Today we’d like to introduce you to Harry Dickhaner.
Harry, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
After completing my Masters in Business I actual started my career in Information Technology at IBM. As the years came to pass, I achieved 34 years in IT Management and Customer Service. I had always desired and dreamed, since I was about 18, about owning my own business. I was finally in a position to do just that and leave the corporate world far behind and make my dream come true.
My wife Jan and I share a love of competing in and being spectators in athletic sports. And like most people we also enjoy good food and an occasional spirit. We take great pleasure in being patrons at good local restaurants sharing a meal with family and friends while catching a game or sporting event on TV to relax. Thus, the dream of owning a business developed into an idea to create an establishment that people would find irresistible: great food, spirits, family friendly, clean-appealing atmosphere, excellent service, ability to catch a game on TV with locality to Stonebridge Ranch and easy access for the McKinney community overall. So I contacted some friends, who together have over 60 years in the restaurant business, to discuss teaming together to create a restaurant that would provide all of this at reasonable prices.
Next question was exactly where could we bring all this to reality? I definitely wanted to do this adventure in McKinney. I was working on a few locations when construction started back up in 2013 after the 2008 recession in a new section in Adriatica. Adriatica is a European Croatian development in McKinney where a sign for retail space went up in the spring of 2013, I called about leasing…and the rest as they say is history.
Our mission at Harry’s is to “Provide every guest an exceptional experience by providing great food at reasonable prices with the best service in McKinney, in a friendly, clean, unique facility in Adriatica.”
Our team’s goal is for you to “relax and enjoy your time At The Harbor”
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Our location is in the west portion of McKinney, in a new and still not completed European development called Adriatica. Adriatica consists of homes, condos, apartments, a lake, wedding chapel, and retail space. The perimeter of Adriatica has been developed for a few years so we are not on a main street where we would be easily seen, we are in the center of Adriatica on the small lake by the inspirational dove fountain and bell tower and not visible from the main cross streets, finding us for the first time was and still can be difficult. Many close neighbors are still finding us and we have been open for three years. But once people find us they like the atmosphere, the food and the service. Word of mouth by our patrons has been great, they told friends and their friends told others. Being a single proprietor / owner, we do not have a large advertising budget.
Harry’s at the Harbor – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We are an upscale sports restaurant. Our analogy about our atmosphere is that we are similar to a 19th hole at a country club, nice but casual. We have a very wide variety of menu items and it would be most easily described as comfort food. I have been told that a rule of thumb is: if a restaurant makes it three years they will make it. Well it’s been three years and sales continue to grow. We also have been voted by Living Magazine as having the best patio in Allen and McKinney two years in a row. As for our food, we have people from the UK say we have the best fish and chips, we have people from the north east tell us we have the best crab cakes, while others from Louisiana like some of our Creole selections. We have many regulars that like the same thing every time they come in from our Chicken Pasta Cabonara to our meat loaf, while others enjoy the variety of our menu. We have an appetizer called Rusty Nuts that is actually trademarked. My partners and I are at the restaurant long hours every day and we truly care that everyone will have a positive experience and want to come back often. Being locally owned and operated sets us apart; we live here and care about our community and want to provide great food, reasonably priced that families enjoy.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I had many in my IT days but as far as the restaurant is concerned – as mentioned earlier, we have been open now a little over three years and have great faith that we will continue to do well by servicing our neighbors here in McKinney and surrounding communities. It has truly been my pleasure to meet so many people and develop relationships when they come back we catch up on what’s going on with their family, job, etc…and to celebrate important milestones such as anniversaries, birthdays, graduations and even school sports victories! We continue to serve folks that say it is their first time here, that they love it, and say they will be back with their friends! Also, while social media can often be very unsocial, there is nothing better than for someone to have such a positive experience that they are willing to go online and tell the world!
Pricing:
- We try to keep our main dishes under $20.
- We occasionally have weekend specials that might exceed $20
Contact Info:
- Address: 6601 Mediterranean Dr.,
McKinney, TX 75070 - Website: harrysattheharbor.com
- Phone: 214 592 0240
- Email: harrysattheharbor@att.net
- Facebook: Harry’s at the Harbor
- Yelp: Harry’s at the Harbor
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
