Gearheads Need To Eat, Too, and Derby Delivers

With six lanes of asphalt cutting through low-rise industrial parks and the occasional gas station, the stretch of State Highway 114 in Dallas that heads towards Irving won't make the city's highlight reels anytime soon. But just before the Regal Row exit westbound sits one of the truly unique businesses in the city, and a gastronomical gem to boot.

The Shop Club is a self-described "country club for gearheads," ostensibly a 55,000-square-foot warehouse where club members can store their cars as well as partake of the club's vehicle-centric amenities. The Shop Club has an onsite restaurant, Derby, which is open to the public. We were recently invited to a media event to tour the club and try some of Derby's food. And unlike when your mechanic spends a lot of time under the hood, our inspection turned up nothing but good news.

Dan McKeithen, the general manager of The Shop Club, led a tour of the warehouse while bringing us up to speed on the concept.

"We have about 250 cars and bikes in storage, owned by our members," McKeithen says. "Just like the sign says outside, every car has a story, and every member has a different reason for keeping their cars here."

If you have even a passing interest in cars, The Shop Club is going to be right up your alley. McKeithen says the original Shop Club started in Seattle as a place for car guys to store parts of their collection, but with a social aspect that other auto-storage facilities didn't have. The Dallas location opened in 2021, and a new facility in Houston opened earlier this year.

Cars are stacked on lifts two and sometimes three levels high, like the Matchbox garage of your childhood brought to life. A member calls ahead to The Shop to let them know they're coming to pick up their car. McKeithen says a one hour's notice is standard, but the staff can usually retrieve any car from storage, air up the tires, wipe down the exterior and have it parked out front for their member in about 30 minutes.

"It's like a high-end game of Tetris," he says.

Members also get access to car wash and detailing bays, as well as mechanic's lifts and tools if they want to work on their own cars. On-staff mechanics are available to handle complex jobs or provide guidance as needed. The Shop recently obtained its Texas automobile dealer's license and offers consignment services for members looking to add to or sell from their collections.

Normally, access to the warehouse is limited to members, but on weekends, small groups can take a guided tour. It's completely worth it to take in the variety of cars on display. There are vintage Detroit iron, modern-day exotic sports cars and almost everything in between, stacked to the ceiling in no discernible order. Most of the cars are street-legal, but a few are tricked out for the racetrack. We walked past a Nissan GT-R fitted with drag slicks, a roll cage and a parachute; McKeithen said the owner claims that the car has close to 1,000 horsepower and runs 10-second quarter miles at the track (translation: it's feloniously fast).

With the garage tour in the books, we headed into Derby to get a tour of the menu. Half of the restaurant is wrapped in glass windows that look out onto the warehouse. Upstairs from the restaurant is reserved for members only, with a private seating area, bar, game rooms and private meeting spaces. Terese Beck is Derby's general manager, and she and her kitchen team had arranged a sampling of the menu for us to try.

"We're a completely scratch kitchen," Beck explains. "Everything on the menu is made in-house." There's also a full bar, again with house-made juices and mixers for cocktails.

"We change the menu about once a month," Beck says. "We have a lot of regulars, especially around lunchtime, so we try to keep it fresh."

Beck explained that a few menu items will always be available. One of them is "Matt's Bad Ass Bacon," which Beck explains was named for one of the founders and is truly bad ass. We would agree — an order ($16) is several ultra-thick slices of pork belly glazed with maple syrup, then seasoned with cayenne and flaky salt to give it a spicy kick.

The rest of the menu spans appetizers, salads, sandwiches and entrees that have broad appeal. Beck says Derby works to source locally as much as possible, which means beef from 44 Farms and produce from Profound Microfarms. We came away impressed by almost everything we tried: a crunchy calamari with a zesty remoulade, a Mediterranean salad with a juicy season chicken breast, a seasonal cheese ravioli with shrimp and a traditional meatloaf just like your mom used to make.

Beck says that on the weekends, Derby changes gears to a brunch-centric menu with omelets, waffles and cinnamon rolls. There's also some lighter fare like salads and sandwiches and, naturally, more of that kick-ass bacon. Saturday is also the day for The Shop's "cars and brunch" events, when each weekend a local car club is invited so their members can show off their rides, even if they don't belong to The Shop directly.

Car gurus who want to check out the wild array of automobiles will definitely want to swing by on the weekends and partake in the tours and events. But a visit for lunch or dinner at Derby promises some truly good food in one of the most interesting venues that Dallas has to offer.

The Derby (inside The Shop Club), 9100 W. John Carpenter Freeway. Tuesday – Friday, 11:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.; Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.; Sunday, 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.