The LH Eats group is planning an American restaurant in the old Neighbor’s location
After Neighbor’s Casual Kitchen sold last February to a group of investors with Lake Highlands ties, restaurant-lovers have watched the space like six-year-olds waiting for Christmas morning.
Santa is almost here.
Brandon Carter is heading up LH Eats, a group of LHHS 2002 grads investing in the project, and says they are shooting for a late October opening. Though they aren’t ready to disclose the restaurant’s name, Carter did share a few details.
“Our menu will be similar to Dallas favorites like The Porch, Bread Winners or Matchbox, with a heavy focus on weekend brunch. We’ll have wine on tap, which we’ve seen trending, and we’ll be catering more to adults. We will have a family-friendly atmosphere and keep the play area up front, but we will be full service, which is different from counter service at Shady’s. Families will be comfortable joining us in the early dining hours. We’ll be kid-friendly like Mi Cocina is kid-friendly, not like Shady’s is kid-friendly. We’ll be a great place for date night or a group of friends.”
Since he lives in the neighborhood, Carter is aware of the community’s interest in the project.
“We wanted to create something unique and cool for the area, something ‘by LH, for LH.’ I go by that site every day, and I knew that would serve as our customer base. We heard rumblings about the Andy’s Frozen Custard going in and saw the success of Shady’s. We wanted something different from what was there and at the Town Center and Creekside, where Alamo Drafthouse is going in. We originally looked at Creekside, but Fuzzy’s had a better offer. It’s tough to compete when we don’t have a national corporation behind us. [The LHTC and Creekside] are never going to get start-ups and mom-and-pops to spend that kind of money on rent.”
LH Eats partner and experienced restauranteur Jimmy Cannon will head up operations, and LH resident Brandon Murphy of Caliber Creative designed branding and logo.
“We’re halfway done with construction,” says Carter, “and we’re building an outdoor patio with shade to create an indoor/outdoor feel. We want to create a gathering place for the community.”
We’ll keep you updated here on Advocate Media as more details are available. The former Neighbor’s site is at the corner of Walnut Hill and Audelia.
