BBQ News

Dallas chef Kent Rathbun partners on innovative restaurant on the Katy Trail

These burnt ends are on the menu at Katy Trail Station.

Courtesy photo

Dallas diners have a surprising new place to find chef Kent Rathbun: on the Katy Trail.

The acclaimed chef is holding court at a new concept called the Katy Trail Station, located in an offbeat segment on the northern edge of of the popular jogging/bicycling path. The address is 4825 Cole Ave., at Monticello, right at the 122 KT mark and a few feet south of Javier’s.

The restaurant is an unusual partnership between Rathbun and Prescott Realty Group, who wanted to bring something new for neighbors and visitors of the Katy Trail. Rathbun describes it as "a place for people to take a little break from their run or walk."

It opens softly on October 28.

It consists of a 30-foot trailer tacked onto the back of a parking garage (owned by Prescott Realty), plus an expansive umbrella-covered patio with seating for about 30.

They'll serve breakfast and lunch, with a menu that includes:

breakfast tacos with choices from cheese, potatoes, sausage, brisket, and pork
pastries and biscuit sandwiches
fruits and parfaits
Lavazza coffee, including cold brew and nitro
Wagyu beef burgers
cilantro jalapeño grilled chicken sandwiches
pulled pork sandwiches
barbecued brisket
pecan smoked pork ribs
sides and salads

Beverages will incorporate a variety of sports drinks and flavored waters and sodas for those running and walking on the trail.

Initially, they'll be open weekends only from 11 am-4 pm, but plan to open daily from 7 am to late dinner, with an extension of the lunch menu as well as grilled steaks and seafood items. They also hope to offer catering to area businesses, and host catered parties on a soon-to-be-built deck.

Prescott Realty, which has a track record of doing interesting urban projects such as SMU Boulevard and University Crossing., owns the building at 3100 Monticello Ave. and saw a gap to be filled, says Prescott CEO Jud Pankey who approached the award-winning Rathbun about the concept.

"We looked up and saw Katy Trail and Glencoe Park across 75, but no place for breakfast, lunch, or coffee," he says. "Two Sisters Catering had shut down, and other restaurants in the area like Javier's and Chelsea Corner weren't open."

"We wanted to figure out something that would be good for building tenants and neighbors, and also for people using Katy Trail," he says. "The garage that comes with the building backs right up to the Katy Trail, so we turned it into a platform for Kent’s trailer."

Rathbun already co-owns Shinsei, Lovers Seafood & Market, and the recently-opened Dea along with his wife Tracy and partner Lynae Fearing. During the pandemic, he launched Catering by Chef Kent Rathbun and his Curbside BBQ venture, which surfaces at the Lovers Seafood parking lot at weekends. He's also set up his trailer at 4825 Cole monthly during the summer to do a test run. A portion of the current BBQ menu will be included at the Katy Trail Station.

The restaurant is part of a pilot program Pankey forged with the Dallas City Council and the Park Board to build a deck that would lead into the park. They'll donate a percentage of sales to the Friends of Katy Trail and the White Rock Conservancy.

“We're grateful to council members Paul Ridley and Paula Blackmon for their help," Pankey says. "Anybody that operates this has got to be able to give money back to the park. We could do it at other parks and generate lot of revenue."

"It's been a labor of love but I also want to be able to go down there and get a breakfast taco and a coffee," he says.

uptown openings

Burger News

Family-owned Patty Lou's Smashburgers will open in old downtown Plano

Photo by Sara Aurora Cimminiello on Unsplash

Smashburger

A new restaurant starring a buzzy burger is coming to old downtown Plano: Called Patty Lou's Smashburgers, it will feature the namesake smashburger, and will open at 1004 E. 14th St. #105, in a historic location that was most recently home to a Starbucks.

Patty Lou's is a new concept from Urban Family Concepts, the hospitality company whose other restaurants include Urban Seafood Co., Urban Rio Cantina & Grill, and Italian restaurant Urban Crust, all located in the downtown Plano area.

Patty Lou's is their burger entry, a quick-service spot serving smashburgers, the flattened version of a burger with crisp edges that's been a hot trend for the past year.

According to Urban Family Concepts partner and spokesperson Dana Blaugrund, the restaurant will open in late spring.

Patty Lou's is also a sweet homage to a family member — named for Patty Lou Peters, of "Patty Lou and her Texas Sweethearts" fame, an all-female country & Western / Western swing group founded in the '40s, when female groups were a rarity.

Patty Lou was the mother of Bonnie Shea, who co-founded Urban Family Concepts with her husband Nathan Shea. Infusing the personal touch into everything they do is part of the company DNA, says Urban partner Michael Lee.

"Urban is generally driven by what we like," Lee says. "Urban Rio, our Mexican concept, came about because Bonnie loved that cuisine, and Urban Seafood Company, Nate loves seafood. Burgers are a favorite of their son-in-laws."

Their version of the smashburger will feature American cheese and onions that melt into the meat, Lee says. They'll be served on potato buns, and there'll be some toppings — but they won't go too crazy.

"It'll have onions, lettuce, and pickle, but we're going to stay minimal, with additional toppings on the side," he says. "Going overboard with ingredients can get complicated. Our goal is, very simple burgers that taste very good, at a value price, so that everyone can enjoy coming back and getting a burger."

The menu will also feature smashed chicken burgers, hand-cut French fries skin on, lightly battered onion rings, and milkshakes. They'll also serve alcohol, including bottled beers, wine by the glass, and a signature frozen cocktail. Eventually, they'll add specials like a burger of the month.

The location was originally home to the Ice House, built in 1917, an institution that provided ice products to Plano residents and businesses, says Urban partner Payton Hickey.

"You could pull up and get a block of ice from workers with tongs," Hickey says. "During remodeling, we could still see the raised floor where the freezer was, where they kept the ice."

They operated a licensed location of Starbucks in that space until 2024, when Starbucks opened a store nearby with a drive-thru in the former longtime Jack in the Box at 15th Street and US-75.

Decor at Patty Lou's will embrace a diner feel with counter seating, while incorporating elements from Patty Lou Peter's life, Blaugrund says. (It's a nice coincidence that her name syncs up with "hamburger patty.")

"We'll have her original guitar and some memorabilia in the restaurant — a cool mixture of country music and burger restaurant," Blaugrund says.

burgers openings