Kirby Ice House plans first North Texas location in Plano

Kirby Ice House’s move toward Plano signals how far the city’s entertainment map has shifted toward destination nightlife. The Houston-born brand, known for oversized patios, long bars and sports-heavy crowds, is now eyeing its first North Texas location at 208 Coit Road, a site that could draw after-work traffic, weekend game-day crowds and late-night business away from smaller bars along nearby retail corridors.

A Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filing dated June 10 calls for a 13,200-square-foot indoor-outdoor bar in Plano with a kitchen, indoor and outdoor seating, restrooms, storage, an office, utility space and beverage coolers. Construction is slated to begin Jan. 4, 2027, and finish July 30, 2027. Energy Architecture is listed as the designer for the Plano project and for a separate Irving site.

Kirby Ice House operates four Houston-area locations now, in Upper Kirby, Memorial, The Woodlands and Heights. The company was founded by Danny Evans, who is also associated with Little Woodrow’s, and its original Upper Kirby venue opened with a grand opening on April 8, 2016. The brand’s formula is straightforward: large gathering spaces, more than 51 beers on tap, an emphasis on Texas and local drafts, and amenities built for socializing such as cornhole, sports viewing and dog-friendly outdoor areas.

For Plano, that mix matters because the city has spent years competing for concepts that can anchor an evening out, not just fill a lunch rush. A Kirby Ice House near Coit Road would add another large-format option in a market already crowded with restaurants and bars, while also giving nearby residents a new high-capacity venue that could increase traffic, parking demand and weekend activity. Retail corridors that depend on evening foot traffic could see spillover, but smaller competitors may feel pressure from a brand that arrives with name recognition and a proven Houston following.

The Plano filing also comes after the city considered and denied a Kirby-branded indoor-outdoor food and beverage proposal in 2023 near Preston Road and Park Boulevard. That earlier plan was described as a 32,872-square-foot space with a bar, kitchen and patio food trucks, showing that the company has already been testing where its model fits in Plano’s growth pattern.

The Irving project underscores how aggressively Kirby Ice House is pushing beyond Houston. A separate licensing filing lists 1251 W. Royal Lane in Irving, a privately funded project on private land for private use with an estimated cost of $5 million. That site is scheduled to start Jan. 4, 2027, and finish March 1, 2029, making Plano the faster-moving of the two North Texas openings if both timelines hold.