A new sports bar chain with a family focus is hitting the Dallas market. Called Bubba's 33, it's a concept from the Kentucky-based Texas Roadhouse chain, and it will open a branch in Mesquite, in what was previously a restaurant called BBQ Tavern and, before that, Randy White's.
The first Bubba's 33 opened in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in 2013; now, there are a dozen locations, including one in Waco and another in Houston. Its menu is sports-bar fare, with wings, fried pickles, nachos, pizza, burgers, sandwiches, and a few entrées, such as rib-eye and fried shrimp, served in plastic baskets lined with paper.
There are layered cheese fries, onion rings which they thoughtfully offer in a full or half-order, a statuesque wedge salad, and a veggie burger made with black bean and quinoa.
Depending on who you read, the "33" Bubba's 33 is either for the temperature of the beer it serves, or else for 1933, the year Prohibition ended.
The atmosphere includes big-screen TVs, vintage signs, music posters, and sports memorabilia, plus retro furniture with a diner vibe.
Owner Dave Boese says that they're targeting the end of October for an opening date.
"It's a new concept, we have 12 open right now across the country," he says. "We are under the Texas Roadhouse umbrella. That's how we landed on that spot in Mesquite. There's a Texas Roadhouse there that is incredibly popular."
While it does have all the hallmarks of a sports bar, there are a few things they do a little differently.
"We do the sports bar thing because we have 62 TVs," he says. "It's impossible to look up and not see a TV. But it's family dining. There's a kids' menu, and the main dining room is comfortable for families. But the bar is called the Garage Bar, it's separated from the main dining room by windows that can be raised and lowered, so you can contain that energy."
"The pizzas are hand-stretched, we do a great job with wings, and we have a burger that 33 percent of the patty is ground bacon," he says.
Did you see that? Yes, 33 percent.
