Jack Seager was the star of his high school football team, and his father was just as well known for the fried chicken served at their bustling gas station diner. Dreaming of becoming a rock star, Jack would play his guitar around town at night – whether in Plano, or somewhere that felt a lot smaller in the ’70s than it grew to be. Regardless, he ‘grew into his shoes’ and eventually opened Seager & Sons, stepping into his family’s fried chicken footsteps.
Or, at least, that’s how the story goes.
Jack Seager, his father or any other relation may not be real, but the story comes from movie tropes of a simpler time — one filled with rock music, simple cocktails and simple recipes.
Seager & Sons Operating Partner Billy Roberts is no stranger to restaurants rooted in nostalgia and good drinks. With management positions at Flying Saucer Draught Emporium, Rollertown Beerworks and The Londoner, a lot of his career has focused on experiential dining.
“I’ve been in the industry for a little over 20 years,” Roberts says. “I just really enjoy the genuine connections and everything that you’re able to make in this business.”
Most recently, Roberts worked for Rock N Concepts, a hospitality brand known for rock ‘n’ roll – themed eateries and managing experiences for music artists the company has toured with. For the last four years, as an example, the brand has toured with Snoop Dogg, planning parties and VIP experiences.
“The travel is really what got me there,” Roberts says. “Honestly, I was at a point where I was either going to get out of the restaurant industry or I was going to work for 33 Restaurant Group. It was the only restaurant group I had any interest working for.”
So when former coworkers Preston Lancaster, the president and CEO of 33 Restaurant Group, and Tanner Fleming, director of operations at Union Bear, mentioned the creation of a new, ‘70s-themed concept, Roberts hopped on board.
33 Restaurant Group already had several restaurants on The Boardwalk at Granite Park, including Suburban Yacht Club and Union Bear, as well as pizza-forward concepts in Plano and The Colony.
“We were going to do a really grown-up version of that here, and along the way we got into the design,” Roberts says. “We wanted a different style, so we threw in the fried chicken aspect and that changed the entire dynamic of what we were going to do with this concept.”
As the theme started to unfold, they settled on Seager & Sons, playing off the influence of the name Seeger in the decade’s music but also creating their own story of Jack and his family’s legacy.
But even with a well-thought out concept, Roberts didn’t want the theme to become gimmicky.
“One of the most important things for us is that we feel these days like there’s a lot of transactional service that happens in our daily lives,” he says. “Everybody wants to put an iPad in your face and ask for a tip. And for what? With this opportunity to take a step back in time, we felt a real opportunity to push that human connection back into the experience, and the story alludes to that genuine hospitality and honest service.”
The menu highlights the pizza that has become signature to the 33 Restaurant Group name, with small but impactful adjustments. The dough is hand-stretched, with a billowy crust and crispy bottom.
“We have a couple of leaders in our company that have some Chicago [roots],” Roberts says. “For them, growing up in that area, it was fried chicken and it was really good pizza. So, why not try to do something where we can fuse those together.”
Adding a featured fried chicken dish is an all new venture, and in typical 33 fashion, that means being a little extra with it.
“We tested so many different breading techniques, recipes, fryers, breading equipment, holding ovens, things like that,” he says. “Same thing with our pizza dough. We worked tirelessly to really get the dough where we felt it was at its best.”
Roberts brought the same intentionality to the cocktail program.
“The swankiness and upscale energy that we have here, beautiful built-out woodworking, lights dimmed low, it just lends itself to an awesome cocktail bar,” he says.
Looking back at cocktails of the era, they were all “just sugar bombs,” Roberts says. So instead, he put his own twist on the classics.
A basic sour becomes Mr. Seager’s Sour, with a Chilean spirit called pisco, lime, foam, passion fruit and simple syrup. The Sex on the Beach includes black currant and apricot liqueur instead of peach schnapps.
Roberts’ highlights? An espresso martini called Rocketman, which Roberts says is “the best espresso martini in town.” It includes honey vanilla bean vodka, coffee liqueur and espresso. And the banana bread old fashioned is their bestselling cocktail, he says. It includes a rye whiskey, banana liquor, spiced brown simple and black walnut bitters.
“The fried chicken. The hand-stretched pizza. The vibe. The energy. [It’s] timeless,” Roberts says. “Bringing all the elements together to create remarkable experiences is something we really like to hone in on as a company … and it is a remarkable experience.”
Seager & Sons, 5864 State Highway 121, Suite 106. 214.296.9300
CORRECTION: A correction has been made from the original version which incorrectly identified Billy Roberts as Bobby Roberts.
