Downtown McKinney's Hugs Cafe closes, new headquarters opens July 2

The downtown cafe that helped define Hugs Cafe’s identity served its last meal on May 30, but the nonprofit says McKinney is not losing the mission, only the address. The original cafe at 224 E. Virginia St. closed as Hugs Cafe prepared to open Hugs Headquarters at 221 Andrews St. in East McKinney, with a grand opening set for July 2 at 10 a.m.

For years, the Virginia Street location was more than a restaurant in Historic Downtown McKinney. It became a familiar stop for neighbors, a symbol of the city’s small-business culture and a visible example of how a local nonprofit could build jobs around inclusion. Founder Ruth Thompson, staff members and community supporters marked the closure with a toast, treating the end of the downtown cafe as a milestone in the organization’s growth rather than a final goodbye.

Hugs Cafe Inc. has long centered its work on adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, or IDD, offering meaningful training and competitively paid employment. The flagship cafe opened Oct. 13, 2015, with 24 adults with IDD as its first staff members, and many of those workers are still with the organization. Since then, Hugs has added Hugs Greenhouse on 4 acres in North McKinney in 2018 and launched Hugs Home Cooking in 2019, widening its reach beyond a single dining room.

The new headquarters reflects that broader footprint. Planned as a 13,500-square-foot, two-story facility, Hugs Headquarters is expected to include a training academy, training kitchen, four classrooms, a rooftop deck and a patio. The project had previously been described as a $10 million development slated for summer 2026, and KDC said the building is meant to help address high unemployment rates among adults with disabilities who can work and want to work.

During June, Hugs Cafe said catering will continue while the organization finishes the move. A June 2026 ad also said the new home will host breakfast, lunch and special events, giving longtime customers another way to stay connected before the July 2 opening.

For McKinney families, the shift matters because Hugs has never been just about food service. It has been a workplace, a training ground and, for many, a path into steady employment. As the downtown cafe closes and the headquarters opens in East McKinney, the nonprofit is betting that a larger building will mean more visibility, more services and a stronger foundation for the people it was built to serve.