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[cjyoung]

Southlake's Town Square details major expansion

By Sarah Bahari and Andrea Jares
Star-Telegram Staff Writers

SOUTHLAKE - Town Square will add a 248-room Hilton and a slew of new restaurants and shops -- including Cheesecake Factory, Apple Computer and Snuffers -- many firsts in Tarrant County.

Other businesses will include a 14-screen movie theater and a Barnes & Noble bookstore, developer Brian Stebbins said Friday morning.


Several popular women's clothing stores -- including Anthropologie, Express and NY & Co. -- will also be among the new draws.


Mayor Andy Wambsganss said the businesses will further Southlake's regional appeal.


"Everyone who has a birthday or celebration will want to go to the Cheesecake Factory," he said. "That's one of the biggest coups they landed."


Construction on the long-anticipated $50 million Grand Avenue project will begin soon and is scheduled to be completed in spring 2006.


The development will have a more European architectural feel than the Texas-small-town vibe of the current assembly of shops. The details, such as colonnades and covered walkways, are borrowed from the streets of Paris, Stebbins said.


An open plaza will lend itself to public gatherings, as well as the entertainment focus of the movie theater and national restaurants in that area.


The addition lies northeast of Town Hall and extends to Texas 114. It is expected to generate $4.4 million annually in additional tax revenue.


Retailers making their Tarrant County debut in Southlake Town Square are:


* Cheesecake Factory, a national chain of upscale restaurants that offers a wide variety of dishes. Their thick menu ranges from omlettes, grilled pork chops, pesto chicken pizza, jambalaya pasta and 50 different cheese cakes and desserts


* Snuffer's Restaurant and Bar, known for its burgers and decadent cheese fries. It's a Dallas and North Texas institution with five locations.


* Harkins Theaters, a 72-year-old chain that operates mainly in Arizona and Oklahoma.


* Anthropologie, a nationwide retailer of women's clothing, jewelry and home furnishings made around the world. There are three locations in North Texas, including one at NorthPark Center in Dallas.


* Brio, a Tuscan-style restaurant would be the first in North Texas. The menu includes pizza, steaks, wood-grilled chicken and pastas.


Other retailers coming to Town Square are:


* Express, a young women's clothing store


* NY & Co., a young women's clothing store


* Barnes & Noble, a two-story bookstore


* The 5-story Hilton hotel will have a 1930s design. It will have a 12,000-square-foot convention center, 2,000-square-foot bar and a 5,000-square-foot restaurant.

[SurplusPopulation]

Will it still be everyone's favorite architect? I for one hope so.

[cjyoung]

Will it still be everyone's favorite architect? I for one hope so.

Probably. I think it will turnout to be the best of the local "town square" projects.

[salvag]

Sounds great! I love Southlake Town Center already, and will look forward to the completion of the addition.

[mosteijn]

YAY! More stores with an excuse not to open in Fort Worth.

[salvag]

YAY! More stores with an excuse not to open in Fort Worth.

You can't blame the retailers for choosing to open for business in Southlake. The area is growing so rapidly and can support all the upscale retail that is being built. I really like what they have done up there.

That said, you can't forget the retail opening here in Fort Worth... There's a new Barnes & Nobel opening on Hulen in April, and I've heard talks of Cheesecake Factory coming to downtown (possibly in The Tower).