Craft Beer News

Outdoor growler bar in The Colony pairs up dogs and craft beer

Pets and beer, all in one convenient location.

Photo courtesy of Billingsley Co.

Just in time for summer, a new concept is opening at The Shacks, the 8-acre outdoor complex in The Colony from the Billingsley family, and this one has beer.

It's called Grrrowler's Tap Room and Beer Garden, which is very clever since it appeals to both dog owners and beer enthusiasts alike. Grrr for the dogs, and growler for the beer. Is this over-explaining?

Grrrowler's features seasonal and local craft beer and growler fills from 25 taps; growler fills being where you bring your own bottle and fill it with beer on tap. Is this over-explaining? There are also four wines on tap, plus packaged beers and single-serve wines available for carryout.

According to a release, the owners and operators are sister and brother Leigh Ann and Doug Karr.

"We got the idea when visiting the dog park one day and realized the only thing missing from The Shacks [at Austin Ranch] was fine craft beer," Doug says in a release.

Their build-out includes an extra-large patio that extends over the one-acre dog park.

Billingsley Company VP Sumner Billingsley says that they liked the tap room's Austin vibe.

"When your dog park can also double as a beer garden, it seems a bit like Austin to us, and that felt right for this space," she says.

The Billingsleys intentionally kept the natural views and large trees when developing this plot of land, in a nod to the Hill-Country inspiration that so many years ago gave way to the name Austin Ranch.

Grrrowler's shares a large open-air patio with Ten Ramen, OMG Tacos, and two shacks from restaurateur Frank Carabetta: Dirty Burger Bar and Tackle Box Seafood.

Amazingly, The Shacks will celebrate their one-year anniversary on June 16; it seems like only yesterday that CultureMap was breaking the news of its existence. How time flies when you're a breaking-news fiend, tra la la.

They're hosting an event on the patio from 11 am-2 pm with a vendor fair, pet events, and food and drink specials from the bars and restaurants overlooking the dog park, plus a bounce house and face painter.

Located at the southeast corner of Windhaven Parkway and Plano Parkway, the project is designed as an amenity for not only the 5,000+ residents at Austin Ranch, but for nearby single-family and corporate communities as well.

Billingsley Company has been active in the 1,700-acre master-planned development since 2010. New multifamily developments include The Boat House and The Hudson, and new office tenants include Sanyo and Quest Resource Management.

Billingsley Company is also doing a 300,000-square-foot build-to-suit office campus for AmerisourceBergen Specialty Group which will open in 2019.

pets craft-beer

Flair News

TGI Fridays files for bankruptcy, all 6 Dallas locations now closed

TGI Fridays

Restaurant chain TGI Fridays filed for bankruptcy protection on November 2, saying it is looking for ways to “ensure the long-term viability” of the casual dining brand after closing many of its branches in 2024.

The Dallas-based company's Chapter 11 filing in a Texas federal court accelerates a gradual decline for an iconic chain that was once near the center of American pop culture but has seen its customer base dwindle as tastes changed.

TGI Fridays executive chairman Rohit Manocha said in a statement that the challenges were a result of COVID-19.

"The next steps announced today are difficult but necessary actions to protect the best interests of our stakeholders, including our domestic and international franchisees and our valued team members around the world," Manocha said. "The primary driver of our financial challenges resulted from COVID-19 and our capital structure. This restructuring will allow our go-forward restaurants to proceed with an optimized corporate infrastructure that enables them to reach their full potential."

Until recently, Dallas-Fort Worth had 11 locations including five at DFW Airport. Those airport locations are the only ones still open. The remaining six are all now closed — some closures very recent, most after being in business for a decade or more: 4951 Belt Line Rd. in Addison; 311 N. Clark St. in Cedar Hill, southwest of Dallas; 3700 Towne Crossing Blvd. in Mesquite; and 220 Cornflower Dr. at Firewheel Town Center in Garland.

A Plano location at 2444 Preston Rd. closed in 2022 and is now home to Rise Souffle, while the flagship in Dallas' West End at 1713 Market St. closed in 2020 after 32 years.

Privately owned by TriArtisan Capital Advisors, TGI Fridays has been a beloved dining destination since its inaugural bar opened in Manhattan in 1965. It expanded over the following decades to become a ubiquitous suburban gathering spot known for its ribs, potato skins topped with cheese and bacon, and a decor bedecked with red stripes and Tiffany-style lamps.

The company has boasted that its bartenders trained Tom Cruise for his role in the 1988 film Cocktail, while its serving staff's button-filled uniforms, meant to evoke a fun atmosphere, were later parodied in the 1999 satire Office Space, starring Jennifer Aniston.

Its empire peaked in 2008 with 601 restaurants in the U.S. and a $2 billion business, according to Kevin Schimpf, director of industry research at Technomic. Its sales in the U.S. were $728 million in 2023, down 15% from the prior year, according to Technomic.

It now counts 163 restaurants in the U.S., down from 269 last year and 213 from a week ago. It closed 36 in January and dozens more in the past week. TGI Fridays Inc. said it only owns and operates 39 restaurants in the U.S, a fraction of the 461 TGI Fridays-branded restaurants around the world.

A separate entity, TGI Fridays Franchisor, owns the intellectual property and has franchised the brand to 56 independent owners in 41 countries. Those are independently owned and not part of the Chapter 11 process, and remain open.

A United Kingdom-based franchisee, Hostmore, also sought debt protection in September and abruptly closed locations throughout that country after a failed takeover deal to acquire TGI Fridays.

During the pandemic TGI Fridays made an effort to expand into the delivery market by making itself a hub for ghost kitchens, which have no storefront and only prepare food for delivery. Among the major creditors owed money by TGI Fridays is the delivery service DoorDash, according to Saturday's bankruptcy court filings.

Sit-down chain restaurants more broadly have faced challenges in recent years as diners choose to get food delivered or visit upscale fast-food chains like Chipotle and Shake Shack. In September a U.S. bankruptcy judge approved a reorganization plan for the seafood chain Red Lobster after years of mounting losses. Italian American food chain Buca di Beppo filed for bankruptcy protection in August. PAnother iconic U.S. sit-down restaurant, Denny's, announced in October that it is closing 150 of its lowest-performing restaurants in an effort to turn around the brand’s flagging sales. Wendy’s is also closing up to 140 restaurants, according to a statement from The Wendy's Co. on October 31.