Six years after opening its biggest-ever location at The Star in Frisco—a full 10,000 square feet with seats for 400 inside and out—North Carolina-based Tupelo Honey says it’s found its sweet spot in the smaller, cozier sizing of its new Las Colinas location at 5981 High Point Drive in Irving.

Founded in 2000, the farm-to-table scratch kitchen is known for its rich, tempting Southern cooking and elaborate craft cocktails. With its Southern classics now being dished out farther south in Irving, Tupelo Honey is doubling down on its North Texas presence. And innovative new food and drink concepts cooked up in its R&D kitchen have made their way to Irving as well.

Fried bone-in chicken sprinkled with signature “bee dust.” [Photo: Tupelo Honey]

“The greater DFW area has been an important part of our expansion,” Caroline Skinner, Tupelo Honey’s COO, told Dallas Innovates. “Not only do we feel there is an appreciation for scratch-made food and creative cocktails, but a lack of our version southern cuisine that’s rooted in southern Appalachia.”

“We also know that DFW brings people together from all part of the world, and it’s a great city to generate broader brand exposure that not only helps our growth in this market, but around the country as well,” Skinner added.

Expansion plans may follow Las Colinas footprint

The fried green tomatoes at Tupelo Honey. [Photo: Tupelo Honey]

Skinner said the restaurant chain’s sprawling Frisco location—”the Taj Mahal of Tupelo”—has been a good fit in the specialized destination of The Star, nestled on the southern end of the Ford Center. But with an eye on a “big push” in growth, with three new openings this year and five more slated for 2024, the Las Colinas location’s more intimate size of about half of Frisco’s “works best for us,” she added.

Currently, Tupelo Honey has 21 locations spread out as far west as Denver and Boise and as far north as Milwaukee, with its heaviest presence across the South. The Frisco and Irving locations are its only ones in Texas so far.

Putting a ‘new spin’ on Southern classics

Waffles get the Tupelo treatment. [Photo: Tupelo Honey]

Tupelo Honey’s Southern cuisine goes a lot deeper than mere grits ‘n’ gravy, serving up one distinctive offering after the next. A favorite starter is its “famous” panko-crusted fried green tomatoes with basil, roasted red pepper sauce, and heirloom grits with goat cheese. But the show really gets started with items like the Cast Iron Pork (slow-cooked pork shoulder in duck fat with a sriracha honey glaze) and the Roast Beef Debris Benedict, featuring “fall-apart-tender New Orleans roast beef and two poached eggs served with green tomato salsa and hollandaise over a buttermilk biscuit with potato cracklins and pickled red onions.”

“Our Roast Beef Debris is a great example of a classic Southern ingredient that we put a new spin on,” said Eric Gabrynowicz, Tupelo’s SVP of culinary & beverage.

Gabrynowicz—a New Yorker who’s long been obsessed with Southern cuisine and spirits—joined Tupelo in 2016 after making his mark as a four-time semifinalist for the James Beard Award categories of Rising Star Chef and Best Chef Northeast.  Since then he’s been a leader in transforming and positioning Tupelo’s menu for “an upscale casual guest.” He’s also brought Tupelo’s beverage program to new heights with industry-leading metrics in both percent of sales and cost of goods, 

Southern cocktail concoctions 

Summer cocktails at Tupelo Honey [Photo: Tupelo Honey]

There’s a reason those cocktails are flying off of Tupelo’s bartops. Along with things like Tupelo shrimp & grits and the restaurant’s brined-for-18-hours bone-in fried chicken (sprinkled with signature “bee dust”), Tupelo’s craft concoctions are a leading attraction for the restaurant. The names say it all: Boozy Turkey. Citrus Got Real. Blueberry Lavender Mimosa. And Peach-Don’t-Kill-My-Vibe Sangria, just for starters.

Even the non-alcoholic “dry-hopped” sweet tea makes a big splash. 

Tupelo’s Boozy Turkey next to a glass of wine. [Photo: Tupelo Honey]

Skinner says that’s all part of the plan, both for the restaurant’s craft cocktails and the brunch, lunch, and dinner offerings.

“Ultimately, we look at a signature ‘Southern’ dish or ingredient and incorporate elements of current-trend culinary creativity to give that dish new life for a modern audience,” she said.

Tupelo Honey says its “farm-to-table roots” have grown along with it, with a network of purveyors and farmers delivering fresh, sustainable local ingredients both in DFW and across the country.

Tech jumped 10 years during pandemic—’and isn’t going away’

Biscuits for a Cause: Proceeds from these cathead biscuits served with blueberry jam go to Tupelo Honey’s Relief and Development Fund, which aids employees in need with $575,000 awarded to date. [Photo: Tupelo Honey]

Along with its continuing expansion, Tulpelo is bringing its technology enhancements to Las Colinas and beyond. “Technology jumped 10 years ahead during COVID,” Skinner said, noting that Tupelo Honey developed a popular platform for its to-go and online ordering system, “and that tech isn’t going away.”

Tupelo Honey sweet & spicy chicken sandwich [Photo: Tupelo Honey]

Get on the list.
Dallas Innovates, every day.

Sign up to keep your eye on what’s new and next in Dallas-Fort Worth, every day.