Summit Climbing Gym Expands its Footprint in Plano

Summit Plano // photos Jennifer Shertzer
Summit Plano // photos Jennifer Shertzer

Summit, a climbing gym with locations across the Metroplex, has plans to expand its Plano location in 2021. On top of being the largest climbing facility in the Dallas area, Summit Plano, which opened in summer 2019, will soon have its own full-service Dunn Brothers coffee shop and restaurant serving coffee, breakfast, lunch, dinner, beer and wine just steps from the current gym.

“We have always joked about opening a coffee shop or bar next to the climbing gym,” Summit co-owner Stan Borodyansky shared. “Most of our gyms, there’s nothing right there, so if the climbers want something more than a power bar they have to get in their car. So, we wanted to put a café in. We had the land so we put in a training center and a climbing wall, too.”

Summit is partnering with Dunn Brothers for the coffee side of things because of its easy-to-navigate franchise program. Stan went up to Minneapolis in October for the franchise training and says has enjoyed the ease of the Summit – Dunn Brothers relationship thus far. Plus, he has a long-standing history with their coffee.

Construction of Dunn Brothers // photos Jennifer Shertzer
Construction of Dunn Brothers // photos Jennifer Shertzer

“There’s [a Dunn Brothers] in Addison, and they’ve been there a long time. We grew up climbing at what is now our Carrollton location but it used to be called Exposure. Me, Kyle and Chris [my co-owners] – that was our home. We’d always go to the Dunn Brothers coffee shop after climbing,” Stan recalled.

The hours of the new café, training center and outdoor bouldering wall will mimic the climbing gym hours. Opening will be at 6 a.m. and closing will be at 10 p.m., except Sundays which will likely be 11 a.m.-8 p.m.

On top of climbing, Summit also offers yoga classes and a yoga teacher training program. Summit intentionally makes its yoga program affordable and approachable. The community feel of the climbing gym carries into the yoga studio as well.

Summit Plano interior // photo Luke Shertzer
Summit Plano interior

Due to the ongoing pandemic, events at Summit have looked different. Previously, the staff enjoyed hosting competitions about once a month. Once the pandemic comes to an end, Stan and his co-owners look forward to doing those big competitions again, as well as community events like their annual holiday party.

As for what’s on the horizon at other Summit locations, the Dallas location will be expanding into the space next to its current climbing gym. That space will be used as a fitness area with state-of-the-art equipment. They also have tentative plans to move their Grapevine location to a spot down the street that would be more similar to the Plano facility, but not quite as tall.

Feb. 15 is the date set for the grand opening of the café at 501 Talbert Drive in Plano. The training center and bouldering area will open later in the year. You can stay tuned for more updates on Summit’s Instagram page.

Summit >

 

Summit Climbing Gym
525 Talbert Drive
Plano, Texas 75093

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