A new McAlister's Deli is set to open off Keller Parkway in November, bringing a drive-thru window, an 1,800-square-foot dining room seating up to 48 guests, and the chain's signature sandwiches, salads, loaded baked potatoes, soups, nachos and sweet tea to The Shops at Keller Marketplace. The restaurant will be the 80th McAlister's location in Texas and the 53rd opened by its franchisee, TSG Restaurants.
According to Community Impact, the new location will sit at 1241 Keller Parkway, Ste. 100, inside the four-restaurant lineup planned for the development. Stephen Lee, speaking on behalf of TSG Restaurants, said the company is bringing McAlister's Deli to Keller and described the city as a close-knit, growing community. The Keller City Council approved The Shops at Keller Marketplace during its meeting on April 15, 2025, clearing the way for the broader project to take shape.
A Shared Development Taking Shape Along the Parkway
The McAlister's Deli is one piece of a larger commercial build-out at the same address. City of Keller records show the development is designed to feature six tenant spaces across two commercial buildings, with confirmed tenants including Florida-based daytime dining chain First Watch, Hawaiian barbecue concept Mo' Bettahs, Frost Bank and a dental office rounding out the center, according to the City of Keller. That initial approval for the broader center came in April 2025.
Construction on the neighboring First Watch space, also at 1241 Keller Parkway, began July 1 under an estimated $900,000 renovation budget, with completion targeted for November, the same month McAlister's plans to open its doors, per Community Impact's reporting. First Watch operates more than 570 locations nationwide serving breakfast, brunch and lunch. A June 2026 Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filing had earlier listed an estimated completion date of June 14 for the 2,353-square-foot McAlister's build-out before the opening timeline shifted to November.
Frost Bank's Relocation Adds to the Mix
Financial services are moving into the center as well. In January, the Keller City Council approved a site plan amendment and Specific Use Permit extension in a 6-1 vote, permitting Frost Bank to relocate from across Keller Parkway into a new 7,000-square-foot branch within The Shops at Keller Marketplace, the outlet's report notes.
TSG Restaurants, formerly known as The Saxton Group, was founded in 1982 with two pizza restaurants before selling them in 2004 to focus exclusively on McAlister's Deli, according to TSG Restaurants. The franchisee has since grown to more than 80 locations across Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, with over 30 in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, and opened its first Texas McAlister's in Longview. By 2022, TSG had surpassed $2 billion in cumulative McAlister's Deli sales since beginning its expansion of the brand in 1999.
Why Keller Keeps Landing on Chains' Radar
McAlister's Deli itself has been on a growth tear. In March 2024, parent franchisor GoTo Foods reported that the chain became the first brand in its corporate portfolio to cross $1 billion in annual systemwide sales, supported by more than 530 locations nationwide since its 1989 founding in Oxford, Mississippi, according to Nation's Restaurant News. Parent company Focus Brands officially rebranded as GoTo Foods in February 2024, emphasizing its role as a platform business across seven chains including McAlister's Deli, Schlotzsky's, Cinnabon and Auntie Anne's, per Restaurant Business Magazine. GoTo Foods, owned by private equity firm Roark Capital Group, now operates more than 6,700 locations worldwide.
Keller's own numbers help explain the appeal to chains like McAlister's. U.S. Census Bureau estimates for 2024 placed the city's population at approximately 45,976 residents with a median household income of $174,950 — more than double the Texas statewide median, as Hoodline previously reported. Keller Parkway, designated FM 1709, serves as the suburb's primary east-west commercial corridor, exposing retail properties along the stretch to an estimated 41,500 vehicles per day while connecting Interstate 35W in Fort Worth to State Highway 114 in Southlake, according to JAH Realty.
Keller's dining scene has been in flux this year, with new arrivals and exits alike reshaping the parkway and Old Town. The McAlister's Deli opening adds another data point to that churn, with its November debut timed to land alongside the synchronized construction schedules of its First Watch and Frost Bank neighbors at the same address. More details on hours and a specific opening date had not been announced as of the Community Impact report.
