Opening News

The Star in Frisco reboots with 5 new restaurants and bars

Chimichurri cheeseburger at Sidecar Social in Addison

Worry not, there will be burgers. There are always burgers.

Photo courtesy of Visit Addison

The Star District — the entertainment district at the Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters and practice facility at The Star in Frisco — is debuting five new restaurants and bars that include Italian, seafood, Indian, and cocktails, opening in 2022.

The complex has not had an easy time since it unveiled its first dozen restaurants in 2016, and the pandemic has not helped.

This newest batch includes an Italian restaurant from the Lombardi family and an outdoor venue, plus new concepts and cocktail lounges from local restaurateurs.

Lombardi Cucina Italiana - 6655 Winning Drive #605
Well here's some florid press release wordage: "The atmosphere at Lombardi Cucina Italiana will remind you of an open-air villa in Italy surrounded by olive trees, Italian marble, and Venetian chandeliers."

The menu will be "authentic Italian cuisine with a modern touch," led by culinary director Alfio Longo and chef Ty Thaxton, with pastas be produced daily in an open style ‘pasta laboratorio’ — how much you wanna bet that translates into "pasta laboratory"? — plus nonpasta categories such as fish, meat, and produce.

The Glen & Monarch Stag - 6655 Winning Drive, #600
Derek and Sheree Simms of Simms Hospitality Group, which owns J. Theodore and Rare Books Bar, are debuting not one but two new concepts: a restaurant called The Glen and an adjacent scotch bar called the Monarch Stag.

The inspiration is pretty arcane: They say that it's from The Monarch of the Glen, a British painting originally commissioned in 1851 for the Palace of Westminster.

The Glen will feature "hand-pressed" craft cocktails, wine, scotch, and seafood. It will also offer "experiential layers," including aerial performing artists and entertainers. Wow-wee.

Monarch Stag will have food, live music, cigar lounge, and scotch whisky and bourbon selections from around the world.

Sidecar Social - 6770 Winning Drive
Sidecar Social is the fun outdoor concept from On Deck Concepts, founded by Brent Tipps, founder of BoomerJack’s sports bar. The first Sidecar Social debuted in Addison in August 2019. This will be the second location.

Set to open in fall 2022, it'll be a massive 15,000-square-foot space featuring craft cocktails and bites, games, karaoke, live music, TVs, and an all-season patio.

Snowbird Cocktail Lounge & Kitchen - 6765 Winning Drive, #800
Bar and hospitality experts David Nguyen and Sobe Ahmed are partnering to debut a new concept, Snowbird Cocktail Lounge and Kitchen.

They describe it as an upscale Art Deco-inspired lounge with a "tantalizing array of mixology cocktails," small bites, and music.

It is surely not named for the flock of retirees who escape the cold in the Northeast every winter and head for Florida.

Roti Grill - 3675 Gaylord Parkway, #1105
Fresh Indian food restaurant is relocating from its original location in The Star District on Winning Drive and will reopen in early 2022 on Gaylord Parkway with an updated menu and enhanced interior including a new bar, and a large storefront patio for outdoor dining.

openings

Spicy chicken joint

TikTok-famed hot halal chicken chain The Red Chickz pecks into Carrollton

Facebook/The Red Chickz

Dipping hot chicken into sauce is a big thing at The Red Chickz.

A California hot chicken chain that's famous for being TikTok-famous is making its Dallas-Fort Worth debut in Carrollton. Called The Red Chickz, it will open at 3204 E. Hebron Pkwy. #220, Carrollton, on Saturday, July 25.

This will be The Red Chickz's second location in Texas, following a restaurant in Cypress, outside Houston.

Founded in Los Angeles in 2018, The Red Chickz serves 100 percent halal chicken with a California twist on Nashville hot chicken, says a release. Halal refers to the method in which the chicken are slaughtered, one that focuses on humane treatment of animals, cleanliness, and acknowledging the value of life.

The Red Chickz menu features chicken sandwiches, tenders, wings, tacos, and loaded fries, with seven spice levels ranging from no heat to extra hot.

Their signature item is the Honey Butter Sandwich, which pairs a Nashville hot chicken breast with honey butter, pickles, and slaw on a brioche bun. Other menu standouts include a French Toast Sandwich, Nashville Hot Chicken Tacos, cauliflower for vegetarians, plus sides such as cheese curds, corn ribs, mac and cheese, and seasoned fries.

They also offer a range of sauces for dipping, including Comeback Sauce, Honey Butter, Smoky Honey Mustard, and Homemade Buffalo Sauce.

The Carrollton restaurant is owned by franchisee Nazar Osman, an entrepreneur from Northeast Africa, who moved to the United States in 1992. He says he plans to open two more locations around Dallas.

CEO and co-founder Shawn Lalehzarian says the success of the Cypress restaurant made expanding further into Texas a logical decision.

"The incredible response we've seen in Cypress confirmed Texans have a strong appetite for bold flavors, quality food, and memorable dining experiences," he says in a release. "As the Dallas-Fort Worth region continues to attract new residents, businesses, and investment from across the country, Carrollton is a natural next step for our expansion."

Part of the chain's appeal comes from its modern social media strategy. Rather than relying on traditional advertising, The Red Chickz built its brand through TikTok videos showcasing the crunch, texture, and spice of its chicken, often tapping into viral trends and encouraging customers to create their own content.

Some (ie, those who don't work in traditional media) might say the strategy has paid off: The chain has amassed more than 1.2 million TikTok followers and recently was named a finalist for the 2026 Chicken Marketer of the Year award.

Similarly, their strategy to build buzz around the Carrollton store seems to have been to invite influencers to post videos of chicken being dipped in giant buckets of sauce, like this one and this one and this one and this one. Yummy!

To celebrate the grand opening in Carrollton, the first 150 customers on July 25 and 26 will receive a free Honey Butter Sandwich with a purchase, and all guests will get 25 percent off their order during opening weekend. Sauce for everyone!

hot chicken carrollton trends chicken