LOYO Burger has closed its doors at 216 W. Virginia St., Ste. 102 in downtown McKinney, ending a three-year run for the Wagyu smash-burger spot spun off from local butcher brand Local Yocal. The closure was announced in a social media post from the business, and signage at the location has since confirmed the shutdown.
According to Community Impact, which first reported the closure, LOYO Burger officials thanked friends and family for their support and said the business is looking ahead to its future. Local Yocal BBQ & Grill, which owns LOYO Burger, has stated it plans to return to a brand new location down the road, though the company has not said when or where. LOYO Burger has framed the move as part of a continuing commitment to bringing customers the food they love.
LOYO Burger opened in 2023 as an offshoot of the popular Wagyu cheeseburger served at Local Yocal BBQ & Grill, and its very name is short for “Local Yocal,” according to CultureMap Dallas. The fast-casual spot served smash burgers made with Wagyu ground beef from Local Yocal Farm to Market, alongside non-beef patties like salmon, chicken, and veggie options, plus house-made tater tots and a full-service bar.
A Storefront With a Revolving Door
The Virginia Street suite LOYO Burger occupied has a history of quick turnover. Before LOYO Burger moved in, the space had housed Butcher Board and, prior to that, the first Texas location of Queens-based Korean fried chicken chain Mad For Chicken, which opened in July 2021 and lasted less than two years, per CultureMap Dallas's reporting. That pattern raises questions about whether the specific storefront, rather than the LOYO concept itself, has struggled to hold onto foot traffic downtown. Next door at 216 W. Virginia St., Suite 101, sits Sugarbacon Proper Kitchen, a modern American restaurant built into an 80-year-old former service station that was renovated in 2015.
Construction Pressures Downtown
LOYO Burger's exit comes as its parent brand has faced its own physical disruptions downtown. In October 2025, Local Yocal founder Matt Hamilton launched an $18,000 GoFundMe campaign titled “SAVE LOCAL YOCAL” to help relocate the original butcher shop after nearby street construction and building demolitions threatened the business, seeking funds to move refrigeration and butcher equipment while retaining staff.
Hamilton's roots in McKinney's food scene run deep. He got his start selling grass-fed meats at the Historic McKinney Farmers Market before opening Local Yocal Farm to Market, an artisanal butcher shop specializing in pasture-raised, hormone-free meats, at 213 N. Tennessee St. in December 2010. Before that, Hamilton supplied locally raised grass-fed beef to Square Burger, a landmark restaurant on McKinney's downtown square that opened in June 2010, according to CraveDFW. Local Yocal later expanded into full-service dining with Local Yocal BBQ & Grill, which opened in October 2018 at 350 E. Louisiana St., a concept that had originated as a food truck Hamilton ran between 2016 and 2017.
A Crowded Field for Downtown Burgers
LOYO Burger's closure lands amid a wave of new burger competition in McKinney. Shorty's, a smash burger and cocktail spot opened by local entrepreneurs Bryan and Angela McVay, rolled into downtown McKinney at 109 N. Kentucky St. in March, as Hoodline previously reported. Fast-casual chains have also been pushing into the city, with Louisiana-based Smalls Sliders opening its second McKinney location on North Custer Road in July, operating out of modular units the company calls Cans.
Whether LOYO Burger reopens as a standalone concept or folds back into Local Yocal BBQ & Grill remains unclear, as the company has not detailed its next move beyond promising a return to a new location. For now, downtown McKinney loses one of its Wagyu-driven burger options even as the broader Collin County burger market keeps expanding around it.
