Plano's Legacy West serving up DFW's first European-style food hall
Jake Dean
Legacy Hall, a food hall within Plano's Legacy West, is slated to open its door next Wednesday.
Jake Dean
Pat Garza, (L) and Jack Gibbons (R) is overseeing the prep work to open the three-story food hall next Wednesday.
Jake Dean
At the top of the second floor stairs you'll find Lobsta & Chowda House Sea Breeze.
Jake Dean
The Unlawful Assembly Brewing Co. will produce several craft beers in Legacy Hall.
Jake Dean
Legacy Hall's half a dozen bars will satisfy any thirst.
Jake Dean
It's no secret what pairs well with the Tap Room menu on the third floor.
Jake Dean
It's not all work for the brewmasters at the Unlawful Assembly Brewing Co.
Jake Dean
Over 1,400 kegs ready for Unlawful Assembly Brewing Co. craft beer.
Jake Dean
A relaxed setting on the third floor of Legacy Hall gives visitors a place to gather.
Jake Dean
Legacy Hall will bring more than 20 food and beverage operators under one roof in Plano.
Jake Dean
Legacy Hall will have more than 20 eateries and half a dozen bars to serve visitors to Plano's Legacy West.
One of food stalls - De'tour - will serve up infused olive oil at the antipasto wine bar in Legacy West.
Jake Dean
Legacy Hall will be the first planned food hall to open in North Texas, bringing a European-inspired concept to the region.
Jake Dean
The second phase of Legacy Hall won't complete by next Wednesday. The concert stage and event area is slated to open next spring.
The Legacy Hall events lawn will have enough room to seat at least 150 people. The food hall will also have a herd garden built in recycled shipping containers in the events space.
Another vantage point of the Legacy Hall events lawn with shipping container gardens and plenty of seating for visitors.
The events lawn and space at Legacy Hall will bring a major entertainment node to this part of Plano.
Thousands of employees, residents and visitors to Plano's Legacy West are expected to descend on the highly-anticipated Legacy Hall — the first European-style food hall to set up shop in North Texas — upon its opening Wednesday. Show Full Story
The three-story, 55,000-square-foot food hall will include 22 food stalls and half-a-dozen bars. A new brewery, the Unlawful Assembly Brewing Company, is also getting ready to open its doors after Addison-based Front Burner Restaurants has spent the last three years creating the curated concept.
"We knew this would be a challenge because this is the first one we have ever done," Randy DeWitt recently told the Dallas Business Journal. "But we couldn't do this in an existing building because there really wasn't a suitable building."
At the same time, roughly 400 employees are being trained at the various establishments in the food hall, and construction is wrapping up on the initial phase of the project. Legacy Hall's adjacent beer garden, which has a concert stage and enough seating capacity for up to 500 guests, is slated for completion by early spring 2018.
The European-style food hall will deliver a new eating concept to North Texas, and will serve as an anchor to master developer Fehmi Karahan's $3.2 billion Legacy West vision.
In searching for the next big restaurant trend, DeWitt and his team visited Amsterdam's Foodhallen, showing their ideas to Karahan, who shared the restaurant group's vision.
Front Burner President Jack Gibbons said Legacy Hall will be the new anchor retail tenant of the future.
"This will be a tourist destination, and we think it will add a whole new customer to the mix," he added.
Legacy Hall is expected to give upwards of 30,000 employees with Toyota North America, JP Morgan Chase, Liberty Mutual Insurance, and other companies a variety of lunch and entertainment options throughout the day and into the evening.
It is also meant to serve as a walking destination to thousands of residents beginning to make Legacy West home.
"There's an insatiable appetite on the food hall scene," said Barry Hand, a principal in Gensler's Dallas office, which oversaw the design of the food hall. "This will be such cool space and such a different product that will raise the pressure that already exists in casual dining."
Recently, Hand gave three presentations on food halls last week at the ICSC CenterBuild Conference in Phoenix, each with brokers left standing at the back of the room in hopes of getting the latest details on the restaurant trend.
"I think we're going to see a lot of people show up to just see what it's about," he added.
The majority of the 22 food stalls — except the Sea Breeze Lobsta and Chowda House — are located on the ground floor, which can seat about 150 to 175 diners. Those concepts include:
Degengardt's Brat Haus: A third-generation brat eatery run by Joshua Degengardt.
Red Stix Yakitori & Banh Mi: The chef behind Chino Chinatown in Trinity Groves has set up a new concept in the food hall.
Enter the Bao: A Chinese dish that execs behind Legacy Hall expect could be the next taco trend.
Bar Main: The craft cocktail bar on the first floor of Legacy Hall will serve up to 12 craft beers that are brewed within the food hall at Unlawful Assembly Brewing Co.
Shawarma Bar: The shawarma can be filled with any kind of meats or veggies, depending on customer preference.
Roots Chicken Shak: The concept, created by Chef Tiffany Derry (the creator of Private Social), will bring fried chicken wings and Southern-style sandwiches to the food hall.
Tacos Patron: The food stall will serve up popular Mexico City-style tacos.
Forno Nero: The pizza category was extremely competitive, execs say. This Neapolitan-style pizza concept will serve hot pizza straight from an oven that was shipped from northern Italy.
Detour: The European-style charcuterie shop will also feature natural wines from Europe and the United States.
Freshman Poke Co.: Chef Joon Choe will serve up poke bowls at the food hall after a two-month trek through Asia.
Blist'r Naan Wraps: One of the co-founders of Pei Wei — Mark Brezinksi — is bringing a contemporary twist to Indian naan wraps.
Haute Sweets Patisserie: The shop will bring beautiful macaroons and ice cream sandwiches to food hall guests.
Berry Naked: The stall will have a prominent location on the north side of the food hall serving up beautifully-colored popsicles with fresh fruit.
Monkey King Outpost: The creators of Monkey King Noodle Co. in East Dallas will occupy the food hall's first rotating stall, with a short-term contract to lease within the food hall and try a new concept. Legacy Hall is accepting applications for future rotating concepts.
Bravado Rotisserie: The Latin-influenced food stall is meant for meat lovers.
The Juice Bar: The grab-and-go option will give guests on the run an option for a quick snack or meal.
Glazed Donut Works: The popular Deep Ellum concept will bring its glazed goodness up to Plano's Legacy West.
Press Waffle Co.: This will be the first brick-and-mortar location for the food truck favorite. The restaurant will serve up waffles for breakfast or dessert.
Whisk & Eggs: The Sylvan | Thirty concept will add eggs to its menu with plans to serve up the breakfast staple throughout the day.
Everett and Elaine: The bakery will give the sweet tooth in any group the ability to choose from cakes, pies and other classic desserts.
FAQ: For guests wanting flautas and quesadillas, this authentic Mexican-style food stall will serve both.
Knife Burger: Chef John Tesar is launching his burger concept at Legacy Hall.
Carlton Provisions: The 10-year-old catering company will open a fine meats restaurant within the food hall.
Sea Breeze Lobsta' and Chowda' House: The executives behind Legacy Hall expect this to be a busy stall, which is why it is the only eatery on the second floor of the hall.
Good View: The bar, located on the second story, gets its name because it has a patio overlooking the beer garden and concert stage at Legacy Hall.
Idol Time Tiki Bar: The bar stall will be set up in the beer garden next to the concert stage.
Lime & Lager: Another option served up in the beer garden.
Stillhouse: A Texas-style bar serving in the beer garden and concert area.
Unlawful Assembly Brewing Co.: The new brewery has the ability to produce up to 10,000 barrels or 20 kegs a year. There are 19 fermentation tanks and other tanks used as part of the brewing process. Legacy Hall will give tours of the brewery to guests.
The Tap Room: The eatery sits on the third floor next to the Unlawful Assembly Brewing Co., giving patrons a place to grab a quick bite without having to go to the first or second floor.
Upon being fully developed, Legacy West will feel like any other urban setting, which will help Front Burner Restaurants serve up its destination, said Pat Garza, a vice president overseeing operations at Legacy Hall.
"We want to bring in international flavors," Garza said. "We want people to discover products they never knew would exist otherwise."
Legacy Hall also includes a stage for concerts featuring North Texas artists, with an adjacent beer garden that has the ability to hold 500 people seated, or 1,500 standing. The beer garden and concert area is slated to open next spring.
By that time, the eateries will also have the ability to buy produce and herbs grown on site within a 53-foot shipping container operated by Doodle Farms.
Upon completion, Legacy Hall is expected to get 30,000 visitors each week. Until the beer garden is complete, Garza said he expects to get 15,000 to 20,000 people coming through the food hall each week.
