Celebrity chef Paula Deen plants her Southern roots in Collin County

Rajat Shah, founder and CEO of Phoenix, said the company sees Texas as a “phenomenal market,” with a “huge number of fans” of Deen. He hopes to open more Texas locations “down the road.”

The 250-seat restaurant Fairview location is the first in the Family Kitchen brand (there already are locations in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., and Myrtle Beach, S.C.) to have a patio and be contained on one level, Deen said. Most are two stories.

The menu features Deen’s signature items, including Southern fried chicken, Georgia fried catfish, baked mac & cheese, and fried okra. The dessert menu includes her Ooey Gooey Butter Cake, which Deen made Friday in her replica-of-home kitchen.

Meals are served “family style,” with large, shareable portions. That works well in the tourist areas of Pigeon Forge and Myrtle Beach. But in residential North Texas, said Nic Catlett, executive chef for Phoenix Hospitality & Entertainment, the restaurant will be looking into offering smaller portions and setting up a to-go option.

The food, which Deen said is neither chic nor nouvelle cuisine, is all made from her recipes, Catlett said.

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