The sincerest form of flattery

Dallas restaurant news, the spinoff edition: Hook Line & Sinker leads a convoy

The fried catfish at Hook Line & Sinker stands out from its peers.
Hook Line & Sinker/Facebook
The people of Bedford will soon be able to sample Twisted Root's Frito Banditoburger in their own backyard.
Twisted Root Burger Co./Facebook
Park Tavern in the Shops at Park Lane will soon have a sibling to the west, indowntown Fort Worth.
The Mediterranean shrimp salad at TruFire Kitchen & Bar has spinach, orzo,cucumber, tomato, feta cheese and, of course, shrimp.
TruFire Kitchen and Bar/Facebook
Torchy's Tacos opened its fourth DFW location December 5.
Torchy's Tacos/Facebook

After serving up crispy fried catfish and shrimp on McKinney Avenue for the past 17 years, seafood shack Hook Line & Sinker is ready for expansion. A second branch will open on Preston Road in early 2013. Hook, a.k.a. HLS, trolled northward for its new baby bro and will take over a Taco Cabana between Frankford and Campbell roads.

This will be Hook Line & Sinker Version 2.0, says Markus Pineyro, founder of the Urban Taco chain and partners with HLS founder John Tuma.

"Hook Line & Sinker has excellent food," Pineyro says. "John has always taken a lot of time with sourcing and with attention to the product, yet he kept it affordable. But I learned when I opened the Urban Taco on McKinney that the second branch is pivotal. You need to be able to re-create the level of quality and make it even better."

Hook Line & Sinker enjoys an all-walks-of-life clientele, with pickup trucks parked next to Mercedes Benzes — a mix you don't often see around Dallas-Fort Worth.

Hook Line & Sinker was a revelation when it opened in 1995, and not just because its fried fish seemed cleaner and less oily than anywhere else. It enjoys an all-walks-of-life clientele, with pickup trucks parked next to Mercedes Benzes — a mix you don't often see around Dallas-Fort Worth.

"Hook Line & Sinker has the ability to fit in with all demographics, whether it's West Village or Bishop Arts," Pineyro says. "It can camouflage itself as far as appealing to different people."

He and Tuma will capitalize on the restaurant's decor, duplicating its fun neon and kitschy boat motors. They will also expand the selection of grilled fish.

"I keep telling people, 'You gotta try the grilled salmon, the trout,'" Pineyro says. "They're amazing, and we expect them to be popular at the Preston location."

They also see the two concepts flourishing together.

"Hook Line & Sinker has the beer and the shrimp and the ice-house atmosphere, while Urban Taco is margaritas and tacos," he says. "We want to see what we can do about putting the two next to each other."

More spin-offs
Hook Line & Sinker is not the only place about to be cloned. Dallas restaurants are in expansion mode, with second and third locations coming soon all over the place.

Torchy’s Tacos, the Austin-based gourmet taqueria, opened its fourth Dallas-area branch in Casa Linda at 9440 Garland Rd. on December 5, where it serves specialty cocktails and infused tequilas along with beer and tacos.

Park Tavern, one of the many Restaurants America concepts sprouting up all over DFW, has signed on to open a location in Fort Worth, in the City Place development downtown, at 150 Throckmorton St. The first is in the Shops at Park Lane in Dallas, where it's using cheap happy hours to pack 'em in.

TruFire Kitchen & Bar, an ambitious, polished, American-meets-pizza-meets-hummus restaurant in Frisco, is finally poised to open its second branch in Southlake, in the old Jack's Porch space at 1239 Main St. TruFire was conceived by a couple of ex-Brinker/P.F. Chang's guys, who launched in April 2008.

The website reads: "We make familiar food, while still giving off a unique flavor," which doesn't seem like something to brag about, but they do a pizza and a salad with fig, and that's always a good thing.

Twisted Root Burger Co. will open a restaurant in the Mid-Cities — Bedford, to be exact, in a new shopping center north of 183. Owner Jason Boso hopes to open in February 2013.

A third branch of Mellow Mushroom, the hippie-ish Atlanta chain, will open in Mansfield, following branches one and two near TCU and Arlington. Owners Kim and Montie Slawson are Mansfield residents and selected a unique spot near historic downtown.

Tacos Y Mas Mexican Grill just opened a fourth location at 1540 Keller Pkwy., in Keller. It's a bit of a hike from the other three branches, all in Dallas proper, but a staffer said that one of Taco Y Mas' owners lives out that way.

Blue Mesa Grill will open a branch in Arlington's Lincoln Square, which, according to the Facebook page, will be happening in February. This will be the sixth BMG in Dallas-Fort Worth; there's also one in Lubbock.

Quaker Steak & Lube, a garishly decorated wing chain from Pennsylvania that inexplicably brags that its nickname is "The Lube," is opening a second location in far north Plano off State Hwy. 121, following one that opened previously in Carrollton.

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Frisco News

High-profile Dallas restaurant to open in Frisco's Firefly Park

Frenchie

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Two high-profile Dallas-Fort Worth food & beverage concepts are headed to Frisco: That includes Frenchie, an all-day Dallas cafe from Travis Street Hospitality, and Second Rodeo Brewing, a Fort Worth brewery and garden from Jason Boso (Truck Yard).

According to a release, the two restaurants will open locations at the Shops at Firefly Park, a 217-acre mixed-use development by Wilks Development at 8000 McKinney Rd., at the nexus of US Hwy. 380 and the Dallas North Tollway that's been in the works since 2022.

In addition to the restaurants, Woodhouse Spa, a luxury spa chain with 90-plus locations across 25 states, will also open a location.

The trio will join Tyler's, a Texas-based sportswear retailer which will open a location on the ground floor of Aurora, the 18-story residential high-rise. This brings phase one at The Shops at Firefly Park to 41 percent leased, with an additional 29 percent under LOI and lease agreements still to come.

Frenchie
Frenchie is the concept from Travis Street Hospitality (Knox Bistro, Georgie, Rose Cafe), created by Stephan Courseau and Daniele Garcia, which made its debut in 2025 with a first location in North Dallas, taking over the long-occupied Corner Bakery space at 8420 Preston Center Plaza.

Frenchie is described as a quintessential French brasserie — a casual, everyday restaurant serving an all-day menu of French comfort food: crepes, rillettes, quiche, poulet rôti, tartare de boeuf, salade Parisienne, and pâtes au pistou. In the morning, coffee and croissants. At lunch, burgers and onion soup. At dinner, steak frites and profiteroles.

The Dallas location spotlights small French wineries, while cocktails include a "freezer martini" — custom bottled and pre-chilled by Travis Street Hospitality’s Executive Mixologist, Mario Martinez, exclusively for Frenchie.

"Firefly Park was an opportunity not to be missed," says Travis Street Hospitality founder Stephan Courseau in a statement. "The vision of a high-end, family-oriented development in fast-growing Frisco checked all the boxes for our concept."

Second Rodeo Brewing
Second Rodeo is an indoor/outdoor destination created by Boso, known for live music, on-site brewing, and an approachable menu. The concept made its debut at Mule Alley at 122 E. Exchange Ave. in the Fort Worth Stockyards in September 2021.

Boso had already brought the Austin-style beer garden concept to Dallas with the 2013 opening of Truck Yard off Greenville Avenue, went the next step with Second Rodeo by adding a beer brewing component as well. There are now Truck Yard locations in Fort Worth's Alliance, Richardson, The Colony, and Oklahoma City, but this will be only the second Second Rodeo.

At the Fort Worth location, food consists of dressed-up cheesesteaks and chicken wings, plus cocktails and Texas beer. The space has an enclosed patio with retractable roof, entertainment stage, small dance floor, with live music every day plus outdoor games and a giant swing.

Woodhouse Spa
Offerings include spa treatments, facials, body therapies, sleep-focused services, and nail care. There are currently two Dallas-area locations, at Mockingbird Station and in Plano at Legacy Town Center.

All three tenants are scheduled to open in Fall 2027 — part of Firefly Park's first phase, which will include retail, residential, office, and hotel components.

Upon full buildout, Firefly Park will feature 4 million square feet of Class AA office space, 400,000 square feet of retail, dining, and entertainment, 1,200 hotel rooms, 230 townhomes, and 1,970 residential units, anchored by a 45-acre signature park with pond, trails, water features, and event programming

"With the addition of Second Rodeo, Frenchie, and Woodhouse Spa, we are continuing to curate a vibrant and intentional experience in Frisco," says Wilks Development president & CEO Kyle Wilks in a statement. "Firefly Park will be a place people return to again and again—whether to dine, unwind, connect, or explore."

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