Popular Design District Pizza Joint Expands to Plano

Upscale Dallas pizza chain Pie Tap Pizza Workshop + Bar plans to open its third location in West Plano by the end of the month, CultureMap reports. The chain already operates outposts in the Design District and on Henderson Avenue.

The forthcoming Pie Tap Pizza will be opening in the space formerly occupied by Coconuts Fish Cafe at at 1900 Preston Rd. Founder Rich Hicks (also of Mooyah) chose Plano because it’s where he went to high school and opened his first restaurant, among other reasons.

“I've always enjoyed that intersection of Park and Preston. I met my wife there years ago when I worked at Macaroni Grill across the street,” he told CultureMap. “And then I like our neighbors. We're in between Meso Maya, Hash House A Go Go, and Katy Trail Ice House Outpost. That's a good lineup."

The menu will feature the same pastas, salads, inventive pizza combinations, and gluten-free crust option that made the first Pie Tap a hit in the Design District after it opened in 2016. Long-time chef Giovanni Mauro oversees the menu, which includes items like the prosciutto pizza with medjool dates, pistachios, and house ricotta made in an spinning oven to keep that crust nice and crisp. Mauro formerly owned Old School Pizzeria and Nora's Wine Bar in Las Vegas, and met Hicks when they worked for Romano's Macaroni Grill.

It sounds like Pie Tap will open in Plano sooner rather than later. "We're hoping to serve pizza this week, depending on how inspections go," Hicks told CultureMap.

• Chic Dallas pizza restaurant puts Plano on tap for new location [Dallas Culturemap]
• Pie Tap Pizza Workshop Brings Cheap, Late-Night Pies To Henderson Ave [EDFW]
• Pie Tap Pizza Workshop Lands In The Design District August 1 [EDFW]