“I am business-minded and knew I didn’t want to be a 50-year-old bartender, so I got into management and made horrible pay, but cut my teeth on it and worked my way up to general manager,” Hale said.
Following an unsuccessful stint as a nightclub owner, Hale returned to management for over a decade before opening a few nightclubs, a sports bar, Shell Shack in Plano, Sushi Marquee in Frisco and, most recently, Ebb & Flow in Plano.
Hale co-owns Ebb & Flow with his brother, Eric Bradford. They opened the first location in Deep Ellum in 2020, then this one in The Shops at Legacy in April 2021.
The Plano location includes the often-photographed three-dimensional floral patio ceiling that was created and installed by Eric’s wife, Laura Bradford.
“[She] came up here with a scissor-lift hanging all this—she is pretty much a perfectionist,” Hale said.
The restaurant’s drink and food menu has something for everyone, Hale said. He listed Cubano egg rolls, pork chops and the mahi-mahi wrap to exemplify the range of offerings. For the drink variety, he said Ebb & Flow offers “pretty cocktails that everyone loves, like the Velvet Butterfly, [as well as] basic cocktails, like Crown and Coke.”
Hale said customers are sometimes surprised to hear the restaurant serves brunch on Saturday and Sunday. The Chicken Fried Chicken & Eggs is Ebb & Flow’s top brunch menu item.
“We added a DJ to our brunch recently and ... it took our brunch to the next level,” Hale said. “We do ‘80s and ‘90s music, and everyone loves it. We’re having a blast with it.” Hale said his favorite aspect of owning Ebb & Flow Legacy applies to all his businesses.
“It’s the interaction with the people and seeing something grow from nothing to something,” he said.
Ebb & Flow
7300 Lone Star Drive, Ste. C125, Plano
972-483-2266
www.ebbandflowtx.com
Hours: Mon.-Fri. 11-2 a.m., Sat.-Sun. 10-2 a.m.
