickles, not to mention a full bar.

McVay's approach is informed by the street-style food culture of big cities like New York. "I'm keeping in mind portability, where you grab a bite, and that's how we'll package everything," he says.

Mostly everything on the menu will be priced at $10 or less.

"Downtown McKinney has plenty of nice sit-down restaurants but we wanted to provide something not already offered, with good-quality food," he says.

During the day, Shorty's focus will be primarily on food: a place for McKinney visitors, couples, and families with kids to grab a bite. Later in the day, the emphasis will shift to a pre-date-night destination, a place to get a cocktail before or after dinner.

"We've kept the menu narrow, but with a goal to do everything at the highest level," McVay says. To that end, he recruited chef John Franke to consult. The centerpiece of the menu will be a Coney-style hot dog.

"Our Coney dog comes topped with chili, chopped white onions, and mustard," McVay says. "Although it's associated with Coney Island in New York, we're doing a style often found in Detroit. Our goal is to offer a fantastic Coney-style dog, but a cheffed-up version."

Other menu items include:

Smashburgers including one with hot pepper, bacon, BBQ sauce, and chili cheese
Chicken ranch sandwich
Filet O'Whitefish
Philly cheesesteak
Classic BLT
Haley's Killer Chili — "In Texas, they'll kill you if you put beans in your chili — well this chili has beans in it," McVay says.

Plus sides and snacks such as fried pickle chips, mozzarella bites, poutine, chili cheese fries, and "fancy fries" — cooked in trendy beef tallow.

This circa-1920 photo shows the facade of 109 N. Kentucky St. in McKinney Historic Square with the original "Drinks Lunches" sign.Shorty's/City of McKinney

The vision
McVay began his hospitality career with Hard Rock Cafe, and has worked for concepts such as House of Blues, Fox Sports Grill, and FB Society, where he lent a hand in the creation of Legacy Food Hall in Plano.

"Along the way, I always had this itch to do my own thing — connecting to my early days, and what made me fall in love with the restaurant industry, which was the idea of creating your own brand," he says.

The idea of Shorty's is rooted in nostalgia.

"My idea was to do a Northeast shotgun-style bar that has evolved over time so you feel the nostalgia around you," he says.

The right location was important. It took him four years to find the McKinney storefront, most recently a coffeehouse called Snug on the Square which closed during the pandemic, and previously home to an antique store, a rug store, and a bakery & coffee shop.

"Many of the buildings in downtown McKinney are 150 years old," he says. "Retrofitting a building that old and figuring out how to add modern necessities like ventilation and grease traps can be a challenge."

But it also means that the building comes with vintage treasures — from pressed tin panels on the walls to an original wood floor. McVay worked with the Texas Historical Society to preserve elements of the facade and retain some of the building's original character.

Over the entry, he's installed a cool retro "Coneys & Cocktails" sign that looks like it was made in the 1930s.

"I worked with two longtime sign makers who crafted the sign in the old-school style with blown glass," McVay says. "It took a few tries to get a sign that met the approval of the city of McKinney. We found a photo of the downtown square from decades ago which showed an original neon sign on the building. It said 'drinks & lunches.' So we recreated that sign — the exact same look, shape, and feel — but it says 'Coneys & Cocktails' instead."

"I'm trying to recreate what it might have looked like if it was a bar, 150 years ago," he says.

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