A Look at Richard Rawlings' New Gas Monkey Icehouse in The Colony

Richard Rawlings got his start with a hot-rod car shop, Gas Monkey Garage, off Merrell Road in Dallas in 2004. Then in 2012, the Discovery Channel produced Fast N' Loud featuring Rawlings working on hot rods that were, as promised, fast and loud. He then parlayed the success of the show into a music venue, Gas Monkey Bar and Grill (later called Amplified Live), which closed in 2022. Now Rawlings is back with a new space, Gas Monkey Icehouse, which has been a long time coming; another space was initially promised in 2020 in Farmers Branch, but we're not here to quibble about timelines for opening new concepts in this market. What matters is that Rawlings is back with a big, shiny (yet rustic) restaurant and bar.
The almost 13,000-square-foot space at the Grandscape in The Colony includes a 3,000-square-foot outdoor courtyard; there's room for 220 guests inside and 120 outside. There are two indoor/outdoor bars (love those!) with an Alamo-inspired facade that pays homage to Texas pride.
Many of the furnishings in the restaurant were custom-built at the Gas Monkey Garage using repurposed industrial materials.

The menu has a lot of crowd-pleasers like wings, burgers, chicken tenders and pizzas with some upscale twists. Flying Monkey Wings can be ordered "Richard's Way" tossed in Gas Monkey Skidmark Sauce. The Garage Beer Battered Chicken Tender are hand-battered in Garage Beer and served with a comeback sauce. The pizza menu is interesting, like The Gorilla made with a San Marzano tomato sauce, pepperoni and "Texas taco meat," bacon, cheese and hot honey.

Per the press release, Rawlings will film on-site for his YouTube and social media channels, so you never know what might be going on at the venue. There are also plans for pop-up car shows, live events and special programming throughout the year.

Gas Monkey Icehouse opened for dinner on May 6 and is launching lunch on Thursday, May 15, with a brunch to follow on May 17.

This is a big addition to the already mammoth Grandscape that has around 40 restaurants and entertainment spaces, including COSM, Windmills Brewery, Lava Cantina, Truck Yard and Andretti Indoor Karting and Games.