Vidorra and Stirr to Expand to Grand Prairie Complex, The Epic. Plus Pickleball.

Vidorra, Stirr, Serious Eats, Chicken N Pickle and Loop 9 BBQ are all opening spots in the massive multi-purpose development EpicCentral in Grand Prairie this fall. This news is tucked away on a Grand Prairie Economic Development page. EpicCentral includes Epic Waters along the George Bush Turnpike just south of Highway 303 in South Grand Prairie, about a mile north of Ikea.

EpicCentral is a 172-acre entertainment, arts, fitness and everything else facility. There are five lakes, a grand lawn with an amphitheater and a 10-acre playground. It's like Grand Prairie is pregnant with another city.

Vidorra Cocina de Mexico and Stirr are part of Milkshake Concepts, a Dallas hospitality group. Vidorra and Stirr both have two restaurants, one each in Addison and Deep Ellum, and are popular bars and restaurants right now; the Texas Comptroller report on total mixed beverage receipts for April just came out, and Vidorra Deep Ellum is fourth on the list for all of Dallas in total booze sales ($697,136); Vidorra Addison is 11th ($518,545) and Stirr Deep Ellum is 15th ($466,924).

We reached out to Milkshake Concepts about the venture but did not hear back. We're particularly curious if Serious Eats has anything to do with Serious Pizza, the longtime Deep Ellum pizza spot they recently bought and a bit begrudgingly cleaned up.

Chicken N Pickle is another spot going in at Epic, and the latter part of the name is not a reference to a condiment, rather the tennis-pingpong mash-up sport sweeping the 'burbs. This space will have a large rooftop with a variety of yard games including pickleball. Chicken N Pickle has locations in Kansas City, Wichita and San Antonio. Here’s a peek at the San Antonio menu.

Another tenant at Epic is Loop 9 BBQ, an upscale barbecue restaurant from Larry Levine, founder of Chili’s. Loop 9 is a reference to a proposed loop by the Texas Department of Transportation that "includes [the] construction of a six-lane new location frontage road system between US 67 and IH 35E through Dallas and Ellis counties, Texas."

All of these spots are due to open in the fall.

Update: Milkshake Concepts sent us the following statement about their new venture.

“We’re thrilled to open three dining concepts at The Epic in Grand Prairie,” said Milkshake Concepts Founding Partner and CEO Imran Sheikh. “It’s a rapidly growing area with a wide variety of businesses and an ‘epic’ central location within DFW. Grand Prairie is seeking innovative, fun brands to complement the city’s dynamic, and Milkshake Concepts’ portfolio is an ideal fit. Around summer of 2022, we’ll be opening a single-story STIRR with a patio overlooking water, a massive Vidorra and a Serious ‘food hall’ that features three Serious offerings – Serious Pizza, Serious Shakes and Serious Sliders. We can’t wait to bring our DFW-loved, one-of-kind brands to this lively, up-and-coming area.”