Plano

The Five Best High School Football Stadiums in DFW

Saying that high school football is big in Texas will elicit a lot of "duh" looks. In fact, if you look in a mirror right now, you'll probably see what we're talking about. But there's no harm in restating the obvious: Friday nights are meant to be spent under stadium lights (see what we did there?) ... More >>

Nothing But Hot Air

Plano Developers Won't Let Homeowners Install Solar Panels Because They're Just So Ugly

Darn those young vegan-organic-diet, yoga-loving hippies with their electric cars and their solar panels. They must all be moving up to Plano from Austin, and frankly the Plano home builders and developers won't stand for it. In 2011, state legislation forbade Home Owners Associations from banning ... More >>

Plano Declares a Water Holiday. Why Waste it on your Lawn?

If you are a Plano resident, you probably received a letter recently that patted you on the back for your water conservation. And you were also probably informed of an upcoming Water Holiday. Plano's yards have been baking under water restrictions aimed to cut consumption by 15-20 percent. City s ... More >>

Plano Is Threatening to Close a Women's Shelter Because It Shelters Too Many Women [Updated]

See update at bottom.Agape is a Christian organization that lends crisis housing support to women, their children and unaccompanied children in need. They provide shelter to homeless women and children, as well as community ministry and counseling. They operate out of four residential homes as House ... More >>

Let Your Feet Dance Free

Toyota Headquarters Was Headed for Outer Space and Not the Inner City Anyway

Real estate writer Steve Brown has a story in today's Dallas Morning News about massive apartment projects springing up around the site of the new Toyota headquarters in Plano. Apparently these will be part of an even bigger sea of apartments not far from the J.C. Penney headquarters up there in the ... More >>

Plano ISD's Security Director Gambled Away $2.5 Million of the School District's Money

Meet Kris Gentz, 59-year-old Princeton resident, 14-year veteran of Plano ISD, and, according to the feds, a compulsive gambler and prolific thief. Federal prosecutors, along with the FBI and Plano police, announced this morning that Gentz has pleaded guilty to embezzling some $2.5 million from the ... More >>

Why Dallas Restaurants Are Streaming to Plano

When Lockhart Smokehouse owners Jeff and Jill Bergus announced they were opening a second location of their barbecue restaurant, it just sounded like another successful restaurant making plans to expand. The Berguses sold out of paper-wrapped brisket on a regular basis at their first location in the ... More >>

A Second Smoke Is Opening in Plano

Where there's smoke, there's a second Smoke. Christopher Zielke, Christopher Jeffers and Tim Byres, the guys behind Oak Cliff's popular Smoke, have announced that they've signed a lease on a space in Plano and hope to be open by the year's end. In addition to the original Smoke, the trio is respons ... More >>

Plano is Trying Not to Gloat Over Dallas' $900 Million Street-Repair Tab

Dallas has three options to address its $900 million in street repair needs, all of them terrible. Here's how Councilwoman Sandy Greyson laid them out during the transporation committee's come-to-Jesus meeting on Monday: "We can put these things in our bond program and keep increasing our debt serv ... More >>

Your First Look at Lockhart Smokehouse Plano, the Suburbs' Newest Barbecue Mecca

The new Lockhart Smokehouse, right on Plano's main square, is up and running, and the crowds are already forming. Tuesday afternoon, your peak-time lunch wait would have been a good 40 minutes or so, which is cruel given that you can smell Plano's barbecue mecca from more than a block away. After i ... More >>

Far North Dallas Rabbi Cries Discrimination as Neighbors Try to Close His Living-Room Synagogue

Welcome to Congregation Toras Chaim. Sure, it may look like your typical Far North Dallas house -- 3,500 square feet, $330,000 on the tax rolls, a swimming pool in the back -- but it doubles as one of the area's newer and smaller synagogues. This isn't exactly a secret. The congregation's website l ... More >>

Plano Will Vote on Food Truck Regulations, and a Food Truck Park May Follow

Plano might be getting a food truck park. City officials plan to vote this evening on a measure that would ease restrictions on mobile food vending, allowing trucks to operate permanently at a single location. Currently, selling burritos from the window of a kitchen with wheels in Plano is signif ... More >>

Plano Loves Its New Liquor Stores

The advent of liquor stores in Plano has not transformed the suburb into a downtown Dallas-like pit of moral depravity, as some naysayers had predicted in the lead-up to last May's local-option election. The level of debauchery is about the same as it's always been. On the other hand, contrary to w ... More >>

East Hampton Sandwich Co. Expands to Plano This Week

East Hampton Sandwich Co. is opening its new location in Plano's Shops at Legacy on Wednesday, just in time for you to don flannel, drink cider and do whatever else it is that people in the Hamptons do when they aren't inhaling lobster rolls. Founder Hunter Pond hoped to open the Plano location by ... More >>

Nine of North Texas' Best Stores for Craft Beer

Breweries, festivals, filling stations: It's a golden, foamy age for craft beer in North Texas, and nothing is shepherding us though it more than the small shops that help cater to the craft beer lover. These shops have endless lists of local, national and international brews for the connoisseur t ... More >>

After Busting Up an Enormous Offshore Gambling Ring, Plano Police Net a Cool $4.8 Million Profit

In 2006, Plano police received a tip that a bookmaker there was illegally taking bets on pro and college sporting events. They began looking into the matter and had an undercover cop call the man up and put in one wager, then another. In relatively short order, Plano PD had plenty of evidence that t ... More >>

Plano Is Unmoved by Push to Legalize Backyard Chickens

The debate should have been settled long ago. Backyard hens are surprisingly well suited to urban and suburban environments. They are quiet and unobtrusive, pose little more of a health risk than a house cat, and are a prolific source of high-quality, sustainably produced eggs. There was a time when ... More >>

Lockhart Smokehouse Opening New Location in Plano (Plus Exclusive Pics!!)

We heard that Lockhart Smokehouse will be opening a new location in Plano soon. This made us very excited. So, we had to ask Jill and Jeff Bergus the most important, journalisty questions about their new place. Here are those serious questions, plus their serious answers, plus artist's renderings of ... More >>

Plano's First Liquor Store Predicts Booze Sales Will Boost City's Global Reputation

There are any number of reasons to celebrate the onset of hard liquor sales in Plano over the weekend: It's a victory for democracy. The city gets a half million dollars per year in annual sales tax revenue. Residents no longer have to drive an hour round-trip to liquor up. It moves Texas one tiny s ... More >>

Henry's Tavern in Plano Rolls Out New Concept with Penny Beer All Week

Well, goodness. We've been wasting the week and we only just realized it. Hopefully you got good sleep last night because the rest of the week just might be a tad on the busy side. Henry's Tavern in Plano is celebrating a grand opening with ... wait. Grand Opening? They opened back in October, rig ... More >>

Henry's Tavern in Plano Rolls Out New Concept with Penny Beer All Week

Well, goodness. We've been wasting the week and we only just realized it. Hopefully you got good sleep last night because the rest of the week just might be a tad on the busy side. Henry's Tavern in Plano is celebrating a grand opening with ... wait. Grand Opening? They opened back in October, rig ... More >>

Rice and Wheat Opens, Mockingbird Taproom Closes and More Restaurant News from May

Another month has come and gone and with it a handful of restaurants have opened and closed. Read on for the full list of restaurants happenings in May, and be sure to share tips about new and/or dead restaurants in the comments section below or at dish@dallasobserver.com. Openings: Rice and Wheat ... More >>

At Plano's Fun House Theatre, Kids Are Glengarry and Doing it Well

Nosh Euro Bistro in Plano Has Closed

NOSH Euro Bistro in Plano has closed. The restaurant confirmed on its Facebook page on Wednesday with a message, "Thank you for all of your support!" along with a picture of owner Avner Samuel sort of smiling. He looks dapper in bright sweater. I suppose the message is, "I'm good, thanks." The ori ... More >>

Plano's Upcoming Liquor-Law Vote is Getting Ridiculous

Plano must have taken a hit when Dallas voters approved citywide beer and wine sales two-and-a-half years ago. No longer were the good people of Far North Dallas forced to drive north of the Bush Turnpike to stock up on beverages. They could simply go down the street to the grocery store. There's n ... More >>

Henry's Ice Cream: Yes. This.

You don't walk into Henry's Ice Cream in Plano by accident. Plano is far. You're here on purpose. On a mission. And because you made the pilgrimage all the way out here, your expectations are stupid high. Your toddler stares at neon signage of Henry's Ice Cream and thinks to herself, "This better ... More >>

Plano Finally Gets a Farmers Market with More Than 40 Local Vendors

Mark one down in the win column for Kari Gates of Plano. Actually, mark one down for all of Plano. Regardless of who gets the win, Gates is proof that sometimes determined persistence does payoff. And because of that, Plano will soon have its very own farmers market. Under new city regulations, The ... More >>

City of Ate Wins! Sriracha Chips Among Finalist for Lay's New Flavor.

Plano-based Frito-Lay has announced the winners of their Lay's Do Us A Flavors contest. Several months ago chip-eaters around the world were asked to submit their idea for a new flavor of chip. The three winning flavors and their people were on Good Morning America this morning; A lady from Land O ... More >>

A Famers' Market in Plano? Nah, Don't Be Silly.

Kari Gates, long-time Plano resident and purveyor of Spring Creek Organic Farm, lobbied for almost a year to persuade her city to change ordinances that essentially prevent farmers' markets from operating successfully there. It didn't work. Monday night, the Plano City Council discussed long-awai ... More >>

City of Plano Pushes Back on Farmers' Market Fight

Kari Gates grows seasonal fruits and vegetables over several acres of land at Spring Creek Organic Farms in West Plano. She drives her produce to several markets around the region, including Greenling. But, more recently she's exploring her options closer to home, particularly Fairview Farms near U. ... More >>

The Kolache Factory Opens First DFW Location in Plano

Most of the time my inbox is filled with boring invitations to big vineyard wine dinners, press releases about a restaurant's seventh new menu and announements for new creations at Taco Bell. So when I got an email from Katharine Shilcutt, the food critic at our sister paper Houston Press, I got exc ... More >>

Downtown Plano Is Waking Up With A New "Next-Mex" Spot That's Good

Downtown historic Plano has gained some character as of late. While dining at Urban Rio, the subject of this week's review, I talked to Nick Rallo a ton about how Plano has changed since he grew up there. While West Plano had a resurgence that centered around Preston and Park and the Shops at Legacy ... More >>

Here's the Recycling Ad That Was Deemed Way Too Racy for Plano

The ad above was intended to go on every electric bill in the city of Plano, part of a marketing campaign that would be "bold and memorable," Sustainability and Environmental Services Director Nancy Nevil told the City Council on Monday, according to the Morning News. "We feel like we need this typ ... More >>

Randy Travis Hospitalized After Cited For Fight In Church Parking Lot [UPDATED]

Update: 12:10 p.m.: Plano PD's David Tilley relates that just two citations for simple assault were issued, Class C misdemeanors, and no one appeared to be intoxicated. The altercation actually happened around 10 p.m. last night, and people were gathered at Prestonwood Baptist because a "field trip" ... More >>

The Five Best DFW Honky-Tonks

To call a place a honky-tonk is almost as nebulous as labeling a place a dive bar. Ask five different people what one is, and you're more than likely to get six different answers. Of course, North Texas has dozens of places that complement any of them. The earliest published mentions of the term h ... More >>

Cities Are Now Growing Faster Than Suburbs -- Except in Dallas, Of Course

When the U.S. Census Bureau released figures Thursday estimating cities' growth between 2010 and 2011, the big news locally was that eight of the 15 fastest growing cities are in Texas and, of those, five -- Plano, McKinney, Frisco, Denton, Carrollton -- are in our corner of the state. The big new ... More >>

Get Up, Stand Up, Bark Like a Dog

Pizza Hut Fights Subway With New, Fascinatingly-Named Sandwich: The P'Zolo

It's sandwich wars. Plano-based Pizza Hut is making a pass at sandwiches again, as The New York Times reported yesterday, with the three new designs bearing the name P'Zolo. Aside from the name sounding like a George Lucas character, the "sandwiches" are designed to destroy the uber-successful, f ... More >>

Run for Love

I Dream of the Perfect Chicken Sandwich

Remember this guy? Look at him, dimpling a dough round with the sharp corner of a drywall knife. Leslie Minora found his tiny bakery in Plano while researching Iraqi immigration, and I'm still thinking about him. Leslie returned from the trip with a bag full of freshly baked bread. The inside of the ... More >>

The City of Plano Really Doesn't Want its Citizens Using the New Cottage Foods Law

Last week the City of Plano Health Department posted the above video on its YouTube page, "informing" citizens about or the "Cottage Food Bill" that went into effect on September 1. Under the bill, Texans can make and sell certain non-potential hazardous baked goods in their home. The bill require ... More >>

It's Not Cheap to Mask Your Bank Robbery

​On the other side is the Richardson PD bulletin mentioned here this morning, in which police say they're looking for the "Handsome Guy" bandit who's hit six area banks, including ones in Dallas, Irving, Plano and Richardson beginning April 19. Says RPD, his most recent stick-em-up was July 14, wh ... More >>

What It's Like to Live in Plano, According to The Internet's List Makers. Everyone Loves Lists.

Image via Plano.govThat baby is actually 45 years old. ​Perhaps you heard that Plano was recently named the 12th longest-living city in the country by the Daily Beast. But what you may not know is that a whole bunch of other listicles ranking places based on their General Pleasantness have spotlig ... More >>

CBS News on How Video Games Saved Dallas

Inside the E. Park Boulevard-situated Plano offices of Gearbox​Technically, I guess, that'd be Plano -- if we're talking about Gearbox, which CBS Evening News's Mark Strassmann does in the piece that aired last night and follows after the jump. And Grapevine, since he mentions GameStop. And Mesqui ... More >>

Breckenridge Brewery Dinner Slams Screen Door, Holy Grail Gets Smoked Out, Urban Crust Hosts Dinner and More Beer Events

A rare chance to enjoy 120 Minute IPA Saturday.​Busy week for Breckenridge Brewery in Dallas: After a cask-tapping of 471 yesterday at the Meddlesome Moth and a Brewsday Tuesday at the Common Table the day before, Breckenridge Brewery is featured tonight in a 7 p.m. beer dinner at the Screen Door. ... More >>

Tequila in Cupcakes? Just Add Pork Rinds, and You Have Our Typical Dinner.

Jenny BlockThe tequila cupcake.​The adult cupcake. No dirty pictures on these. It's the ingredients, not the decorations, that make these for the 21 and over set only. They're tequila cupcakes from Elizabeth's Cakes in Plano. And I don't know if it's just the power of suggestion or not, but I ... More >>

Rolling in Dough at Noodle House

Photos by Kristy YangNoodle House's custom-made dough-roller.​It's 1 pm when I receive a phone call from an anxious voice on the other end of the line, asking me where I am. It's Sky Kuo, owner of Plano's Noodle House, and he's wondering if I am still coming by to snap pictures in the restaura ... More >>

Even Plano Couldn't Screw Up Mama's Daughters' Diner.