A Huge Canadian Brewpub Is Opening in Park Cities. Pearls Will Be Clutched

Driving down Northwest Highway, you can’t miss this behemoth new spot. This week, a few hundred community members, media and brand partners gathered for an invite-only sneak peek at this Park Cities spot, “Where good times are always on tap.” We attended, chatted with leadership, and snooped around the giant bar-lounge and rooftop patio.

Calgary-born CRAFT Restaurant & Beer Market is set to open on Wednesday, April 1, at Preston Center. Dallas represents the 15-year-old Canadian chain’s U.S. flagship and a partnership between founder P.J. L’Heureux, president and COO, Scott Frank and Dallas Stars owner Tom Gaglardi.

Our takeaway from the sneak peek? CRAFT brings a whole different vibe to one of Dallas’s most Dallas-y neighborhoods. Here’s how:

The Location

CRAFT currently operates nine locations throughout Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario. Founder L’Heureux notes “synergies between Calgary and Dallas” as a key deciding factor on bringing number 10 to the Big D. “It was easy to fall in love with the city,“ he says. “The people, the entrepreneurial spirit, and very friendly hospitality.” 

After selecting the city, L’Heureux and his team spent five years hunting for real estate. With the Design District also in the running, Preston Center ultimately won the prize. Occupying a former office suite across from Village Baking Co., CRAFT will be the first establishment of its kind – beer, TV and rooftop cornhole – in the area. Over in the Plaza, Il Bracco and Frenchie represent the area’s luxe-leaning taste. Lunch spots like Hopdoddy serve the business crowd. But a big ol’ sports bar? In the middle of the Park Cities? Pearls will be clutched.

15,750 Square Feet

“This is a very different restaurant for this neighborhood,” marketing director Riaz Khan says, acknowledging the elephant in the room, which everyone is apparently eager to see. “The community’s been so excited. They’ve been coming by the construction site nonstop.”

Khan walked us through CRAFT’s first-floor lounge and dining area, which spans 10,500 square feet. At the center, bar-top seating surrounds a huge rectangular bar pavilion, with booths and high-top tables rolling out beyond. Floor-to-ceiling windows retract to create an indoor-outdoor effect. There’s an adjacent private dining room with space for up to 500 guests, most within view of a flat screen.

Up above, we toured the 5,250 square-foot rooftop deck. It holds another 360-degree bar, plus a converted Airstream, outdoor games and a custom mural by Vancouver artist, Rory Doyle. Views are primarily of the street and surrounding businesses, but it’s pretty cool nonetheless.

50 Local Beers and a $25 Nacho Barrel

Serving 100 beers on tap, CRAFT fills a void left by recently shuttered Dallas draft emporiums Dot’s Hop House and The Moth. Half of the brews are local ($8-9), including Celestial Beerworks, Community, Manhattan Project, Peticolas Brewing Company, Revolver and Texas Ale Project.

The menu includes beer-friendly bar food like pizza ($19-21), burgers ($20) and a literal barrel of nachos (at the very Park Cities price of $25). It doesn’t stop there, though. In fact, L’Heureux’s favorite dish is the Ahi Poke Bowl ($24), which he notes that CRAFT introduced in 2011, far ahead of the trend. We sampled the Korean Sticky Ribs ($19), which were suitably sweet, spicy and sticky.

As of April 1, CRAFT will be open every day for lunch and dinner, with “late night” service until 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Craft will also donate $1 from every CRAFT x Kingsville Brewery lager, which is co-owned by former Dallas Stars goalie Marty Turco, sold to the Heaven’s 27 Foundation, created in memory of those lost in the Camp Mystic floods.

CRAFT, 5974 W. Northwest Highway in Preston Center, Monday – Friday 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.; Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. – 1 a.m.