A new cocktail lounge that serves oysters and modern comfort food, a boba tea haunt with only two other locations in Texas and a Latin restaurant with a loyal following are all on the menu in McKinney.
Gloria’s Latin Cuisine and CT Provisions Cocktail Parlor & Kitchen have already opened, while Magic Cup Cafe is set to open early next year.
Gloria’s Latin Cuisine, based in Dallas, has opened its 21st restaurant in Texas. The new spot, at 3635 W. University Drive, is the company’s first free-standing location. Gloria’s, which first opened three decades ago in Oak Cliff, serves Salvadoran and Tex-Mex food.
“We’re very excited for our new look and feel,” said co-founder Jose Fuentes. “We wanted to bring Gloria’s restaurants back to our roots by infusing a more modern Latin aesthetic.” The dining room features a new design for the restaurant group, with natural light and Salvadoran-inspired art. Longtime customers fear not: The menu is the same.
CT Provisions Cocktail Parlor & Kitchen opened last month just off McKinney Square in downtown. With speakeasy vibes and an innovative menu spanning raw oysters — workers have shucked 3,200 oysters in the five weeks CT Provisions has been open — to a bone-in Duroc pork chop, the restaurant has drawn steady crowds despite its novelty, and despite COVID-19.
Helmed by a partnership group of longtime friends and colleagues and with chef Carlos Mancera in the kitchen, general manager Manny Casas said CT Provisions is “a supper club fused with a cocktail parlor.” “Our food is fresh and eclectic like that of the 1920s. Our atmosphere is comfortable and elegant at the same time.”
Magic Cup Cafe has locations in Richardson and Houston, and is about to make its latest outpost in McKinney. The new franchise is set to open in March at 7701 Stacy Road. The cafe, which is known for its boba tea and coffee, will also bring a new item to the table. “The Magic Cup McKinney location will be the first Bubble Tea Concept in the DFW market with a drive-through,” said My Lynn Nguyen, the operator for the McKinney location.
