A Year of Growth: From Concept to Reality at 206 E. Central
What a year so far! Busy on all fronts, Priscilla and I have been burning the midnight oil in real estate, construction, and the continuing development of 206 E. Central into what will become the coolest place to eat and drink for miles around.
We’ve been plugging away at the restaurant, having completed a floorplan, concept, and even a name and logo. Heck, we even pulled a permit already, at least for the back portion, which was slated to be the bar for the courtyard. But something wasn’t right.
Navigating the Unknown: The Realities of Starting a Restaurant
Having been self-employed this long, Priscilla and I aren’t naïve. We know what we don’t know, and the restaurant business is entirely new to us, aside from liking to eat out and being semi-proficient in the kitchen. Sidebar: believe it or not, neither of those do you any favors in this business.
So, we interviewed consultants. We briefly worked with no less than three, all well-meaning people who all had varying backgrounds and experience, and all who unanimously said “yeah, great idea.” Initial conversations all went very similarly, with a lackluster level of interest, unflinching approval of what we already had in mind and only the slightest of variations to the floorplan, the kitchen, and anything else we had drummed up in our inexperienced initial efforts. We were very close to breaking ground, pouring concrete, and moving forward in a direction that would have brought with it inefficiencies that would prove difficult to cure.
Still feeling uneasy, Priscilla researched the Restaurant & Bar Expo, a huge trade show and educational opportunity happening in Vegas in March. We bought tickets and attended with high hopes. While seeking that ever-so-important “ah-ha” moment, we stumbled into a session held by a group calling themselves Maverick Theory, and that’s when everything changed.
Maverick Theory: The Game-Changer in Our Restaurant Journey
Maverick Theory is a team of over 30 consultants from all over the US: bar & restaurant owners and managers, celebrity chefs and mixologists, and even an architecture and interior design team. Immediately fascinated, we found them to be engaging and knowledgeable. They did not mince words and there was zero flash in their presentation. It was content-rich and directly applicable to anyone seeking to open anything hospitality related. We visited with them for a couple of hours in the training room, then again the next day at their trade show booth. Again, there was no flattery here. They are not “yes” men (or women), and they were the first people to ever show us, mathematically, the flaws in our concept and even the name…“Yeah that’s nice. Forgettable, but nice.”
We returned a couple of days later, had another online chat with them within a week, and signed their proposal within days of that. By mid-April they descended on Belton with a team of four for a three-day intensive, working together from sunrise to after sunset. Amazed at their work ethic and true enthusiasm for our concept, by the end of the second day we had ten versions of a new floorplan and 3D renderings of each, all having doubled the seating capacity from our original layout. This team more than covered their entire consulting fee in that first visit.
But let’s get to the details. Here’s what’s changed and why.
Reimagining 206 E. Central: From Steakhouse to a New Experience
206 E. Central will no longer be a steakhouse. Please don’t be disappointed, we’ll still serve a great steak, but steakhouses are generally very somber and boring, and usually only heavily attended on weekends and special date nights. We’re now building a restaurant/bar that you’ll want to be at every night of the week. It’ll be fun, it’ll be upbeat, and it will feature a curated menu of amazing drinks and incredible food. From small plates to full dinners, you’ll be able to eat inside or out, and enjoy it late into the evening.
What are we calling it? That, my friends, has yet to be divulged. The brand will be released later in the year as we approach an opening in the 1st quarter of 2026.
But in the meantime, we’re announcing a short-term “pop-up” rebrand for the courtyard itself. While not part of their original scope, Maverick wanted to help us grow our audience and improve what we were already offering. With that, they scheduled a second visit to just help us make that switch. This time they brought a chef and master bartender to revamp and vastly improve our kitchen and the bar, and they did just that.
Drinks Near Me: A Summer Pop-Up to Revamp the Courtyard Experience
Those efforts, along with a lot of small but significant changes to the layout, the staffing, signage, and the programming, and we’ll be opening “Drinks Near Me” on July 1st. It’s still the courtyard, but as opposed to being associated with a co-working space, it’ll be its own short-term brand to help individually identify the courtyard as an outdoor craft bar and kitchen. When you think about it, who wants to hang out at a coworking space on a Saturday night? Yeah, me neither.
Thus, moving forward, weekend entertainment will not be featured on the Level3 pages, but on the new pages created for “Drinks Near Me.” Mind you, Level 3 is still fully operational and busier than ever, so if you need to plan an event and reserve a room, just give us a shout or send a message over the website.
“Drinks Near Me” will feature expanded hours and be open Tuesday-Saturday in the afternoons and evenings. With an improved menu from the kitchen and new, finely crafted cocktails at the bar, it’s going to be the perfect spot to relax with friends and make new ones. Look out for the new website and social media pages coming soon and stop by to see and experience the upgrades and say hello.
We’re planning to bring the fun to downtown Belton until mid-November, when we’ll shut the whole outdoor operation down. Winter months aren’t great for outdoor entertainment, but more importantly, by that time we’ll have to close it up for the final renovations. We’ll take that time, from November into February, to complete the work on the restaurant at 206 and the courtyard together, both of which will follow the same concept and look, and bring an all-new level and experience to this fabulous little town we live in.
Stay Tuned: The Future of 206 E. Central—Epic Changes Ahead
So come join us this summer and fall at “Drinks Near Me”, then be ready to say goodbye for a couple of months as we rebuild and perfect what’s sure to be an epic new venture.
More details to follow as this journey continues to unfold before us! Thanks for playing a part, and we’ll see you soon at Drinks Near Me.
M