A Northlake Saturday, From Commons Circle to the Rinks on Chadwick Parkway

Between March 6 and August 7 of this year, the stretch of I-35W around FM 407 and SH 114 picked up a 63,000-square-foot Tom Thumb, a 225,000-square-foot sports complex with two NHL-regulation sheets of ice, a coffee-and-breakfast counter inside that complex, and a sports bar with 37 televisions. That is five months.

Each opening got its own headline. Read in order, they add up to something none of the headlines said. Groceries came first, ice came second, and food built around the ice came third. By August the pieces connected into a Saturday that can start at a breakfast table on Commons Circle and end at a bar stool on Chadwick Parkway. The order explains what Northlake has now, and it also shows what is still on paper.

The order things opened

Errands set the floor

Tom Thumb opened at 6 a.m. on March 6, and the Cross Timbers Gazette reported that it drew early crowds to the store at FM 407 and I-35W. The store has a pharmacy with a drive-thru window, an in-store Starbucks, and drive-up grocery pickup. Argyle Mayor Ron Schmidt told the Gazette that the town had gone without a grocery store since Meadows Grocery on Highway 377 closed in 1984. The Metroport Chamber of Commerce's chief executive, Sally Aldridge, told Community Impact the store is a big addition for Argyle, Northlake, and the surrounding communities.

The geography deserves a line, because the address says Argyle. The Gazette reports that Harvest sits within Argyle's extraterritorial jurisdiction, and Tom Thumb carries an Argyle 76226 address. Anyone building a Northlake Saturday around the FM 407 corner is really building it around a shared corridor, and the jurisdiction lines matter more to town councils than to a shopping list.

Chuy's Tex-Mex, at the same center, was set to open in August. The Gazette reported that date in April, citing the restaurant's website, and the chain's own location page is the place to confirm hours now. Before this location, the nearest Chuy's was in Denton at I-35E and Wind River Lane. The center's first tenants were McDonald's and Chick-fil-A, both drive-thru restaurants, so Chuy's adds a different kind of meal to the corner.

Ice and hardwood set the calendar

The Children's Health StarCenter Multisport opened its doors to the public on Tuesday, March 31, with open play, public skating, and a high school hockey game between Keller High School and Northwest High School. The Dallas Stars and the Town of Northlake built it at 13850 Chadwick Parkway. It has two ice sheets and eight basketball courts that convert to 16 volleyball courts. It also has eight pickleball courts. The Gazette described ice rinks and open-play courts like these as "few and far between" in southern Denton County.

The names on the building are local. One rink honors Mayor Brian Montini for his work bringing the project to town, and the other honors former Dallas Stars player and general manager Joe Nieuwendyk. One of the two gyms carries the name of Rhyle McKinney, the Argyle High School basketball player who was born legally deaf, reached the state title game all four years, won three state championships, and went on to play at SMU and Texas Tech.

The building keeps a calendar of its own, and that calendar is what sets the rhythm of the corridor. The StarCenter's website lists open play for basketball, pickleball, and volleyball through the week. It also lists:

• Dallas Stars Metro Hockey League registration for the fall and winter season
• A fall basketball league that starts in September, for second grade through high school
• An adult co-ed basketball league that plays on Friday nights
• Volleyball skill sessions on Tuesday nights for ages 4 to 14

TAV Alliance, an elite branch of a nationally recognized volleyball club, is the home team tenant. Public skate times change with the league calendar, so the StarCenter's site is the place to check before heading over.

The counter and the bar fill the hours around the games

Food came to the StarCenter in two steps. The Shark Shack, a grab-and-go counter with coffee, a smoothie bar, and breakfast items, opened in mid-April, built for early practices and back-to-back tournaments. Shark Club Sports Bar & Grill followed on Friday, August 7.

The March grand-opening release said the restaurant would open in June. It opened in August, after the counter, the leagues, and the summer basketball season had already been running. Anyone reading a construction schedule for the corridor can use that as a baseline, since dates on announcements move.

Shark Club is about 5,000 square feet, with 37 televisions inside and more on a patio that overlooks the pickleball courts. It is the brand's second U.S. location, after Plano in 2019, and it belongs to Dallas Stars owner Tom Gaglardi's group, which also owns Moxies. According to the opening release, it was designed for families, athletes, coaches, and sports fans visiting the complex.

Its hours are as follows:

• Monday to Thursday: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
• Friday: 11 a.m. to midnight
• Saturday: 10 a.m. to midnight
• Sunday: 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Happy hour typically runs Monday through Friday from 3 to 7 p.m. and again from 10 p.m. to close. The Saturday span covers a full tournament day, from the first game to the last.

Commons Circle is the older half of the route

The FM 407 side of Northlake has been serving meals longer than the StarCenter has had a rink. According to the Metroport Chamber of Commerce, Northlake Commons is the commercial component of Harvest on FM 407, a square with retail, restaurants, services, and municipal offices.

Northlake Cafe at 1611 Commons Circle, Suite 300, is run by owners Fadil and Shpresa Memedi. A Hillwood community page from July 2025 describes a menu with Berry Dream French Toast, Cinnamon Swirl Slammers, and an Akaushi beef patty burger with Gruyere and a sunny-side-up egg. That description is more than a year old, so hours are worth confirming before a Saturday morning drive.

Dinner options nearby include Kurogi Ramen and Sushi at 1248 FM 407, Suite 100, and Tequila Ranch Cocina at 1485 Commons Circle, Suite 400. Bella Italia Bistro, Little Joe's Farmstead, Union Bear Brewing, and Backporch Drafthouse also turn up on 2026 Northlake dining lists, and Burgers & Curries has a TX-114 address at 5000 TX-114, Suite 100. The Town's own website has also welcomed G.O.A.T'S Arena as another place to grab a bite, have a drink, and catch a game, timed for football season.

Put the two halves together and the route has a shape. The FM 407 half handles the morning and the evening meal. The SH 114 half handles the daytime, with ice and courts running on league schedules. Tom Thumb sits at the corner where the two roads meet I-35W.

What is still on paper

Several projects in and around the corridor have dates on paper. Treat these as plans.

• Hashtag India: A franchise location is planned for Northlake, with construction scheduled to start in December 2026 and completion targeted for December 2027, according to What Now Dallas. The franchise owner declined to share an opening timeline.
• Northlake Badminton: A state filing lists a roughly 8,000-square-foot building at 201 Mavericks Lane, Units A through E, with a September 2026 estimated completion, which puts it at or near the finish line now. The business's website lists a different Northlake address at 1700 FM 407, Suite 200, so its final location is unconfirmed.
• A new retail building: A 6,200-square-foot retail shell is registered with construction that was scheduled to start August 31, 2026, and an estimated completion of May 2027. The filing lists no tenant.
• Northlake Crossing and Pecan Plaza: The March 31 StarCenter release said Northlake Crossing at Gibbs and Robson Ranch Roads and Pecan Plaza at Gibbs Road and FM 407 were under construction.
• Cambria Hotel and Northlake Conference Center: The Metroport Chamber describes it as the Town's first full-service hotel and conference center.

Two of those entries come from state licensing filings, which give estimated completion dates rather than opening dates. The Shark Club timeline is a good reminder of how those estimates behave.

If you want a second set of eyes on the FM 407 and SH 114 corridor, including which openings have dates and which are still permit filings, Marshall Embry is glad to talk it through. Marshall's neighborhood guides cover the surrounding communities, and you can Schedule a Consultation with a question about Northlake's weekend routes.