Florida has been quietly building something worth paying attention to. Oak & Stone started in St. Petersburg in 2018, spent eight locations proving its concept worked, and then decided Texas was the next move. McKinney got the first one. It opens May 19 at 8575 W. University Drive in the West Grove development, and if you have been waiting for something genuinely different in North Texas, this is worth the drive up.
The concept is built around a self-pour tap wall — approximately 50 rotating taps covering craft beer, wine, bourbon, whiskey, cocktails, and zero-proof options. You check in with a staff member, get a tap card, and pour your own. Every tap has a tablet above it with tasting notes and ABV so you know what you are getting into before you pull the handle. There are also tap guides on the floor to help you navigate, which turns the wall from a gimmick into something genuinely educational. Small pours are encouraged. The point is to find something new rather than default to what you already know.
Beyond the tap wall the cocktail list holds its own. The Smoked Oak Fashioned — Benchmark Single Barrel Bourbon, fresh orange, amarena cherry, simple syrup, bitters, rosemary, served in a smoked glass — is the one to order if you are settling in for the evening. The Honey Nut Strawberry Mojito with coconut rum, strawberry purée, lime, mint, and honey is the summer drink this room was built for. The Watermelon Fields Forever with cucumber vodka, watermelon juice, lime, and mint rounds out a cocktail list that actually sounds like someone tasted these rather than named them from a mood board.
The food is made from scratch and the pizza is the centerpiece. The dough is handcrafted, the sauces are housemade, and the standout pie is The Farmer & Pig — imported prosciutto, arugula, mozzarella, hot honey, garlic-infused herb oil, finished with fresh shaved pecorino romano. The Cacio e Pepe pizza — garlic parm sauce, mozzarella, ricotta, parmesan, pecorino romano, fresh basil, cracked black pepper — is the one for anyone who does not trust a pizza place that only knows red sauce.
The Texas debut comes with a collaboration that immediately makes sense. Oak & Stone is partnering with Terry Black’s Barbecue for two McKinney-exclusive items — Terry Black’s Dry Rub Wings and a Brisket & Bacon Pizza built with Terry Black’s chopped brisket, spicy candied bacon, chipotle marinara, roasted tomatoes, mozzarella, fresh jalapeños, pickled onions, scallions, and housemade BBQ sauce. Pairing one of the most respected barbecue names in Texas with a pizza program from Florida is exactly the kind of collaboration that should not work as well as it is going to.
Other Texas-exclusive items include Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers stuffed with street corn and cream cheese, wrapped in crispy bacon, served with housemade ranch. The Philly Cheesesteak Egg Rolls — housemade dough, shaved ribeye, onions, cheese, served with Shiner Bock beer cheese — are the appetizer that will sell out on opening week. The Voodoo Chicken Sandwich with crispy buffalo chicken, Zapp’s Voodoo Chips, tomato, American cheese, lettuce, and ranch is the lunch order to know.
The room is 6,000 square feet with seating for 200, designed to feel broken-in rather than brand new. Open layouts, layered materials, the kind of space that works for a Tuesday lunch or a Friday night without feeling like it was engineered for one or the other. An Addison location is already in the works for this summer at 5225 Belt Line Road, so North Texas is clearly the target market rather than just a test run.
Oak & Stone McKinney opens Tuesday May 19. For opening day, the first 300 guests get spin-and-win prizes — t-shirts, tote bags, gift cards — and there are four sets of four tickets to the CJ Cup Byron Nelson being given away, one package per day. Hours are Sunday 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Friday 11 a.m. to midnight, Saturday 10 a.m. to midnight. Weekend brunch runs Saturday and Sunday. More at oakandstone.com.
