LAKE DALLAS — Owners of several new restaurants that have opened in Lake Dallas in the past year are hoping the Lewisville Lake toll bridge, scheduled to be complete by mid-July 2009, will help bring in more business.

The 1.7-mile bridge will connect Swisher Road in Lake Dallas with Garza Lane in Little Elm, bringing a number of commuters through the town’s main business district from Interstate 35E to FM720 and back.

Earl Berner, Lake Dallas city manager, said the city’s 4A and 4B sales tax corporations are interested in improving the city to make it more attractive to businesses.

The tax corporations, started in January 2003, each get a half-cent of sales tax to be used for earmarked development projects.

“They’ve been aggressive in going after new projects,” Berner said.

The 4B corporation spent $1.6 million upgrading the local parks and making improvements for downtown, including enhancing a Market Street project with sidewalks, trees and benches.

The 4A corporation provides city grants to businesses.

“They’ve got sales tax money to use to get ready for when the bridge goes in,” Berner said, adding that developers are helping make downtown Lake Dallas more appealing to business.

Terry Lantrip, a local developer, is building the Market Street Square project, a mix of commercial and residential spaces. The first phase will include 8,000 square feet with another 16,000 square feet planned in the second phase.

Currently, two buildings have filled 6,000 square feet in the first phase. Also planned as part of the Market Street Square project is a coffee bar/sandwich shop that will be housed in a double-decker bus from England. Lantrip is in the process of renovating the bus, which he bought several years ago in Marble Falls.

Lantrip said the restaurant — located between Main and Market streets and projected to open this summer — is part of the plan to attract people to Lake Dallas.

“I saw one in Ashville, N.C.,” he said. “The bus was a big draw in promoting tourism and I thought it would be a great idea for Lake Dallas.”

Chandra Pike, day manager of Lake Dallas Point Restaurant on Swisher Road, said the establishment has already seen a boost to its customer base as workers building the Lewisville Lake toll bridge stop by for a meal.

“We are definitely a neighborhood establishment,” she said.

Pike said the restaurant, which serves burgers, catfish, fajitas and buffalo wings, is known for its big portions and reasonable prices.

The restaurant, open every day for lunch and dinner, also offers karaoke on Friday nights and a disc jockey on Saturdays.

Tierney’s Duck Inn and Neal’s Italian Restaurant, two of the city’s oldest restaurants, closed last year, but several new restaurants have opened in Lake Dallas and have even combined efforts.

Mi Casita

Going for their third restaurant location, Matt and Lilly Kohandani, owners of Mi Casita Mexican restaurants in Denton, chose to open a location in Lake Dallas because of the expected traffic when the Lewisville Lake toll bridge is completed.

DRC/Barron Ludlum

Matt Kohandani, co-owner of Mi Casita, chose Lake Dallas for the company’s newest restaurant, which opened in October. Shortly after moving in, he and his wife found out that the neighboring Lake Dallas Cafe was being forced to close and offered the owner, Ginny Tyree, left, and two of her employees a place to keep serving the homemade meals that drew loyalty from longtime customers.

“The new bridge is coming and will change the whole face of the area,” said Matt Kohandani.

The Kohandanis purchased an existing building on Main Street last August and opened for business at the beginning of October after a quick remodeling.

Like their two locations in Denton, the Lake Dallas Mi Casita serves traditional Mexican favorites for lunch. But now, in addition to their classic breakfast favorites of huevos rancheros and breakfast tacos, the Kohandanis have expanded their menu to reflect a former neighboring restaurant, the Lake Dallas Cafe.

Within a few months of opening, the Kohandanis reached out to Lake Dallas Cafe owner Ginny Tyree when her landlord told her she had three months to move out. The building was bought by the school district and demolished to make room for a new elementary school.

“I had nowhere to put my stuff,” Tyree said.

Since 1989, Tyree had operated the restaurant that was known for homemade classic country recipes, especially breakfasts, and was loved by many of the locals.

The Kohandanis invited Tyree and her two loyal, longtime employees to come to Mi Casita.

“I was more worried about them,” Tyree said in reference to her employees.

At the first of the year, Matt Kohandani converted his kitchen to accommodate Tyree’s needs and in turn, she brought her country-style breakfast recipes and local following.

Leola’s Homestyle Cookin’

Oscar Hunt opened Leola’s Homestyle Cookin’ with four other family members last July on South Denton Drive in Lake Dallas to feature the home-style recipes of his late mother, Leola.

Hunt retired from Sun Oil in the early 1980s and returned to his hometown of Carthage in East Texas to start cooking and selling barbecue, from both a restaurant and a trailer that he took to athletic events.

“I spend four days a week in the restaurant and then two more days with the trailer,” he said.

Hunt and his wife, Annie, decided to partner up with his sister and brother-in-law, Marilyn and Robert Williams, and their daughter Sonja Van Petten in a family restaurant venture after making the move to Denton.

Price and position were key points as they began their search for a location last year.

“Rent is lower in Lake Dallas,” Hunt said, adding that they anticipate increased business once the bridge is finished.

Currently, Leola’s customer base includes many locals, crew workers building the bridge and visitors going to the lake, as well as catering customers.

“Being a new business, we’re trying to accommodate as many people as we can,” Hunt said.

While he says he still does 90 percent of the cooking, he credits his wife with baking the special desserts, and his sister and niece for making the sides and salads, as well as running the counter.

This family-owned restaurant is open for lunch and dinner, and offers catering services within a 50-mile radius.

Hunt, one of five boys out of seven children, said, “My mother taught all the boys to cook just like the girls.”

Leola’s Homestyle Cookin’ has daily lunch and dinner specials, featuring barbecue chicken by the quarter or half, pulled pork, ribs smoked on the bone, brisket, fried chicken, catfish and hot links.

Traditional Southern sides include fried okra, candied yams, potato salad and greens. Home­made desserts — cobblers, sweet potato and pecan pies — help satisfy those with a sweet tooth.

The Chicken Coop

Another new eatery in Lake Dallas specializing in chicken dishes opened inside Sonny’s Convenience Store this month. Plates come with mashed potatoes, a biscuit and a choice of another side.

Soon to come on the menu will be homemade pizza.

While The Chicken Coop is currently a take-out spot, owner Larry Trimmer said he is planning on renting an adjacent location and remodeling it for a dining area.

“I’m really trying to make something of this,” he said.

Trimmer, who moved to Lake Dallas about a year and a half ago, previously owned a restaurant in Ohio for seven years. Trimmer said he looks forward to seeing his establishment grow.

“Lake Dallas has been good to me,” he said.

RANDENA HULSTRAND can be reached at 940-566-6845. Her e-mail address is rhulstrand@dentonrc.com  .