Retail roundup: High-end golf shop finds suite spot in Frisco

An exclusive golf entertainment center is planned within chipping distance of the PGA of America headquarters in Frisco.

The Bays at Frisco will be a four-story resort from California-based TaylorMade Golf and a local golf company, the Bays, the Dallas Morning News reported. It will have 24 suites with private hitting bays, a 25,000-square-foot putting green, bar, restaurant, rooftop pool and concierge services. Membership will be by invitation only, the outlet reported. It is expected to open in early 2025.

Dallas-based Centennial revealed designs for its redevelopment of the Shops at Willow Bend in Plano. The firm bought the property last year with local firm Cawley Partners and New York-based Waterfall Asset Management, the Dallas Morning News reported. Centennial plans to add apartments and create more open-air shopping while demolishing part of the enclosed mall, built in 2001. 

A Tennessee-based developer is seeking tax incentives to bring a Sprouts-anchored retail center to Kyle, a fast-growing suburb south of Austin. GBT Realty has asked the city for incentives of $650,000 and a 50 percent property and sales tax rebates for five years, the Austin Business Journal reported. The grocery store would span about 23,000 square feet, and other retail space would span about 18,000 square feet at the corner of FM 1626 and Kohlers Crossing.

The city of Austin’s Iconic Venues Fund came to the rescue of a beloved dive bar near the University of Texas. The Hole in the Wall was awarded $1.6 million, enabling the owner to sign a 10 year lease with two five-year extension options with the Weitzman Group, the Austin Monitor reported.

Tim Horton’s Texas takeover is bubbling up. The Canadian chain, comparable to Dunkin or Starbucks, opened its first location near Houston last year and has been scouting real estate in Dallas-Fort Worth. A franchisee plans to open 10 Austin-area stores in the next five years, the Austin Business Journal reported.          

A mystery buyer from Mexico picked up the original location of El Tiempo Cantina at 3130 Richmond Avenue in Houston, the Houston Business Journal reported. Houston-based EYF STNL was the previous owner of the building, where the restaurant has been a tenant for 25 years. In other restaurant news, Dallas-based Bread Zeppelin opened its second location in the Houston area, in the Summit Square shopping center at 3235 Southwest Freeway.

An icon of Texas rap will be well represented at NRG Stadium, where the Houston Texans play. Bun B’s Trill Burgers will have four locations inside the stadium this NFL season, the Houston Business Journal reported. 

San Antonio-based Whataburger is expanding its presence in Tennessee. The iconic burger chain is planning locations in Memphis, Millington and Arlington, Tennessee, the San Antonio Business Journal reported.

Texas’ cult favorite gas station, Buc-ee’s, has been expanding outside the state. Its latest location is planned in Dayton, Ohio, the San Antonio Business Journal reported.

The biggest national news in the grocery business this week was Aldi’s acquisition of 400 Winn Dixie and Harvey’s grocery stores. That doesn’t affect Texas, though, as Winn Dixie closed all 37 of its Texas stores in 2002. 

Meanwhile, the CEOs of Kroger and Albertsons took to social media in an attempt to win favor for their merger, which is now under regulatory review