Retro-inspired restaurant-bar The Melt Yard is preparing to expand to a second location. It has inked a lease for a roughly 9,000-square-foot space in Dallas at 300 West Memorial Dr. The spot was formerly a 1940s car dealership and auto shop, which The Melt Yard team plans to retrofit for the concept.
“We’ve taken the last year to look at a bunch of different options and at the end of the day, we felt like Dallas really wanted us there the most,” Matt DeBusschere, co-owner of The Melt Yard, told What Now Atlanta. “Community is really important for our business model — we like to engage deeply in it. It felt like the right fit.”
This will be the second location for the brand, which opened in Marietta in 2022. The Marietta location is known for design touches like garage doors, a retro van behind the bar and a retro arcade. Like that location, Dallas Melt Yard will feature vintage touches, but “bigger and better.” The new location will feature a retro Airstream trailer, a larger bar, a stage for live music and a retro arcade. The team also plans to convert the car dealership’s current parking lot into a 1,000-square-foot patio.
“Dallas can expect all the same elements that Marietta has, plus more,” DeBusschere said.
The food offerings will be similar to the Marietta location, though the team might adjust the menu somewhat at the Dallas spot. Much of the menu is American fare, including melts, burgers, sandwiches and shareables like nachos and pretzel bites.
DeBusschere said they just signed the lease, so they are still about eight months out from opening. He and the team are looking forward to being part of a larger redevelopment of the historic downtown area in Dallas, where the city is planning to add mixed-use developments, additional residential areas and green spaces.
“I’m really excited to watch this area grow,” DeBusschere said. “They’re doing the kind of thing we’ve seen so many suburbs do over the last 20 years. Our building is set to be ground zero for all of that.”
DeBusschere and his team hope to continue expansion beyond Dallas, though they have no defined plans at this time.
“I don’t think we’ll stop at two,” DeBusschere said. “We have all discussed continuing to grow the brand, but right now we’re focused on making sure the Dallas location is just as great — if not better — than Marietta.”
