“Patty” can refer either to the flattened ground beef in your burger, or it can be the first name of an all-female country band’s leader. At Patty Lou’s Smashburgers, it’s both.
The restaurant, opening next week, is a new spot by Urban Family Concepts in downtown Plano. The company also owns the nearby eateries Urban Seafood Company, Urban Rio Cantina & Grill and Urban Crust
Patty Lou’s is themed around Frenchie Jewel Peters, who started performing in the 1940s under the name Patty Lou Peters and led the Texas-born all-female country band, Patty Lou and Her Texas Sweethearts, who were trailblazers in their time
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The restaurant is like a retro diner but upscale, said Bonnie and Nathan Shea, the married co-owners of Urban Family Concepts. The interior is decorated with wood, neon lights, bright colors, a red-and-orange ceiling mural, a jukebox, photos of Peters and the band and a display of her guitar.
“That’s the guitar she had all my life,” said Bonnie Shea, Peters’ daughter. Interested in her mom’s life, she spent almost 20 years researching the story of Peters and the band, an endeavor Bonnie called a labor of love. “As a teenager, I remember her telling me things like, ‘Well, I performed with Glen Campbell. Well, I played with Bob Wills.’ ”
Peters quit performing to become a housewife, Bonnie said, and later became a mother. “We knew she was awesome because on holidays, she would play with a friend of my dad’s at all of our holiday get-togethers.”
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The restaurant opening “gave me even more incentive to get back out there and try to wrap it up,” Bonnie said of her research. There will be QR codes on the photos for customers to learn about Peters’ story
When Urban Family Concepts looked to fill a vacant space about a year and a half ago, members of the company who are “big smashburger guys” proposed the smashburger concept, Nathan Shea said
The 1,700-square-foot restaurant holds about 50 people indoors and 12 to 14 people on a small patio.
“It’s quaint. It’s cool,” Nathan said of the space. “The food is over-the-top good.”
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Menu items include Patty Lou’s Smashburger, Texas Sweetheart Smashburger made with jalapeño relish, Jailbird Chicken Sandwich, Smash Dog and Burger Salad. The beef patties are made with Wagyu beef raised on a ranch owned by the Sheas close to the Red River.
Sides include fries and onion rings, both fresh-cut by hand and fried daily. Drink offerings include root beer floats and milkshakes, with adult versions available
The ceiling mural is above the ordering counter and shows the band traveling on Route 66 in its yellow Buick convertible for performances around the country. It name-checks local radio fixture KRLD, which played Peters’ music, and a newspaper headline that reads “Patty Lou and Her Texas Sweethearts ‘The Queen of Western Swing.’”
Artist Maddie McClintock, who painted the mural, said “it was definitely a story that I wanted to share and be a part of my work.”
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Bonnie Shea hopes the restaurant, with its art and country music played from the jukebox, will contribute to downtown Plano’s arts district, where Patty Lou’s is located.
“To me,” Bonnie Shea said, “the passion for music is really a lot of where this has evolved from.”
Patty Lou’s Smashburgers is located at 1000 14th St., Suite 105, Plano. It will be open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. starting July 14.
