BBQ to the North

Lockhart Smokehouse to open restaurant in old downtown Plano

BBQ fans in Collin County are about to be served.
Lockhart Smokehouse
Lockhart is in expansion mode.
Downtown Plano gets a BBQ joint.
Historic Downtown Plano Association

In huge news for barbecue fans as well as old downtown Plano, Bishop Arts BBQ spot Lockhart Smokehouse will open a second branch at 1026 E. 15th St., the main drag on Plano's downtown strip.

The restaurant is going into the Sutton Place furniture store, which is cutting its space in half to sublease to Lockhart, says Kevin Sutton, who owns the store with his father, Richard.

"The wall will be going up in the next couple weeks," Kevin says. "We decided to do this because the property value is just worth too much these days. It made more sense for us to be a landlord."

Lockhart co-owner Jill Grobowsky Bergus calls it a "fabulous area."

"We live in Far North Dallas, and we've been gong to Jorg's Cafe Vienna for years," she says. "Now Jorg is our new best friend, because we talk about the neighborhood. It reminds us of Bishop Arts, with the urban environment of people walking around and stumbling in. And that area is bereft of barbecue. There are a few places on the west by the Tollway, but there really isn't anything over there."

Downtown Plano's landscape has changed dramatically in the past 10 years, Kevin Sutton says.

"It's bars and restaurants, bars and restaurants," he says. "At nighttime it's hot. You compare that to the '80s and '90s, when it was little shops."

Openings in the past five years include Fillmore Pub, Vickery Park, Urban Crust and Zanata. There's also a new coffee shop, Fourteen Eighteen Coffeehouse, around the corner at 1418 Avenue K.

Sutton says there's a chance he and his father may end up renting out the rest of the space too. "If having Lockhart in increases the property value on this side, it would make sense," he says. "We may up leasing out both sides and going to someplace like downtown McKinney, where it’s more retail focused."

As for the timetable, Bergus is aiming for sometime this year. "We have to do demo and construction, but we're hoping before the year ends," she says.

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Bagel News

Buzzy Northeast chain PopUp Bagels ready to debut in Dallas

PopUp Bagels

PopUp Bagels coming to Dallas.

A buzzy bagel concept founded in the Northeast is coming to Dallas: Called PopUp Bagels, it famously started as a backyard project during the pandemic, and will open a location at Inwood Village, in the former I Heart Yogurt shop (which only just closed), next to the Inwood Theatre at 5450 W Lovers Ln. #143.

Signage has already gone up on the location and according to a spokesperson, the shop will open in early spring.

PopUp Bagels was founded in Westport, Connecticut by entrepreneur and home baker Adam Goldberg, with his cousin Jeff Lewis, as a side project during the pandemic, when everyone was baking at home. The bagels earned such a warm reception that Goldberg started hosting bagel popups in various locations near his home.

The concept's success has been helped by a national surge of interest in bagels, as well as viral moments on TikTok and other social media. Goldberg sold the concept to equity growth firm Stripes in 2023, who drew celebrity investors such as Paul Rudd and Michael Phelps, with plans to open hundreds of locations across the U.S. Talk is cheap but for now, there are 23 locations in New York, Maine, Florida, Connecticut, Massachusetts, California, and North Carolina.

One of their selling points for a seamless expansion is that they've kept things simple including a compact menu of bagels, spreads, and a pound of smoked salmon. There's a minimum purchase of three bagels, along with a mandatory tub of cream cheese or butter, for $12, and they only offer five flavors: plain, salt, poppy, sesame, and everything.

Bagels are sold whole only, no sandwiches and also not sliced — leading to their nickname "rip and dip," in which customers rip the bagels and dip them into spreads. Their texture is softer and lighter than the classic New York dense bagel, making them easier to "rip."

They're also known for their collaborations on over-the-top schmear flavors — beyond their regular original cream cheese, scallion cream cheese, and vegan cream cheese — which they rotate in with frequency. Recent specialty schmears include Honey Chipotle Cream Cheese, Salted Maple Banana Bread Schmear, Cheez-It Schmear, and a Lemon Pepper Schmear just announced with WingStop that summons the wing chain's Lemon Pepper sauce.

bagels openings