Chip’s Hamburgers is definitely opening in the building behind Matt’s in what used to be Paperbacks Plus, and construction is now underway. Co-owner Brent Gampster says the family-owned, Dallas-based restaurant chain hopes to open the new Lakewood location sometime in mid-September.
The layout of the restaurant is going to be significantly different than any of the other Chip’s, Gampster says.
“This is the first time we’ve gotten to design a building that was really just a shell,” he says. “In all the other places, we’ve gone into what was already a restaurant, so we had to work with that. To me, it’ll be a little more upscale but still have a lot of the same features that we’re known for.”
There will be an open kitchen where people can talk with the cooks, like at other locations, but the space on Skillman and La Vista will allow Chip’s to offer a more cafe-style eating area with big windows, multiple TVs and a full bar.
At Lover’s, Chip’s serves dessert at the bar area, but this location will feature a separate dessert area where they will serve pies, snow cones and, of course, their signature milkshakes.
A game room at the back of the building for the kids.
“That way if you want to come in with your boyfriend or girlfriend and have a beer at the bar you won’t have kiddos hanging on you, trying to order a snow cone,” Gampster explains.
They also hope to put in a patio along La Vista, he says. And like the Chip’s location on Lovers, this one will have a game room for the kids, but instead of being crammed in the front, there’s a separate room for it tucked away in the back.
They’re also working hard to preserve the integrity of the building, Gampster says.
“Even those windows that are coming out with the bookstore stuff on them, we’re going to try to incorporate those on the inside,” he says.
“You’ll still see the red granite and stuff on the outside; all that will stay. We want to keep that Lakewood history inside the building.”
