CHEF, RESTAURATEUR AND ENTERTAINER-IN-CHIEF
Meet Kenny Bowers
Since then Kenny has lent his talents to Lefty’s Lobster & Chowder House, Rockfish Seafood Grill and Big Fish Little Fish. By 2005, Bowers was ready to do his own thing, and Kenny’s Wood Fired Grill in Addison was born with the help of his friend, Bob Steagall. The burgers were apparently so well received that soon Bowers, Steagall and new partner Mike Hutchinson opened Kenny’s Burger Joint in Frisco. In 2010, the team decided to go Italian and created Kenny’s Italian Kitchen, also in Addison. With the ringing in of 2012 came the opening of Kenny’s Smoke House at The Shops at Legacy in Plano. Most recently in the fall of 2014, a second Kenny’s Burger Joint opened its doors in the old Purple Cow location at Lakeside Market in Plano.
With the exception of the newest burger place, I have dined multiple times at all of Kenny’s restaurants. The food is consistently delicious and never fussy. The service is always friendly and attentive, and the atmosphere at all the venues is warm and inviting. Oh, and did I mention the chilled Grey Goose on tap? (Hands down the best Cosmopolitans around!)
Though the food served at the various Kenny’s restaurants is very different, the feeling you get walking in to any of them is the same. I’ve thought a lot about how I can explain that statement, and the best description is that whichever Kenny’s venue you choose, you know when you walk in you are not only about to have a good meal but that you are also about to have some fun.
I recently had the opportunity to visit with Kenny at his new burger place, and I quickly realized that his restaurants are really a reflection of him and his desire to make dining out an enjoyable experience for his patrons. It’s as if he is honored that you have chosen one of his places to spend your time, and he’s going to do everything he can to make it worth your while.
It was also obvious to me how much Kenny genuinely cares about each of his employees.He acknowledges that the restaurant business can be a tough one, but his goal is to treat the people that work for him “really, really well”. From my limited observation of his interaction with his staff, I got the sense that he doesn’t just talk the talk, but he walks the walk. Kenny tries to instill in his staff that they are mainly in the business of making people happy and that collectively, they can be better at that than anyone else in the industry. He admits it’s a pretty basic idea, but often times the best ideas are the simplest.
By Melissa Chaiken | Section Editor