Shorty's Coneys and Cocktails Opens in Historic Downtown McKinney March 16

Bryan McVay spent four years hunting for the right storefront in McKinney. When he finally found the vacant building at 109 N. Kentucky St. on the Historic Downtown Square, he recognized something immediately: the architecture mirrored the 75-year-old hot dog shop near Pittsburgh where he started working at age 15. Today, that building becomes Shorty's Coneys & Cocktails.

The 1,941-square-foot spot occupies what is widely considered the first non-wood structure built on McKinney's square, dating to 1875. A circa-1920 photograph of the facade, credited to the City of McKinney, shows the building's original "Drinks Lunches" sign still visible above the storefront. Before McVay secured the lease, the address had cycled through several tenants, most recently Snug on the Square, a coffeehouse that closed during the pandemic, and before that an antique store, a rug store, and a bakery and coffee shop.

Getting the space ready required more than cosmetic work. "Many of the buildings in downtown McKinney are 150 years old," McVay said. "Retrofitting a building that old and figuring out how to add modern necessities like ventilation and grease traps can be a challenge." He worked with the Texas Historical Society to preserve elements of the facade, and the building's original pressed tin wall panels and wood floor remain intact. More than 300 vintage black-and-white photographs of downtown McKinney will line the interior walls, displayed on vintage-style screens.

The menu centers on Coney-style hot dogs, what McVay describes as a "chefed-up" take on the Northeast classic he grew up eating. Smashburgers come in hot pepper, bacon BBQ, and chili cheese variations. The broader menu includes a Philly cheesesteak, chicken ranch sandwich, Filet O'Whitefish, and a classic BLT. Haley's Killer Chili arrives with a provocation built in: "In Texas, they'll kill you if you put beans in your chili," McVay said. "Well, this chili has beans in it." Sides include fried pickle chips, mozzarella bites, poutine, chili cheese fries, and beef-tallow "fancy fries." A full bar offers cocktails, wine and beer, with a refined late-night cocktail program designed to shift the room from family-friendly lunch stop to date-night destination after dark.

McVay's hospitality resume runs through Hard Rock Cafe, House of Blues, Fox Sports Grill, and FB Society, where he helped shape Legacy Food Hall in Plano. A job with Front Burner Restaurants brought him to Texas 15 years ago. But for all that corporate experience, the concept driving Shorty's is something closer to personal mythology. "If somehow I could turn into a restaurant, it would be Shorty's," he said.

He and co-owner Angela McVay have positioned the spot to work in multiple modes: a quick grab-and-go counter for people walking the square at lunch, and a cocktail hangout once the evening crowd arrives. Shorty's will offer dine-in, takeout and online ordering. The opening lands during a busy stretch for the downtown square, with spring events, beer walks, and festivals on the Visit McKinney calendar already drawing foot traffic to the block.

"I want to be the place that McKinney residents bring people from out of town to show off what McKinney has," McVay said. "If I can create something that other people have a connection to, that they feel like they have to share with their friends as a pride of their hometown, that's a win-win.