New Eateries Bring Casual Vibe to HP Village
Surrounded by Carolina Herrera and Jimmy Choo stores, K.T. Burger and 5 Creeks Tavern are set to bring a little taste of the casual to Highland Park Village.
The two restaurants are posting up in the space next to the center’s movie theater, previously occupied by Toko V and Village Kitchen. From the minds of Ray Washburne, co-owner of the Village, and Buddy Cramer, the team behind both popular Katy Trail Ice House locations and Bandito’s Tex-Mex Restaurant in Snider Plaza, the new restaurants are expected to offer a more neighborhood vibe in the shopping center.
“Certainly everything has its place but people don’t go out spending a bunch of money on dinner every night,” Cramer said. “We want these to be neighborhood joints, places that you can go to two or three days a week.”
K.T. Burger, located downstairs, will offer burgers and milkshakes, along with salads and classic “beeritas.” The laid-back restaurant with a walk-up counter is expected to open in January.
5 Creeks Tavern, the more ambitious of the two restaurants, will not be open until late March, but the wait for the views alone should be worth it. Located upstairs, the American-style tavern features two patios overlooking the Village.
“It was originally an interior designer’s office but after the Marquee Grill moved in, they covered everything with sheetrock,” Cramer said. “We’re exposing the brick and showing off the flavor of what Highland Park Village was originally.”
The restaurant, named after the five creeks that run together into Turtle Creek, will feature a 7,000-pound, Stefano Ferrara oven for traditional Neapolitan pizza. The space won’t just be a pizzeria, Cramer said, but have a heavy emphasis on the tavern aspect.
“We wanted to create something that was comfortable,” the restaurateur said. “We serve the people, and that means not a lot of frills and aspects that capture the whole Park Cities.”
5 Creeks will offer 16 craft beers and 16 wines on tap at all times and serves pasta, paninis, and other sandwiches besides pizza.
“Highland Park Village is thrilled to have these new restaurants join our already outstanding lineup,” Kersten Rettig, chief marketing officer for the Village, said via email. “Both of these restaurants will appeal to families, business people coming in for lunch, or couples for date night. Having such desirable restaurants here is great for our neighbors because they love to be able to walk (or bike, or scooter) to and from dinner.”
