Fort Worth’s popular downtown restaurant, Little Red Wasp Kitchen + Bar, is expected to open a second location in Southlake’s Kimball Park in 2019. The casual eatery will be adjacent to the Cambria Hotel and Offices at Kimball Park inside the third building to be completed at the 15.5 acre mixed-use commercial development.
Known for “fork + knife sandwiches,” including customer favorite Crispy Chicken, in addition to daily and nightly features, like Shrimp + Grits and Spaghetti + Meatballs, Little Red Wasp also serves up unique starters, soups, salads, brunch favorites, imported and local craft beers, and a full bar. Little Red Wasp, the casual sister restaurant to Fort Worth’s fine-dining restaurant Grace, is owned by Dain “Adam” Jones, restauranteur and founder of DAJ Restaurant Management.
“Based on demographics, Southlake is a great fit for Little Red Wasp and Kimball Park offers the perfect, convenient location right along Texas State Highway 114,” stated Jones. “I live in Tarrant County. My chef lives in Tarrant County. Most of our staff live here, too. It’s important for us to be a part of the market we serve and we’re excited to expand to Southlake,” adding that capital is currently being raised for the Southlake location, which is expected to open late summer 2019.
Within Kimball Park, Little Red Wasp will occupy 5,500 square feet of a recently completed building that also has 4,000 square feet of available space designated for a health spa.
Kimball Park is also home to the 175-room Cambia Hotel, which opened in December 2016 and the Offices at Kimball Park, which was completed in August 2017. Major tenants of the Offices at Kimball Park include Keller Williams, Liberty Mutual, Independence Title and Executive Medicine.
“Currently, 100,000 square feet of the building’s total 112,423 square feet have been leased. We recently signed GP Construction and Kindred Homes, both of which are scheduled to move into their leased spaces with the next 90 days,” stated Jeffrey Medici of Medici Development Partners, the developer of Kimball Park. “There are two restaurant lots remaining within Kimball Park and we anticipate moving forward with the development of those lots by the end of 2018.”
For more information, visit LittleRedWasp.com and check for updates on Little Red Wasp’s Facebook page.
The northwest corner of State Highway 114 and Kimball Avenue continues to transform into a welcoming gateway to the city. Kimball Park, the 15.5-acre mixed-use commercial development that anchors the area, is already home to Cambria Hotel & Suites and The Offices at Kimball Park. A third building is under construction that will add a restaurant and 4,000 square feet of retail space, including a day spa, to the development this year.
According to Kimball Park developer Jeff Medici, The Offices at Kimball Park – the city’s second stand-alone Class A office building – is 87 percent occupied and new tenants have moved in since the building was completed last summer. There are two remaining restaurant sites for sale and plans are in the works to begin development.
“As the final pieces of Kimball Park near completion, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say the entire development – originally envisioned in 2012 – is a home run for the City of Southlake,” Medici stated. “Kimball Park has brought jobs, hotel tax revenue and increased the city’s tax base by more 30 times since the land was purchased five years ago. ”
The Cambria, which is Southlake’s second hotel, has also seen changes since opening its doors in late 2016. A new management team has implemented aggressive sales strategies targeting business travelers, group meetings and social events, while also bringing in locals to its restaurant and lobby bar. In its first year, Cambria received the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence, Loved By Guest award from Hotels.com, and was voted a top hotel by readers of Society Life.
“We believe the Cambria experience is unique, exciting and offers more sophisticated technology that other hotels don’t have,” said Beverly Brantley, Cambria’s director of sales and marketing. “One of our goals going forward is to continue to engage with the community and draw in residents from the local area with happy hour specials and live entertainment.”
For more information about Kimball Park, contact Medici Development Partners at 817-527-5601.
The City of Southlake now has two additional Class A office buildings, increasing its commercial square footage by approximately 275,000 square feet within the past six months. The Offices at Kimball Park, completed in August, follows the March opening of Granite Place at Southlake Town Square. Located at the northwest corner of State Highway 114 and Kimball Avenue, the four-story office building is the second piece of Kimball Park, a 15.5 acre mixed-use development that is already home to the recently-opened Cambria hotel and suites.
According to Kimball Park developer Jeff Medici, 65,000 square feet of the 115,000 square foot building is leased. Tenants to-date are Executive Medicine, Independence Title, Liberty Mutual, Medici Development Partners and Keller Williams Realty DFW Southlake, which is occupying approximately 40,000 square feet on two floors.
“I knew that in order to do a Class A office building in Southlake successfully, I needed to have good anchor tenants. This building has all the bells and whistles to get folks excited and bring top tier businesses to Southlake,” Medici stated, noting features include an onsite building manager, parking garage, state-of-the-art lighting and access control systems, and programmable 40-inch display panels outside each office.
One of Medici’s goals for the building was to have a wow factor, which is accomplished with a floating staircase in the two-story lobby, accented by a black walnut art feature, Italian tile and transitional furnishings. Outside the front entrance, a water fountain will soon be installed by Southlake-based Claffey Pools.
Tenants are in the process of finishing out and moving into their spaces on the first, second and third floors. The fourth floor, which is currently not leased, offers a balcony with linear fireplace and flatscreen television.
Medici confirms that he has sold a parcel to a developer in Keller who is building a restaurant and spa across from the office building; a groundbreaking ceremony is expected to take place in September. This is the next step in the development of Kimball Park, which was once the site of a large MESCO metal fabrication facility since the 1950s.
During the groundbreaking ceremony for The Offices at Kimball Park in July 2016, Southlake Mayor Laura Hill expressed her appreciation for all involved in the redevelopment of what is considered the eastern gateway to Southlake.
“This piece of property is a Cinderella story with a happy ending,” commented Hill. “Keller Williams has been an incredible neighbor and made such a significant investment in this community. Congratulations to all who will call this new building home.”
For more information about The Offices at Kimball Park, visit www.kimballparkoffices.com or contact Keller Williams Realty DFW Southlake at 817-328-1183.