Taziki's operating partner, JW Mulkin, along with his father and another business partner, hope to have their Greek fast-casual restaurant open in late August or early September. Based in Birmingham, Alabama, Taziki's has more than 50 restaurants throughout the U.S., including a location in Southlake.
Founder Keith and Amy Richards were inspired to open a restaurant after a trip to Greece, JW said. He said the restaurant group hopes to eventually open two or three locations in Plano.
"I don't think [Keith] had it in his mind that would it would be a nationwide ... but the food speaks for itself," said JW, who grew up eating at the original restaurant in Alabama. "We knew that it would do extremely well in Dallas. Dallas is the largest market we're in right now and with all the Plano growth happening out here, it definitely makes sense to go out there."
Taziki's offers whole roasted chicken dinners for families of four.[/caption]Aside from its traditional Greek and Mediterranean fare, Taziki's also offers a kid's menu and to-go dinners for busy families. Each dinner for four comes with the choice of a whole roasted chicken or grilled lamb shank with the choice of new potatoes or basmati rice, as well as pita bread and potato salad. Mulkin said he hopes to partner with local schools, whose classes can coordinate to-go orders, which can be scheduled for pick-up the next day.
"Parents are so busy ... that not everyone has the time to cook every night, as much as they may want to," Mulkin said. "They can call ahead and we'll have it ready for [them]. It's done well with elementary schools—the classroom mom sets up a sign-up sheet and ... for every parent that signs up we'll back give a percentage to that school. We make it super easy."
Another new restaurant coming to Plano, Grub Burger Bar, is set to open in mid- to late June 1. Founded four years ago by a group of former A&M students in College Station, Grub Burger Bar boasts chef-driven sandwiches and from-scratch ingredients, said Matt Sherer, managing partner for the Plano restaurant.
Originating from College Station, Grub Burger Bar's menu features more than a dozen different signature burgers as well as salads, shakes and sides.[/caption]"We base ourselves off quality, being fresh and [offering food] made from scratch, whether it's our white or wheat buns or the proteins that we ground in-house," Sherrer said.
Grub Burger—which stands for Good People, Real Food, Unique Vibe, Big Flavors—will offer burgers with a ground chuck and brisket blend as well as chicken, ahi and veggie burgers, which are made with eggplant and garbanzo beans. The company has 14 restaurants nationwide in five states. The Plano restaurant will be the second in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, after the Dallas location at 4925 Greenville Ave.
"When we first first thought of where to go next in the D-FW area we thought of Plano first—it's booming with new businesses," Sherrer said. "We thrive on our lunch [rush] ... and we do catering options for up to 200 [people]. We thought something like this like this would be a good fit for the millennial group that's coming here as well."
