New Restaurant Contender
Copper Cup hopes to score big on Plano restaurant scene with subtle sports-bar vibe
A new bar-restaurant called Copper Cup is opening in Plano, from a family with a long history in Dallas restaurants. It will open in a couple of weeks off Central Expressway, in a location whose previous tenants have included Luna de Noche and Bennigan's.
It'll be a family-run operation from Val Kaba, whose parents, Mike and Kumri Kaba, opened their first branch of Cafe Amore in Snider Plaza back in 1981. (There remain two branches of Cafe Amore, in Richardson and Plano.)
Copper Cup is second-generation run, as Val partners up with cousins Ermant, Visar and Atdhe. "My father and my uncle shared a dream for their children to do something together, and here we are," Val says.
It's named after the copper cup in which the Moscow Mule, the specialty drink, is served, and the restaurant will have a very subtle sports-bar ambience, Val says.
"It'll be casual dining with burgers, wings and calamari — bar food," she says. "But it's not all fried. We are mixing it up."
There's grilled fish, a Caprese salad, artichoke dip and lots of wraps. There is also Italian — "since that's our specialty," she says. So why not just open an Italian place?
"We wanted to try something new, and do the whole bar thing," she says. "We're all in our 30s; we thought we'd spice it up a little bit."
In addition to the Moscow Mule, there are 12 taps that will include some local beers along with traditional brews. Although there are 14 TVs, there will be no team pennants. "Some things I refused," Val says. "I just don’t want to be cookie-cutter. We have 14 TVs — that’s enough sports."
Unconcerned about the history of the space, she feels confident that Copper Cup can be the one. "I know the [previous tenants'] reasons for closing," she says. "We know we won't be running it the way they did."
