jillivictorio@gmail.com /

Move-In Day 1.28.2022

It’s been a year since we broke ground and we finally moved in over the weekend. I’ll always remember 2021 as the year we spent building our home and anticipating the completion and move in day. We experienced several delays due to supply chain issues, (hello pandemic), and limited staffing that made the year seem like the longest ever.

I’m happy to have 2021 and the build process behind us and even happier to have my family and I getting settled into our new home. It’s a remarkable feeling looking around at every detail knowing how everything was built and from what started as an idea on paper.  To see your dream and design come to life is truly a rewarding experience.  Now that we are here, the unpacking and organizing begins! We have SO.MUCH.STUFF. It’s a little daunting seeing how much stuff a household can accumulate over the years. Currently, our garage and shop are full of boxes. It will take us a while to get everything unpacked and organized. For now, I am focused on unpacking and organizing the essentials.

I took a week off work to unpack and organize and I’m dedicating each day to one of these areas, and will unpack the rest later. I felt these five areas were the most important for my family and household to have access to right away and feel a bit of normalcy once again.

Here’s how I’m spending my week-long staycation:

  • Move In Day: Bedding
  • Move In Day: Bathrooms
  • Next Day: Kitchen and Kids Play Room
  • Day 1 of Vacation: Pantry (check!)
  • Day 2 of Vacation: Master Closet
  • Day 3 of Vacation: Home Office
  • Day 4 of Vacation: Kids Closets
  • Day 5 of Vacation: Goodwill run to drop off donations

We also cooked our first meal on the Ilve- bolognese. Oh how we’ve missed cooking on a gas range. The kids and I also baked cookies for an after dinner treat, and cookies are Baron’s favorite thing.

We have a long way to go to get everything unpacked and fully settled, but I am just so thankful to be in our forever home!

 

Here are a couple of kitchen photos from the day before move-in. The appliance panels were the last items to be installed, literally at the eleventh hour. Despite the major delay and previous mistake on the refrigerator panels, I’m really pleased with how they turned out!

 

 

Full home photo tour coming soon!

jillivictorio@gmail.com /

Amidst a global pandemic, I am grateful for the time spent together with my family and some of the goals we have been able to accomplish together in 2020. One of those goals was to build a house!

Are we crazy for doing this? Yes! Is this process going to give me a full head of grey hair? Probably. Is it going to be the project of a lifetime? Heck, yes!  It’s been a longtime dream of mind to find some land a build a home.  Here’s how it all began…

We have been living in our current TX home since 2017 when we moved from Seattle (Issaquah) WA.  We sold our home in WA at a great time and had only had a few weeks to find a house in TX so it was a very rushed process, but we knew exactly what we were looking for and how much we wanted to spend. I’m grateful for the home we found and knew in my heart that this was a home that we would love, add our touches, and eventually flip while getting to know the area, town, and neighborhood better while planning for a future build. We’ve really fallen in love with Granbury TX and we knew we made the right choice moving here to raise our family.

 

The Selling Process – December 2019

With patience and the right planning, I knew we’d be able to make this dream happen. We made some minor updates to our home such as replacing the exterior door and light fixtures, then we renovated our kitchen to add equity and value to the home, with the intention of some day selling.  The day after Christmas 2019, I created a FSBO listing on Zillow, wrote the marketing copy, staged our home, and took and posted the photos. I received inquiries and appointment requests immediately, but nothing serious. I felt that this fsbo listing was a great way to test the waters and see what was out there in terms of a buyer pool. We weren’t in a hurry to sell and we would only sell on our own terms (price, timeframe, and lease back). Then three months later in March of 2020, Covid hit, and real estate seemed to halt for a brief few weeks. Schools and sports also shut down, so with the extra time we had at home together during quarantine, we tackled a few home improvement and gardening projects. I was cleaning and organizing the house like crazy so naturally, our home was always clean and show-ready for potential buyers. In April, potential buyers became active again and the requests for tours continued. I made sure to have viewers practice social distancing and wear masks when touring our home, then re-cleaned and sanitized after each showing. We received multiple offers, but the blessing came in June 2020 when I got a call from a prospective buyer looking at homes for her brother-in-law looking to move to TX from CA. Her and her husband toured our home, loved it, gave the seal of approval to her brother-in-law, and the buyer made an all cash offer sight unseen. They also agreed to our lease back terms allowing us to continue living in the home while we built our house. John and I knew this was the right time and the perfect buyer we had been waiting and praying for.  We had an attorney draw up the documents and handle the transfer of the title.

 

Finding The Lot…

Finding land to purchase was probably the most challenging part of the homebuilding process for us as we were very particular on the type of land in the location we wanted. Some lots were too sloped, too close to neighbors, had no privacy, some had a ravine right in the middle, some too narrow, too small, no trees, too far outside of town, located off a blind road, the list goes on.  Our land search took about a year and half. Our main requirement was trees, lots of MATURE TREES, and privacy.  After more months of looking and visiting potential lots, I found land that fit all our criteria – a treed lot on 1.5 acres, backing up to private ranch land so we would always have privacy without any homes being built behind our lot, and located on a cul-de-sac. I’ve always loved the idea of a cul-de-sac, especially with kids. I imagine the kids being able to ride their bikes and scooters up and down our street without the busyness of cars passing through, except for the residents who live on that street.  The lot had a fsbo sign posted, so out of curiosity, I got out of my car, walked the lot, and saw a vision for a home with landscaping features surrounded by trees.  I immediately contacted the owner listed on the sign and we began negotiations. The lot being located in a beautiful private community with amenities (trails, a fishing pond, and sports courts) were some of the added perks that sealed the deal for us.

Community stocked fishing pond

Choosing A Builder…

We met with several homebuilders in Granbury to get an idea of pricing, styles, floorplans, procedures etc. We first had our heart set on a particular builder as some of our friends had their homes built with and they were absolutely stunning. We liked the idea of a semi-custom build where you can choose from a portfolio of available floor plans and can customize certain areas. Many of the lots we found could not fit the floor plans we liked and needed. We ended up going the custom build route, which I never thought we would do, but I am loving the process so far. In a custom build, there are a lot of decisions to be made about everything, things you never thought about in a home.  We found an amazing custom homebuilder we really liked and we are now working with Remington Homes DFW. After our first pre-design meeting, I felt good about Remington Homes’ services and processes, along with the individuals I met, one of them was the owner. They are family-owned with a boutique feel and a hands-on approach. I learned that they have built many of their homes from floorplans on Architectural Designs, which was the same site I had been obsessively browsing to find inspiration and to pin floor plans from – it was a good match. Remington Homes also conducted several site visits for us and walked several lots with us before we made any decisions to make sure the land was buildable and could accommodate our desired floor plans.

 

Floor Plan Design & Inspiration…

We rounded up our favorite floor plans from Architectural Designs. I spent hours on this site morning, noon and night! After narrowing down my favorite floor plans, we combined some features of two different floor plans and elevation inspirations while adding in our own features for a custom plan and drawings to meet our needs.

We knew we wanted to build a modern farmhouse style home with an open floor plan with a lot of natural light.

On my wishlist for a floorplan included a kitchen sink against a window (my number one ask), a butler’s pantry, mudroom, a private guest suite, a study/home office, game room/play area for the kids, a front porch, rear patio, fireplace, outdoor kitchen, and a detached shop. A short wishlist right?

Here were some of our favorite floor plan inspirations:

Favorite 2-story plans:

Main level

 

 

 

Second level

 

Main level

 

Second Level

 

Favorite Modern Farmhouse Elevations

 

 

Breaking Ground 2021

January 2021

A couple of months after closing on our lot purchase and waiting for the necessary approvals, we started 2021 by finally breaking ground this week! I can’t tell you how exciting it is to see dirt being moved.

I will be sharing the details of our selections (flooring, tile, countertops, lighting, cabinets, etc) in the next blog post, so stay tuned!

You can also follow along our homebuilding journey on our Instagram build page dedicated to all things homebuilding and design: IG @our.farmhouse.at.the.ranch

Thanks for reading! What are your favorite features when designing or building a home?

jillivictorio@gmail.com /

  1. Traditions & Something New

Peonies (our wedding flower) on every anniversary, June 21

For our ten year anniversary, we renewed our vows in Hawaii and took professional photos. A year later on our eleventh anniversary, John and I woke up excitedly that we didn’t have to work this day as we both took the day off, and beautiful peonies (our wedding flower) greeted me on the breakfast table. I also got a text from our contractor that he was on his way to our home to start demo on our kitchen that morning – exciting times! (More to come on our new reno project). John and I exchanged the traditional wedding gifts. We usually have an idea of what we’re getting each other, but it’s still fun choosing and shopping for the gift. The traditional gift for an 11th wedding anniversary is Steel. We knew exactly what we wanted to gift each other as it is also something we’ve needed for the house and that we’d get a ton of use out of. I’ve wanted these steel Yeti wine tumblers for quite sometime to use at the pool, or while traveling/camping. Yeti makes really great high quality ones so I got John a black steel wine tumbler and he got me the pink steel wine tumbler. Cheers!

 

2. Anniversary Trip

We finally broke away from the kids for an overnight trip to San Antonio to stay at one of my bucket list hotels, the Hotel Emma.  John and I don’t get many date nights so it was nice to be out without kids for once. If we really wanted to, we could ask my dad to watch the kids and make date night a priority, but because he already watches Baron during the day, Monday to Friday, which is a huge help to us, we don’t want to take advantage of his time and we respect his time. But for  special occasions such as John’s and my wedding anniversary, we do make special arrangements in advance for childcare and we are so grateful for the extra time for John and myself.  I assume this may be a challenge with balance that many married couples with children face and understand that we could improve on this area in the following year. More on this later.

So today I want to recap our 11th wedding anniversary.

First things first- we NEED talk about this hotel. We first discovered Hotel Emma last winter on our first visit to San Antonio. We didn’t stay at the hotel, but we dined and drank around the Pearl, and toured the property and grounds. I just knew John and I would have to come back for a weekend getaway without the kids. As our 11th anniversary was approaching, we booked the last River Terrace room! It really might be the most gorgeous hotel we’ve ever had the pleasure of patronizing. You step onto the grounds and you feel as if you’ve been transported to Europe. Just look at this place-

Lobby

 

Lobby

Lobby

For starters, the attentive staff welcomes you with their signature cocktail La Babia, in their amazing library. For any fellow bibiophiles, this library needs to be on your bucket list asap.

Hotel Emma Library

The rooms are gorgeous. We opted for the River Terrace Room because this balcony!  The hotel was definitely a splurge but we don’t go out as often and we love treating ourselves on our anniversary so we went for it. Man was it the right decision. We’ve never felt to utterly spoiled at a hotel. This terrace was my favorite feature as it was our own private little sanctuary to enjoy a glass of wine, or morning coffee with a cozy fire and overlooking the river.

So in love with the bathroom design – vintage mixed with industrial and old world charm and all. the. brass. accents.

To our delight, a beautiful plate of chocolate covered strawberries that John had arranged was on our table upon arriving to our room. A surprise bottle of champagne in a bucket of ice and a handwritten note was left by the Culinary Concierge.

We headed up to the rooftop pool to check out the views before getting ready for dinner.

Outfit Details:  Jumpsuit: A New Day |  Sandals: Teva

We eventually pried ourselves away from the hotel and headed out to dinner and explored the Pearl District. The hotel shuttle will take you downtown but since our dinner reservation was so close to our hotel, we wanted to walk to dinner and enjoy the sights around the Pearl on this beautiful first day of summer.

Coincidentally, J-Lo was also leaving the hotel lobby at the same time as she was headed out to her concert that night. I don’t usually get starstruck, but I thought it was cool that even a-list celebs love the Hotel Emma.


For dinner we enjoyed a beautiful dinner at Cured, just a few minutes walk from the hotel.  We’ve always enjoyed going to out special restaurants in Seattle and the Eastside for our anniversary dinners, and we were looking for a comparable experience in San Antonio. We believe we found just the spot at Cured. At first glance, the building reminded me of one of John’s and my old favorite date night restaurants in Madison Park, Madison Park Conservatory (RIP) with its cozy atmosphere, reclaimed and exposed wood and brick interiors.

Cured specializes in charcuterie boards and house-cured meats. Overall food was delicious, ambiance was beautiful with warm exposed brick, ornate details and elevated updates throughout the interior in a historical atmosphere. The building used to be the Pearl’s Administration Building built in 1904 and has been lovingly restored. As you enter the building, a large charcuterie case shows off hanging meat in the dining room; it’s stocked with options like smoked vealwurst, smoked duck ham, and jalapeño sausages.

I loved everything we ordered, but favorite dish was the Beet, Avocado and Citrus Salad.  The flavors and textures just remind of the delicious farm to table foods we enjoyed in the PNW.

Aged pork belly, bresaola, smoked double barrel cheddar, pink lemonade jam

 

Avocado, Beet & Citrus Salad

 

Wagyu Beef Short Ribs

After dinner we ended the night with a gorgeous stroll at sunset along the famed San Antonio River Walk, followed by more champagne, macarons and turndown service.

River Walk

Outfit Details | Crop Knit Top: Zara similar here | Blazer: Wild Fable | Shorts: Prologue |  Sandals: Sam Edleman, similar here

 

When we returned back to our room, THESE were waiting for us. At Hotel Emma, turn down service comes with macarons. Every. Night. Winning.

Turn Down Service with Macarons!

We made ourselves right at home lounging in these amazing lightweight cotton Guyarobes by Dos Carolinas made exclusively for Hotel Emma.

 

In the morning, you can ring downstairs and hot, freshly brewed coffee magically appears in your room, or you can head down to the Library and enjoy the same freshly brewed Merit Coffee at the coffee cart with an assortment of continental breakfast pastries.

We opted to do both because the library is just so fabulous – had one cup of coffee there and brought more coffee up to our room to enjoy on our terrace.

I find that the best time for truly experiencing architecture during travel and resort amenities is very early in the morning before the crowds come down or arrive. Since becoming a mother I’ve been an early riser and just can’t sleep in. I am a morning person and love quiet mornings exploring hotel grounds without any distractions. The stunning Southerleigh is a hidden gem tucked in the Hotel Emma. Truly a treat for the senses, we got to admire all the rich architectural and design elements that went into this building and had the place pretty much to ourselves.

Pearl Farmers Market

I’m so glad we made plans to visit the Pearl Farmers Market. This has got to be one of my favorite farmers markets I’ve been and we’ve been to a lot!  The Pearl Farmers Market is held every Saturdays and set up along the beautiful outdoor space through the Pearl grounds, which is also just outside the hotel, hosting local produce, meat & cheese producers, fresh flowers, fresh baked goods, live music & cooking demos. It is also very family-friendly with a splash pad for kids in the middle of the plaza. This is the perfect spot to grab breakfast or lunch and a bistro table while the kids splash or run around the park.

Outfit Details | Dress: A New Day |  Sandals: Teva

 

Before checking out of our hotel, we had to stop by the gift shop to pick up a bottle of the most wonderful scent we experienced throughout the hotel during our stay – Milagros by Soular Therapy designed and produced this exquisite room fragrance exclusively for Hotel Emma. The spring and summer aromas of amber, sandalwood, oakmoss, and citrus greeted and followed us throughout the property and we wanted to experience the same aromas at home. I never knew ‘scent marketing’ was a thing but I’m now a believer!

Scent Marketing definition by Air Aroma: By using scent, brands are able to connect with consumers on a deeper emotional level, resulting in a more memorable experience. Scent can attract new customers, increase sales, heighten value perception, and expand brand recognition and customer satisfaction.

 

After a weekend of being wooed by Hotel Emma and her gorgeous architecture, attentive staff, macarons, champagne, and coffee, we were refreshed and ready to go home to see our kids and how the demo was coming along. Besides, isn’t that one of the best things about getting away? At the end, as much as we love a luxurious getaway, we’re ready to go home. And we’re reminded of how special home is and how much we love being at home with our little family.

3. Notes on 11 years of marriage

Over the years, each person learns that marriage isn’t all about spending every waking moment together, it’s more about discovering our individual dreams, talents and challenges and growing together and as one as lovers, best friends, partners, and companions. As a family.

Marriage is a time of constant learning and adjusting. It’s the time of endless self-discovery and growth. The journey continues, but every year there is something new. That, is my reality of our marriage in the 11th year.

What does your marriage look like today?

jillivictorio@gmail.com /

Image courtesy of PaperCity

 

 

Since moving to Fort Worth TX, John and I, along with our kids have been making time on the weekends to explore our new town, city, region, and state. Recently we had the opportunity to head south to San Antonio to explore the San Antonio’s Historic Pearl and The Missions. We absolutely loved it and wanted to share our discoveries and photos of the area with you!

Stay

AIRBNB

This trip’s Airbnb was an amazing historic mission building, Casa De Alamo, built in 1868 that has been fully restored with modern décor and luxe touches, kid friendly amenities, and had everything we needed for a comfortable stay.  The scenic drive to the home was a highlight in itself passing through winding roads and views of Texas Hill Country.

Absolutely loved this welcoming front porch.

The stoney walls continue throughout the interior…

Cute farmhouse style kitchen

The kids’ bedroom

 

Master Bedroom…

Complete with the perfect selfie mirror for capturing the perfect #ootds

Outfit Details: Coat: H&M, Pants and Top old, Platform Sandals  Blush (also available in white)

The back deck, fully fenced, and just beyond the grass is a creek

 See

The Pearl

The Pearl is a great example of the revitalization along the Riverwalk. Originally a brewery founded in 1881, this property has seen a renaissance in the last decade. Buildings have undergone complete renovation and restoration and now house the Culinary Institute of America, 15+ food venues, a weekend farmer’s market, a luxury hotel and apartments, 13+ retail venues, a yoga studio, and the new Bottling Department, San Antonio’s first food hall, opened in 2017.

The turf lawn outside the Bottling Department Food Hall is the perfect spot for kids to run around and play and people watch.

 

Hotel Emma

Located in the hip Pearl District of San Antonio, Hotel Emma was originally Pearl’s Brewhouse built in 1894 and a San Antonio landmark ever since. It brings an eclectic, high style vibe to a city known for its intermingling of the multicultural and historical. Opened in 2015, Hotel Emma was designed by the award-winning firm Roman and Williams in the historic Pearl Brewery bulding, whose IG I’ve been following for years for their stunning designs in all the cool places. I could spend an entire blog post on just the Hotel Emma itself, but for now I’ll just share some of our favorite features we had time to enjoy.

Lobby

The Roman and Williams team created an original hacienda-chic style that feels one part South Texas ranch, one part Old World extravagance, and one part Jules Verne steampunk.

The front of the building welcomes guests and visitors to a beautiful courtyard that has a romantic Old World feel, with string lights hung, terracotta tiles, a water feature created from tanks salvaged from the original brewery, and a sitting area in front of a beautiful large wood burning fireplace.

Courtyard and wood burning fireplace

Can we take a moment and talk about this impressive kitchen? The Exhibition Kitchen at Hotel Emma sitting smack dab exposed in the middle of a hallway hosts events and classes throughout the year offered to guests. When not in use, the kitchen is definitely a show stopper and conversation starter.

Edible garden landscape outside Supper

 

Outfit Details: Blazer Cape (from 2016): Similar here, Jumpsuit: ANewDay , Sandals  Blush (also comes in White), Fanny Pack: Who What Wear (no longer available)  similar here

 

The Missions

Preserved by the National Historic Parks, San Antonio’s four historic missions are not only architecturally alluring, but also offer some of the area’s most interesting attractions. Sadly, many people have never even heard of these missions – overshadowed as they are by the famous Alamo. Here are some of San Antonio’s most beautiful missions to get your family-friendly, cultural adventure off to a great start.

A fun family day out, The Missions are very kid friendly and best of all, a free attraction for the entire family to enjoy. Kids can run and play inside their stone walls, explore garrisons that guarded residents from raiding Apaches and Comanches, see how native peoples lived 250+ years ago, and learn how ancient settlers grew crops and carried water along an ancient aqueduct.

Mission San Jose

Mission San Juan

Mission Espada

 

Eat and Shop

San Antonio Historic Market Square

We followed the upbeat music and came upon a square dating back to the 1820s, which locals dub “El Mercado,” full of vendor stalls, indoor shops and patio-equipped Latin eateries sitting underneath colorful strings of flags.

The boys and I had our first authentic Gordita! As surprising as that sounds and as much as I love Mexican food, I’ve just been comfortable ordering my usual street style tacos al pastor or carne asada. The boys loved them so much so I’m going to have to learn to make these gorditas at home!

The indoor market had the most beautiful artisan wares. I need to go back for some Saltillo tiles and other art objects.

 

Brunch at Ocho

Ocho is arguably one of the most instagrammable spots in San Antonio no matter the time of day and weather conditions. I knew I had to visit here after seeing photos of their conservatory attached to the Hotel Havana which serves as the Ocho restaurant/bar. I mean the place practically had all of my favorite things in life: windows, plants, marble, turquoise, and brunch!

Upon entering, you are greeted by the largest and tallest Fiddle Leaf Fig you’ll ever see.

 

Southtown

We spent our last day in San Antonio in the Southtown neighborhood, which we stumbled upon by accident searching for the nearest Steelcity Pops per Jonah’s request. After a bit of walking we found Steelcity Pops around the backside of a block located in another industrial building with a big grass lawn in front. I could see this being a popular spot for families during the warmer months.

We also found The Friendly Spot while driving through Southtown. What we first saw was the big children’s play structure out front with tons of kids playing and having fun. In the background was what appeared to be a bar. To our surprise, this said bar had the perfect solution for parents with kids to be able to enjoy some adult beverages while their kids safely played. Let’s just say the rest of our plans for the day got scratched after we found The Friendly Spot.

 

Finally, no trip to San Antonio would be complete without stopping in an H-E-B for market goods. For South Texans, H-E-B is the spot for locally sourced and specialty food items. It’s corporate headquarters is based San Antonio with retail stores located primarily in South Texas and 8 locations in the Southwest part of the DFW Metroplex – we feel lucky to have one in Granbury!  We decided to stop at the H-E-B near our Airbnb in Helotes where we were staying, and to our delight, it was Happy Hour at South Flo Pizza!  South Flo Pizza is a new concept at select H-E-B stores featuring fresh made-to-order artisan pizzas. Happy Hour is from 4-7pm and includes a 16″ large pizza and a choice of draft beers and wine… all for only $10.00!!

Clearly, the wine and beer made our day. The pizza was delicious too! The best I’ve had in Texas.

San Antonio has so much more that we want to see and will have to do on our next visit. I’m already booking a hotel stay for just hubby and me at Hotel Emma for our 11thanniversary this summer!  Three things still on my bucket list in San Antonio:  The Riverwalk, The Luxury, and La Villitia Historic Arts Village.

For those who have travelled to San Antonio, what are your favorite places to check out?

jillivictorio@gmail.com /

The Restaurant District brings chef-driven cuisine to the Shops at Willow Bend, opening mid-to-late October.  As part of a $125 million renovation, The District adds a unique dining experience to Plano and the North Dallas area. Leading the culinary side is Knife, a steakhouse by celebrity chef John Tesar, along with local favorites Terra Mediteranean and Whistle Britches. So when we were invited to experience a preview of The District and private Chef’s Tasting of these upscale eateries, I knew we were in for a treat!

When you enter the District plaza, the courtyard is stunning. Landscaped grounds with a water feature, modern architecture, exterior art, outdoor decor with modern accents welcome you to a unique dining experience and a an environment where family, friends, and communities can gather, discover, and share.

The courtyard at the District is bright during the day and lights up at night setting the tone

The evening started with a cocktail reception in the courtyard followed by the first tasting from Mexican Bar Co. Cocina, then Whistle Britches, and finally Knife. The evening culminated with live music and a fireworks finale.

Outfit Details:  asymmetric slip skirt , Booties: Spendid LA, Sweater: Zara

 

 

The Chefs

First tour and plated tasting at Mexican Bar Co. Cocina

Mural art along the perimeter walls of Mexican Bar Co. Cocina

 

Second tour and plated tasting at Whistle and Britches

Third and final tour and plated tasting of Knife

Knife ranks #1 in Texas and #6 nationally for best burger! Photo by Carter Rose Photography

The star of the show for me was the burger at Knife. Simply the best. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some Shake Shack, but this burger is just special. There are no bells and whistles. It’s just pure 44 Farms beef, thick, salty, with a pure, clean meaty aftertaste, topped with two slices of American cheese.

All the new restaurant additions are perfect for casual dining with friends for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Reservations are not required so you can pop in after work on the weekends, or before a game. Opening mid-to late October.

A brief description of what you can expect by the amazing chefs from Knife, Mexican Bar Co. Cocina, Whistle Britches and Terra Mediterranean, which will all be opening in phases throughout this month.

Knife – @KnifeSteakhouse

  • Chef John Tesar (@ChefJohnTesar)
  • Knife offers state-of-the-art steaks that guests can either enjoy in the dining room or take home and cook themselves. Knife Burger offers walk-up burgers, shakes and fries. This is the second Knife location.
  • Opening date – mid October

Mexican Bar Co. Cocina – @MexBars

  • Chef Patricio Sandoval
  • Mexican Bar Co Cocina brings authentic Mexican flavors to Plano. The Picnic will offer walk-up tacos and Mexican street foods. This is the first Mexican Bar Co location.
  • Opening date – mid October

Terra Mediterranean – @TerraMediterranean

  • Chefs Adam Shanaa and Jalal Chanaa
  • Terra Mediterranean serves classic and authentic dishes featuring staples of the Mediterranean diet. Terra offers a lunchtime buffet and terrace-level patio seating. This is the third Terra location.
  • Opening date – late October

Whistle Britches – @whistlebritcheschicken

  • Serving the tastiest, juiciest and crunchiest bird in town; the pickle brined bird, farm-fresh ingredients and soulful cooking will leave you wanting more.

 

Thank you Shops At Willow Bend for having us for a preview of your new restaurants and delicious tastings! The District at Willow Bend is just what the North Dallas area desires for a place to gather with family and friends, and a new retail plaza serving the DFW metroplex as a dining destination. I wish all the restaurants all the best in success and I hope to see you all soon for many memorable meals.

Go taste and see for yourself when the restaurants open later this month and let me know what you think!