The second location of the coastal-style eatery opened in Legacy Hall in March 2020, right before stay-at-home orders went into effect.
“I knew it would be very high-volume [at Legacy Hall], and if we execute on a great level, we’re going to be successful,” he said. “I had no problem opening during the pandemic. We were just going to jump, and that’s what we did. It’s been bananas.”
Curtis opened the first brick-and-mortar Dock Local location in Uptown Dallas. The restaurant serves a variety of seafood dishes inspired by Curtis’ childhood in Maryland, he said.
“I was around seafood all my life,” Curtis said. “We were doing bushels of crabs every weekend. It was like a big beer and crab contest.”
While working for years as a corporate chef, Curtis began dreaming up unique dishes that incorporated lobster and crab. In 2016, he approached his wife about starting a food truck that included some of those meals.
“I said, ‘Let’s start a food truck, see if it goes well,’” he said. “‘If not, no harm no foul.’”
After setting up at the Rail Yard in Frisco, Curtis said the response was so positive, he ran out of food the first night.
“I was like, ‘Holy cow,’” he said. “It was very much a real educational process.”
Popular dishes like the garlic lobster fries, the lobster roll and lobster grilled cheese are hard to come by in Texas, Curtis said.
“It’s a lot of inspiration from California, New York, West Coast, East Coast,” he said. “You don’t see too many places doing that.”
Dock Local
7800 Windrose Ave., Ste. 104, Plano
214-493-2120
Hours: Sun.-Thu. 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 11. a.m.-10 p.m.
