Richardson adds 15 restaurants in 2013, big announcements to come

2013 was another great year for Richardson retail.  The “coolest movie theater in the world” opened this past August, KDC selected Dallas boutique retail consultants Retail Street Advisors for its upcoming CityLine development, and 15 new restaurants were opened or announced. 

Here’s a look back at 2013:

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Richardson, a homerun for their first DFW location!
Haystack Burgers & Barley at Richardson Heights, W. Belt Line at Central Expressway next to Alamo Drafthouse Cinema.  Owners are local residents and offer a wide range of handcrafted beers and awesome burgers.
Apollonia’s Italian Kitchen at The Shire, a restaurant/office development on the Bush Turnpike at Jupiter Road.  This one-of-a-kind, family-owned restaurant features family recipes from both Abruzzi and Sicily and weekend entertainment.
Snappy Salads , a Dallas-based salad restaurant, selected the end cap space in Canyon Creek Plaza on W. Campbell, close toLuby’s Cafeteria.  Their fresh organic and hormone-free ingredients complement their environmentally-friendly interiors and recycling initiatives.
Zoës Kitchen, a popular Greek restaurant chain, leased and remodeled the former Carl’s Jr on W. Campbell – a great location!

II Creeks Plaza, located in one of Richardson’s most popular neighborhoods, Canyon Creek, at Custer Road and Lookout Drive, welcomed several new tenants:

• an expansion of Frankie’s Mexican Cuisine
• a new burger concept created by several local residents Shady’s Burger Joint
• a renown coffee bar, Pearl Cup Coffee
• and the special Sweet Firefly shop, offering gourmet ice cream and candied treats.

Add the well-established Marcus Café with its beautiful outdoor patio and continental cuisine, and you’ve got a uniquely Richardson dining destination.

Kampong Asian Fusion, opened at Eastside (75 and Campbell) across the street from Twisted Root Burger Co. and Urban Eatz and is joined by two other new Asian restaurants:  Pho Crimson, a Vietnamese fast casual restaurant and Yoshi Shabu Shabu, a Japanese fondue restaurant.

On the development side, there were several key sales and announcements:

• Sale of former Albertson’s store at Belt Line and Plano Road to Dallas-based Leon Capital. They will develop several restaurant pads and will remodel the former grocery store later this year.

• Sale of former Furr’s Cafeteria site on S. Plano Road across from Super Target to Edge Realty Partners.  A new Raising Cane’s pad was approved by the City of Richardson as well as the redevelopment of the 10,000-square-foot building for multi-tenant use.

• Proposed 15,000-square-foot building on E. Renner at North Star, which will complete Doug Huey’s development of the 12-acre site that is now occupied by: Kids R Kids Richardson day care center, Evergreen Richardson, an independent senior living complex, a new 7-Eleven convenience store and gas station, and the new home of Breckinridge Park Animal Hospital.  A second building next to the animal hospital is also for lease.

• Palisades, a new mixed use development on 56 acres adjacent to Palisades I & II buildings at 2435 N. Central Expressway, was recently approved by the Richardson City Council. Plans show 600 multi-family and 80 single family residential, up to 200,000 square-feet of retail, a 300 room full service hotel and 1.957 million square-feet of office.

Watch for a new Central Texas-style BBQ restaurant announcement to be made next week!