The City Is Building Oak Street's Ends. Restaurant Owners Are Betting on the Middle.
October 29, 2026
October 29, 2026
Construction fences now stand at both ends of Roanoke's restaurant row. At the north end, near US 377, a 430-space parking garage is going up where the city lot used to be. At the south end, a 205-room Hilton hotel and a city-owned convention center broke ground this month. Most of the change in the blocks between them has been to who owns the businesses, not to the businesses themselves. A Southlake restaurateur took over a cocktail lounge. A Fort Worth brewery is running a taproom. A fully leased shopping center sold to new owners. A bookstore moved in alongside a coffee shop. Each one is a bet that the street at the far end of all that construction will be busier than the one there today.
The garage came first. The city closed its surface lot at 102 S. US 377 on Feb. 21 and started construction two days later on a 0.902-acre site, Community Impact reported in February. At that point the city expected the 430-space structure to be finished in March 2027. It told nearby properties to plan on construction noise and lighting, truck traffic, temporary lane changes along US 377, and different parking access in the immediate area until then.
The second fence went up at 600 S. Oak St. Roanoke and Hilton officials held a groundbreaking there on Oct. 7 and revealed the hotel's name, The Cade Roanoke, part of Hilton's Curio Collection, according to Community Impact. Work on the site had started Aug. 24. An earlier construction schedule set June 2, 2028 as the target completion date.
The city has explained the two projects together. In a city-sponsored overview published by Community Impact on Oct. 23, Roanoke said the hotel will include a restaurant, a lobby bar, an outdoor patio and a courtyard pool. The convention center next to it will cover 61,268 square feet, with a ballroom, meeting rooms and a boardroom. The hotel and convention center will add about 300 more parking spaces on top of the garage's 400-plus. New gateway arches and monument signs are planned for the north and south entrances to the district, and the city is using one signage partner across all of these projects so they look like they belong together.
In that same piece the city states its goal plainly. It wants Roanoke to stop being a day trip and become an overnight stay, with hotel guests and conference attendees spending more of their time on Oak Street. City Manager Cody Petree put it this way in the overview: "Roanoke is choosing to prepare for growth rather than chase it."
So the city has already decided what the ends of the street will be. What's happening in the middle shows how business owners are responding.
The Rô on Oak opened at 320 S. Oak St. on Nov. 16, 2023, as a cocktail lounge owned by Gabriel Miller and Jonathan Condos. Restaurateur Dave Coussirat took over the space on Sept. 10 of this year, Community Impact reported Oct. 15, and he plans to rebrand it as Volstead. Coussirat has been president of Flower Mound-based Restaurant Ventures Unlimited for 10 years. The company runs Tycoon and The Tavern at Lakeside in Flower Mound and Jane and Volstead in Southlake. Roanoke will be the second Volstead, which makes it the first of his brands with more than one location.
The changes go beyond a new sign. Coussirat told Community Impact he will add tables so the restaurant can serve lunch and dinner every day, using the Southlake menu, which includes a cheeseburger, crispy deviled eggs and an espresso martini. He explained the timing to the outlet in a way that ties straight back to the construction at both ends of the street:
"You can feel the momentum around here, so we think the timing's right."
The city is helping pay for part of it. On Oct. 13 the Roanoke City Council approved a façade grant for the building. Coussirat's application estimated $33,000 in exterior improvements, and the city will reimburse $15,000 of that. The plans include a new outdoor seating area along Oak Street designed to match the tenant next door, updated lighting, better window signage, and a lighted sign facing the corner of Oak and Crockett streets. The council funded the Façade Grant Program at $75,000 for fiscal year 2026-2027.
When the Oct. 15 report ran, construction was set to start the third week of October, and Volstead was expected to open sometime this fall.
The city is building the hotel at the south end, and it is putting $15,000 toward the corner patio a few blocks north of it. Public money and private money are aimed at the same thing, a busier street.
Volstead is the most visible case, but the same pattern shows up all along the street. Owners are stepping into existing spaces and established businesses. Nobody is waiting for the hotel to open before committing.
| Address | What changed | When |
|---|---|---|
| 206 N. Oak St., The 206 | Soul Fire Brewing Co. left its brewery space and the food hall stayed open. Cowtown Brewing Co. now runs the taproom, with Cowtown beers on 14 of 20 taps | Soul Fire after Nov. 30, 2025. Cowtown since early May 2026 |
| 101 S. Oak St., Roanoke Shopping Center | The 11,320-square-foot center sold while fully leased to Oak and Main Craft Food + Spirits, Inzo Italian Kitchen and Baja Cantina | Announced July 1, 2026 |
| 320 S. Oak St. | The Rô on Oak is becoming Volstead | Taken over Sept. 10, 2026 |
| 400 S. Oak St., Aromas on Oak | The Novel Narwhal bookstore moved in from Keller and now shares the space | Aug. 22, 2026 |
The 206 change confused people when it was announced. Community Impact clarified in November 2025 that only the brewery side was changing, and that the food hall at 206 N. Oak was staying open. In July, Beer in Big D reported that Cowtown might start brewing on site later in 2026. That was a possibility, not a set plan, so for now the beer on tap is mostly Cowtown's.
The shopping center sale at 101 S. Oak changed who owns the building, not where you eat. All three restaurants were leased at the time of the sale. The Novel Narwhal adds something new to an existing room. Besides selling books, it holds a monthly silent book club inside Aromas on Oak.
Only one private project on Oak Street involves a new building. Pirate Panda Brewing broke ground June 29 at 200 S. Oak St. on an 8,028-square-foot, two-story brewpub, Community Impact reported. The owners expect to open in the second quarter of 2027. That puts its opening around the same time as the garage's expected March 2027 finish, about a year before the hotel's 2028 target.
The rules for future buildings are also being rewritten. At a March 2026 workshop, the city council and planning and zoning commission kept working on new Oak Street development codes, which were last updated in 2009. Nothing was finalized at that meeting. Catalyst Commercial was assigned to prepare a strategic vision document and a concept plan, according to Community Impact. For now, the most dependable way to change Oak Street is to take over a business that's already there, and that is what most of this year's newcomers have done.
Roanoke added two events in the fourth quarter of 2026, bringing its yearly city calendar to 13, according to the city-sponsored overview. These are the downtown dates on the city's calendar from now through the holidays:
These events take place downtown while both construction sites are active. The Veterans Tribute and Holiday in the Plaza take place at 500 S. Oak, a block north of the hotel site at 600 S. Oak. Until the garage opens, the city has said parking access near 102 S. US 377 will be different from what longtime visitors are used to. On a parade night, it's smart to leave extra time to find a spot.
Projects like these change how people talk about a town long before they finish. If you've been wondering what a hotel, a convention center and a busier Oak Street could mean for your own corner of southern Denton County, I'm glad to talk it through with you, plainly and without any pressure. Kaki Lybbert. Let's Connect.
Known for her integrity, experience, and deep commitment to her clients and community, Kaki Lybbert has become a trusted name in North Texas real estate. Whether helping families buy or sell a home, mentoring other REALTORS®, or advocating for the future of the profession, Kaki brings the same dedication, leadership, and heart that have defined her career for nearly three decades.
