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The Observer has a new column — the Weekly WTF — in which readers submit burning questions about anything related to North Texas. And then we find out. It’s fun, and we love opening the mailbag, so please send us your questions. One of our first questions landed on the food desk:
From Bill S:
“WTF ever happened to The Salt Lick building a restaurant in Grapevine? They announced it years ago and then it disappeared.”
Great question, Bill! Boy, that was supposed to be a humdinger of a spot. For a little background, Salt Lick BBQ is a sprawling eatery in Driftwood, near Austin. Set in the rustic Hill Country with an open-pit fire, it feels as Texas as you can get. Texas Monthly BBQ Editor Daniel Vaugh wrote back in 2016, “It’s a one-stop shop for Texas cliches.” But he is a snob after all.
Meals are served family-style at Salt Lick. Get all the beef brisket, sausage, pork ribs, potato, cole slaw and beans you want for $33.95 per person. You can also get one-meat plates and sandwiches, but why? The original location is also BYOB.
Plans for North Texas
Then, as Bill pointed out, in 2017, North Texas was shaken by the announcement that Salt Lick was expanding to Grapevine. A 10-acre wooded plot at 850 Kubota Drive was picked out for a 10,000-square-foot indoor-and-outdoor restaurant. According to a press release, it was supposed to open in 2018.
“The smoked meat mecca will be located on the north side of Grapevine Mills Parkway, just west of 185, and will also have a beer and wine bar,” wrote Dallas Observer food editor Beth Rankin at the time.
Then, crickets. Nothing.
What Happened?
The only information we could find was rumors on Instagram. So we reached out to the city of Grapevine.
Turns out their plans were a little too ambitious.
“The City of Grapevine sold the 12.46-acre property to Salt Lick BBQ in the hopes of combining an iconic eatery with a uniquely beautiful, wooded area in northeast Grapevine,” economic development director Garin Giacomarro responded to the Observer in an email. “Salt Lick had initial design plans and concept drawings of the layout that were met with a lot of excitement within our City. Unfortunately, the project proved too ambitious financially, and Salt Lick put an indefinite hold on construction. After some time, they decided to put the property back on the market, without building anything.”
The land is still undeveloped, is privately owned, and for sale through Chris Leighton at Vision Commercial. We reached out to Leighton to see if there are any other plans for the space. We’ll update if we hear back.
So there you go, Bill. Maybe Daniel Vaughn was right, and banks won’t finance Texas cliches. (Although it seems like they do every day.)
