Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin McKool.
Erin McKool, owner and founder of Start, is an attorney with experience in general corporate law, contract drafting and negotiation, SEC compliance, and litigation. Although she shifted gears from practicing law to operating a restaurant business, she continued to stay involved in non-profit board work. She is a past chair of the board of directors for Vogel Alcove, the only early childhood program/preschool in Dallas that provides free services for children in homeless and domestic violence shelters. (Start is a proud supporter of Vogel Alcove.)
Start is the realization of Erin’s dream to create a restaurant/bakery/coffee shop that nourishes people with delicious, wholesome food. Erin’s family collaborated with her for several years to develop the concept that eventually became Start.
When Start opened in 2012, it was Erin’s goal to reinvent fast food. Her goal was to start a trend of providing guests with restaurant-quality food on the go. The “slow food” trend was an inspiration, which is basically real food made from scratch. That’s what the approach has been at Start- making handmade food, designed for people who are in a hurry.
Start’s approach to “real food” begins daily with the ingredients chosen. For example, Start only uses meats and eggs from humanely raised animals, and they don’t use products that are raised on hormones and antibiotics, or treated with nitrites. In addition, Start sources organic eggs, milk, soy milk, ketchup, sugar and many other organic items. Start specializes in providing gluten-free options, as well as a number of vegetarian-friendly items.
Start’s coffee is sourced from Full City Rooster, a Dallas artisan roaster that provides exceptional beans and roasts them in an environmentally friendly way.
Start primarily uses green packaging, paper straws, biodegradable water bottles (with rainwater) and many recycled materials in the indoor and outdoor furniture.
The most unique aspect about Start, however, is probably the fact that everything is made from scratch and available through a drive-thru. Start makes its own mayonnaise and all of its salad dressings. Start’s baked goods, empanadas, and even espresso syrups (yes, even the pumpkin syrup) are made from scratch with organic sugar.
Start is probably the only “fast-food” chain that serves a grass-fed burger through a drive-thru. Start sources its meat from Burgundy Pastures, a family-owned business only an hour away from Start on Greenville.
Other things that set Start apart from the rest of the quick service pack:
-Start uses plant-based dyes when coloring its holiday sugar cookies.
-Start does not use any ingredients containing corn syrup or trans fat.
-Start uses whole wheat flour for most of its baked goods, the only exceptions being the gluten-free items and the sweet potato cinnamon roll.
-Start’s founder, Erin, creates all of the recipes in collaboration with her family first, then with the staff at Start.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The road has not always been smooth. One of our greatest challenges has been attracting great team members in a market saturated with restaurant opportunities.
We also were disappointed that we couldn’t make it work in Frisco. For now, we have decided to double down and work at being the best we can be for our Dallas guests, both in the restaurant and out on catering jobs.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I am going to focus on those things that inspired me to launch Start at the beginning: making delicious, clean food and beverages available for people on the run in Dallas. I want Start to also make a difference in the community it serves, namely by supporting and highlighting the great work of Vogel Alcove. I am planning a few workshops this coming year to talk about nutrition and demonstrate some cooking techniques.
Contact Info:
- Address: 4814 Greenville Ave. Dallas 75206
- Website: www.startrestaurant.net
- Phone: 214-265-1411
- Email: catering@startrestaurant.net
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/startrestaurant
- Facebook: http://facebook.com/startrestaurant
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/startdallas
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/start-dallas-2?osq=start+restaurant
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4gWglV_t15DWm-VvSZsiwg
Image Credit:
Kevin Marple
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