Don’t be fooled by the name; McKinney’s next great burger obsession will bring plenty of big flavors. Smalls Sliders will be serving up fresh helpings of the titular fare in the neighborhood later this year, according to Community Impact.
The brand dropped one of its iconic “cans” at 1681 North Hardin Boulevard on February 6. Franchisee Chris Raleigh tells What Now Dallas about the store’s McKinney arrival, stating: “It’s a pretty exciting moment where the restaurant basically appears overnight. From can drop to opening takes about 6 weeks-we’re looking to open in March.”
In a powerful indicator of Smalls’ covenant with the community, Leia Hunt of Leia’s Kids was present at the drop. The non-profit is committed to providing support to those impacted by childhood cancer, and Raleigh is enthusiastic about teaming up with Hunt. He states: “She’s a perfect partner for us. She’ll be there on opening day where we’ll present her with a check. We’re looking for anyway we can help engage her and the community of McKinney.”
McKinney, Raleigh explains, is an exciting market for Smalls to be entering. “We got drawn to McKinney” he says, adding “it’s a very historic town with a loyal population…great growth corridor. We think we can get a lot of interest from folks.”
Raleigh and his partners have signed on to open at least 5 Smalls Sliders in North Dallas, and are very invested in remaining a local, involved company. He explains that he doesn’t want to be just another big box store, with no community connection. Smalls will be an active member of the neighborhood, participating in everything from charities to little leagues.
As for the food itself…Raleigh assures McKinney residents that they are in for a treat. “What really hooked me was the taste.” he states, adding “It’s extremely high-quality food-who doesn’t like a burger?”
McKinney is just the beginning of Smalls’ North Dallas story. Raleigh states that while he and his partners haven’t signed any additional leases yet, “We’re looking all along the North Dallas area. My partners and I signed up for 5, we’re trying to build a pipeline to build more than that.”
