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Town-center update: Dollar General finish-out underway; Nearly Famous Burgers food truck may get a $1.5M drive-through
Summary
Developer Greg Hughes told the EDC June 23 that the former Dollar General build-out is nearly finished, E-Tron has mostly vacated, and Nearly Famous Burgers is doing about $35,000—0,000 monthly as a food truck; the EDC is close to deciding whether to build a speculative drive-through on Pad 4.
KENNEDALE, Texas June 23 Greg Hughes of Hughes Commercial, representing Kennedale Development Partners, updated the Economic Development Corporation on town-center leasing and construction, saying the former Dollar General (Building 1) is near finished and listing activity is underway on remaining pad sites.
"If y'all haven't looked in the door lately, it looks 100% different," Hughes said, describing near-complete finish work and a hoped-for YMCA tenancy that could extend operating hours and draw evening foot traffic. He reported that a Nearly Famous Burgers food truck operating in the parking lot is producing roughly $35,000 to $40,000 a month in sales.
Hughes said his team is "pretty close" to a decision about building a $1.5 million quick-serve drive-through on Pad 4 to convert the successful food-truck operator into a brick-and-mortar tenant. He described other pad sites: a Subway, a pizza space and a small sit-down restaurant shell being marketed for 4,800 square feet of tenant space.
Board members raised practical issues developers face. Hughes explained two distance tests for liquor-related licensing near the school: one measured "as the crow flies" from property edge (300 feet) and another measured pedestrian route via approved crosswalks to the school (1,000 feet). "One [pad] met both of those criteria; the other missed by 13 feet," Hughes said, noting the distance can determine whether a proposed restaurant can pursue an on-premise liquor license.
Members also discussed site improvements to make the town center more appealing: relocating the small yellow house to create a green/astroturf family space, hiding electrical infrastructure, adding backlit Parkway signage, and re-siting dumpsters to improve patios and pedestrian areas. Hughes said he will reach out to the consultant team with plans and would like Pavlik to know about available pad sites.
Hughes said he hopes to pull permits and start construction soon but emphasized the financial risk of building speculative space without a preleased tenant.
The board did not take a vote on development decisions during the update.
