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Flower Mound-based restaurant Harold Dean Smoked Goods provides a place for community for local organizations.
What’s special about it?
Harold Dean, named after the grandfather of co-owner and husband Aaron Kramer, has a variety of menu items inspired by family members. Some items include the JD sandwich, Beck’s Mac and Cheese Bowl and Bubba’s Stuffed Baked Tater.
“A lot of the recipes come from hand-me-downs,” co-owner and wife Alejandra Kramer said.
Almost all the food is made in-house aside from the fries, okra and onion rings, Alejandra Kramer said. The restaurant is also known for its homemade barbecue sauce, which is sold in jar portions for customers who choose to take some home.
The restaurant is sometimes used for local churches and other organizations as a meeting spot, Aaron Kramer said. He said it’s rare a person walks into Harold Dean and the servers don’t know their name.
“Some of [the organizations] are on rotation,” he said. “They come here, they’re comfortable, they act like family. We act like family to them.”
The history
Aaron and Alejandra Kramer were engineers who first joined the restaurant industry with a food truck in 2018. Their food truck sold similar items to what Harold Dean now sells, Alejandra Kramer said.
They first got the idea to open a restaurant after the pandemic in 2020, Alejandra Kramer said.
“All these [homeowners associations] around the area were requiring food trucks to come along, and we were just going from HOA to HOA to get food in the neighborhood,” she said.
The food truck traveled from Oklahoma City to Waxahachie, Aaron Kramer said. Harold Dean officially opened its brick-and-mortar location in Flower Mound in 2023.
One more thing
Harold Dean is celebrating its three-year anniversary April 4. Aaron Kramer said the restaurant will have a fish fry event April 3 to celebrate the anniversary and Good Friday, while Saturday will have live music and special deals.
“We’re also revamping the menu, and we’re adding different items,” Alejandra Kramer said. “We’re adding two or three more dishes to our menu.”
The restaurant is also adding a new jalapeno and cheddar sausage option, and new lunch portion options.
“We’re trying to get everybody to be able to have lunch for $15 or less,” Aaron Kramer said.
