A tea brand founded in Xi'an, China, in 2016 opened its first Dallas-Fort Worth shop off US 75 in August. A Japanese ramen shop chose West Parker Road for its first location anywhere in the United States. An Arizona restaurant brand picked Legacy West for its second DFW restaurant. A trampoline park making its first DFW appearance is moving into a former Joann store on Alma Drive. Plano is where a lot of chains outside Texas, and a few inside it, open their first North Texas location this fall. The ones arriving for the first time are also the ones still changing their opening dates.
Where the New Arrivals Come From
Community Impact's Oct. 12 roundup of 15 Plano business updates shows the pattern. Here is how the food and entertainment openings line up by origin and by how many locations each brand already had in the area.
| Business | Plano address | Where it comes from | What the Plano location is | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChaHalo | 6809 N. Central Expy., Ste. 500 | Xi'an, China | First in DFW | Opened Aug. 21 |
| Kouchan Ramen | 4709 W. Parker Rd., Ste. 440 | Japan | First in the U.S. | Expected December |
| Big Air Trampoline Park | 700 Alma Dr., Ste. 119 | Houston, Missouri City | First in DFW | Expected early November |
| The Henry | 7700 Windrose Ave., Ste. G200 | Arizona | Second in DFW | Scheduled Oct. 21 |
| San Martin Bakery | 5500 Preston Rd. | Guatemala | Third in DFW | Opened Sept. 28 |
| Pax & Beneficia | 5525 Granite Pkwy., Ste. 150 | Las Colinas | Ninth in DFW | Opened Sept. 19 |
San Martin Bakery and Pax & Beneficia, both brands already operating in DFW, opened in September. Kouchan Ramen and Big Air are entering the region or the country for the first time and still list projected dates.
Legacy West Gets an All-Day Room
The Henry was scheduled to open Wednesday, Oct. 21, and The Dallas Morning News reported hours of 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Those hours put it in a small group of Legacy West rooms that serve breakfast as well as dinner. The restaurant's Plano page takes reservations through OpenTable.
The Henry is a Fox Restaurant Concepts brand, and Fox opened its first restaurant in Tucson in 1998. Plano is The Henry's third location and Fox's second in DFW, according to Community Impact. Menu items named so far include Shrimp and Crab Louis, Cheesy Truffle Popovers, a Lychee Martini and a lemon olive oil cake. The space has a full-service coffee bar, an open kitchen, an indoor-outdoor bar and a private dining room. Local Profile adds a patio, egg sandwiches, huevos rancheros enchiladas, filet mignon and a Wagyu cheeseburger.
The Henry announced a firm date about three weeks out, which Local Profile reported on Oct. 3, and its company has opened in DFW before.
Granite Park and Preston Road: The Repeat Openers
Two September openings show the same thing at a smaller scale.
Pax & Beneficia opened its second Plano coffee shop at 5525 Granite Parkway on Sept. 19. It is the Turkish-inspired company's ninth DFW location since its first shop opened in Las Colinas in 2019. Its other Plano shop is near downtown. The drinks to know are the Zahr, made with orange blossom and cardamom syrup, and coffee brewed in a cezve.
San Martin Bakery opened at 5500 Preston Road on Sept. 28, the Guatemala-based bakery's third DFW location. Sweet and savory pastries, cakes and specialty breads are part of it, but the bakery also serves full breakfast, lunch and dinner menus.
Shipley Do-Nuts follows the same model a few miles north. Community Impact reported on Oct. 12 that a franchised shop is scheduled to open at 8245 Preston Road, Ste. 300, in November. It will sell glazed and iced doughnuts, kolaches, coffee and seasonal items.
Over on the Dallas North Tollway side, Sip'Stroke Lounge has been open since July 17 at 5969 Dallas Parkway. Its owner also runs Skyline Lounge in Dallas. The draw is an indoor putt-putt course that runs through the dining room and bar, plus a Full Swing golf simulator bay that seats up to six. The menu includes wagyu sliders and a Cabernet Braised Short Rib.
The First-in-the-Region Openings Run on Their Own Clock
Kouchan Ramen shows what a first U.S. location goes through. A restaurant representative confirmed the Plano location to Community Impact in July 2025, and the first opening estimate was earlier in 2026. Community Impact's Sept. 9 report said November and cited ongoing work on signage, permits, interior construction and the kitchen. Kouchan's own website now gives December 2026, with hours still to be announced. When it does open, the menu is set to include mazemen, a brothless ramen served with chashu, menma and chopped onion. Two versions of tonkotsu ramen, gyoza, fried rice and karaage are also planned.
Angel Touch Kitchen is moving from catering into its own restaurant, and its timeline moved too. Community Impact's September preview estimated late September or early October for the halal Indonesian restaurant at 280 Legacy Drive, Ste. 300, in east Plano. The restaurant's website later listed a soft opening for Oct. 15. Owner Yenni Haryanti started the business as a catering and community event operation in 2014 and ran a temporary location in Carrollton beginning in 2021. She told Community Impact that slow-cooked beef rendang is one of the best sellers, alongside fried rice, stir-fried noodles and chicken skewers.
ChaHalo is the first-in-DFW opening that already made it. The milk and fruit tea shop opened Aug. 21 at Legacy Century Crossing, 6809 N. Central Expressway. ChaHalo started in Xi'an, opened its first international shop in Canada and its first U.S. location in 2025, then opened in Houston in July. The menu includes roasted oolong milk tea, jasmine lemon green tea and a black milk tea frappe. 10x10, a K-pop album and stationery shop with crane machines, opened two suites over on Sept. 12.
Big Air Trampoline Park's first DFW location is projected for early November in the former Joann store at 700 Alma Drive. It will have extreme dodgeball and a foam pit. Its other Texas parks are in Houston and Missouri City.
Nov. 7: The Restaurants Already Here, in One Place
The newcomers are still settling in, and the Plano Food + Wine Festival on Saturday, Nov. 7, features restaurants that have been part of Plano dining for longer. The festival runs noon to 6 p.m. at Legacy West. Visit Plano's listing says about 30 restaurants will take part. Those named so far include Quartino, Truluck's, Earls, Victory Tap, Toulouse, Taverna, KAI, Lombardi Cucina Italiana, Renaissance Hotel Plano, Fogo de Chão, Tacodeli, Uchiko, Chiloso, Grimaldi's, Shake Shack, Loro, Amorino, Tande Craft Kitchen & Cocktails and Burnt BBQ & Tacos. The festival site promotes 100-plus wines, spirits and live cooking demos by Lombardi Family Concepts chefs.
The Legacy West event page lists four ticket tiers, and they cover different parts of the day:
- Visit Plano VIP, $125: a choice of two time windows, a VIP patio, bites and two drink tickets.
- Food + Wine Tasting, $80: an event glass, 20 wine tickets and tastings at 15 restaurants.
- Food Tasting Only, $55: tastings at 15 restaurants, valid noon to 4 p.m. only.
- Wine Tasting Only, $45: an event glass and 20 wine tickets.
The food-only ticket matters most for planning. Its window ends two hours before the festival does, so if the food is the main reason you're going, arrive early.
The same Saturday, the monthly Plano Art & Culture Quest runs from noon to 3 p.m. at McCall Plaza in Downtown Plano. Visitors pick up a map from the Plano Art Association and walk the galleries, shops and public art of the Downtown Plano Arts District. If you start downtown at noon, you can still get to Legacy West with three hours of festival left on an $80 or $45 ticket. A $55 food-only ticket would leave about an hour.
The Rest of the Calendar
- Saturday, Oct. 24: Rest In Plano Fest takes over Downtown Plano and the Haggard parking lot from 5 to 10 p.m. with carnival rides, live performances and costumed characters. Admission is free.
- Nov. 12–15: The 31st annual 'Neath the Wreath Holiday Gift Market at Plano Event Center has more than 125 merchants and is hosted by the Junior League of Collin County.
- Nov. 20–Dec. 30: Lights on the Farmstead fills Heritage Farmstead Museum, 1900 W. 15th St., with more than two million lights.
If Kouchan sticks to its new estimate, it will open during the Farmstead's run. Until it does, ChaHalo is the first-in-region opening you can actually visit today.
If you're watching how Plano is changing, block by block and storefront by storefront, I'm happy to talk through what these openings mean for the parts of the city you care about. Reach out to Paulson Realty Group. Let's Connect.
