Food & Beverage

Shark Club takes a deliberate bite out of the US sports restaurant market

Shark Club's recent North Texas opening sets the stage to bridge the gap between traditional sports bars and upscale casual dining.

Source: Shark Club Bar & Grill

August 27, 2026 by Amy Sorter — Writer and Editor, Connect Media

Summarize with

Alan Howie, courtesy of Northland Restaurant Group

Seven years is a long time to wait between restaurant openings, particularly in the highly competitive and fast-moving sports-bar business. But for Shark Club Bar & Grill, the long pause between its first U.S. location in 2019, in Plano, Texas and more recent opening in Northlake, Texas, was deliberate.

Rather than rushing to build a national footprint, Shark Club owner Northland Restaurant Group of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, used the Plano location as a proving ground, gathering operational insights and refining the concept before deciding whether a larger U.S. expansion made sense.

"The Plano Shark Club location allowed us to establish the brand in the U.S. market and gather operational insights," Alan Howie, president and CEO of Northland Restaurant Group, told FastCasual.

The company focused on refining the customer experience and determining whether its long-term expansion strategy was viable.

"We have always taken a disciplined approach to growth, and we believe now is the right time to accelerate development in markets where we see strong demand and long-term potential," Howie said.

Is there room for another sports restaurant?

The U.S. is already crowded with sports bars and restaurants. Why, then, does the market need yet another one?

The answer is that Shark Club fills the gap between the traditional sports bar and upscale-casual dining. The concept combines a sophisticated interior design with hand-crafted cocktails and chef-prepared food. The restaurant-bar also offers the large-screen, high-energy atmosphere customers expect from a sports-focused restaurant.

"Shark Club offers wall-to-wall, state-of-the-art audio and visual technology designed so every seat is close to the action," Howie said.

Shark Club is more than a place to watch a game while indulging in draft beer and appetizers. Rather, the brand is positioned as a broader food, beverage and entertainment experience that happens to be built around sports.

From Canada to North Texas

Northland Restaurant Group believes that opening the Shark Club in North Texas provided a natural extension of the company's already existing presence in the region.

The parent organization, Northland Properties in Vancouver, British Columbia, owns the Dallas Stars NHL team and has invested in sports and entertainment infrastructure throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Among those investments is the new Children's Health StarCenter Multisport Northlake, a 225,000-square-foot multipurpose athletic facility featuring basketball courts, NHL-regulation ice sheets and other sports amenities.

Such investments have provided Northland with a deeper understanding of the communities and sports culture surrounding its restaurant locations. Shark Club, in turn, is being positioned as part of those growing community and entertainment hubs.

"By combining our experience in hospitality with our involvement in sports and entertainment, we believe North Texas presents a unique opportunity to build a meaningful, long-term presence for the Shark Club brand," Howie said.

The Northlake opening also gives the company a second U.S. location from which to refine the concept and gauge customer response before moving forward with broader expansion plans.

A measured path to growth

Although North Texas represents a significant opportunity for Shark Club, Northland is evaluating other potential markets.

The company is looking for regions with strong population growth, established sports cultures and significant mixed-use, entertainment or hospitality development, which are characteristics that mirror the DFW opportunities.

For now, Shark Club's U.S. restaurants are corporate-owned and operated by Northland. The brand also has one franchise location in Canada. As its U.S. presence develops, Northland will evaluate which markets and ownership structures make the most sense.

"We are continually assessing opportunities, taking a disciplined approach and ensuring each location meets our strategic criteria before moving forward," Howie said.

"At this stage, we are not announcing specific markets or timelines, but we remain very optimistic about future U.S. growth."

About Amy Sorter

Amy W. Sorter is an award-winning journalist, copywriter and content producer. Sorter has generated quality articles, blogs and thought leadership pieces for multiple industries during her many decades as a writer. Her byline has appeared in local and national publications including the American Business Journal, Connect CRE, Bankrate, CURE Magazine and the Dallas Morning News.

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