Troy Cooper and Mike Hutchinson, owners of Plano’s new CraftWay Kitchen, have been in the restaurant business for decades. With experience working for Rockfish, Twin Peaks and Kenny’s Restaurant Group, among many others, the two have an impressive depth of knowledge of the restaurant industry.
This past March, Troy and Mike got together for dinner and left the meal with a napkin full of ideas for a new restaurant they could start together. Thus, CraftWay Kitchen was born.
CraftWay Kitchen officially opened at Lakeside Market in October, offering Plano residents an affordable, neighborhood restaurant. The American tavern concept has a range of offerings including soups, salads, sandwiches, burgers, salmon and steaks.
“The idea was to have [a place] where you could eat here three days a week,” said Mike. “You can come in wearing flip-flops and have blue cheese chips, or you could come have a filet and ahi tuna and a bottle of wine for date night. It is a neighborhood restaurant where you get the best of all worlds, and we work to keep it affordable so people can come back here more often.”
While Troy and Mike put in a lot of effort to get the restaurant up and running, they attributed much of their success to others who helped along the way – one of which being Eric Locker, a prominent managing partner who was influential in developing the menu.
The owners described CraftWay Kitchen as the perfect fit for date nights, family outings or a causal lunch with your buds. They said they want all their guests to feel right at home.
“Most people who come in here will say it is really comfortable; it’s welcoming,” said Troy. “That’s the special piece that has gotten driven into this place.”
The restaurant has ample indoor seating as well as an outdoor patio they hope to utilize more when the weather is nice. It offers full bar service, a weekend brunch and live music on Friday evenings.
Over the next three years, Troy and Mike said they hope to expand the restaurant to multiple locations.
“My goal is to provide a space where we can grow, and people can grow with us,” said Mike. “Providing opportunities for some of these young kids who want to get into management or whatever they are interested in is important to us. We love providing opportunities for people who want to stay in this business.”
CraftWay Kitchen >
CraftWay Kitchen
5809 Preston Rd Suite 578
Plano, TX 75093
