A fab family-owned restaurant and entertainment venue is coming to Haltom City: Called My Stomping Grounds, it'll be a restaurant, bar, and live-music spot opening at 5130 Northern Cross Blvd., just off 820 and Haltom Road, with a motto of "taps, tunes, and tastes!"
The venue is a father-daughter collaboration between businessman and entrepreneur Felix Salinas and his daughter Meagan Bartek. Their family has been longtime residents of Haltom City. Now they're building a grand destination for their hometown, slated to open in late March or early April.
Bartek says that, growing up, she imagined a place where the community could come together for good food and live music.
"It's an idea I've always been passionate about," she says. "Haltom City lacked a place to see live music. You'd have to go to Dallas. That's something we wanted to bring here: a place where locals could listen to live music, as well as offer a platform for local acts to develop their brand and grow in their creativity."
She has big support from her family, including her father, who founded Excel Construction Group, a large construction and roofing company which he recently sold. Meagan earned a masters in social work and worked as a therapist before joining her father's company in 2018.
"After taking the company from five locations to 14, we sold it to an investment firm and that freed up some time to pursue this," she says. "It's a privilege to be doing this alongside my pops, brothers, and stepdad."
My Stomping Ground in Haltom City, still under construction.MSG
Pooling their formidable resources, they've built a sprawling indoor-outdoor facility across 2 1/2 acres that includes:
- 20,000-square-foot two-story building with main bar and restaurant on ground floor, with dining room and pool tables
- 9,990-square-foot private event room on the second floor for weddings, bachelorette parties, company events, with acoustic live-music stage
- a rooftop patio on top, featuring scenic views
- an outdoor live music stage with a capacity of 1,100 to 1,300 people, facing an outdoor area with picnic tables, firepits, and children's playground
The neighborhood
MSG is fortuitously located less than a mile from the buzzy H Mart Plaza, a new development slated to open in spring 2026 at Loop 820 and North Beach Street. Meagan says there's also a new retail center plotted to open next to their venue.
"There's a lot of change coming to the area," she says.
The menu
The menu is overseen by "Chef Manny" — Emmanuel Choi Mier, who previously worked at The Woodshed Smokehouse in Fort Worth — featuring pizzas, burgers, wings, sandwiches, and pastas, crafted with fresh ingredients and a chef's touch.
Appetizers include wings, lettuce wraps filled with Asian chicken, and steak bites with spicy honey sauce. There are also burgers, as well as fancier entrees such as NY strip, chicken-fried steak, pecan-crusted chicken, cauliflower steak, salmon over orzo pasta, and a well-conceived grain bowl with broccolini, mushrooms, carrot, and edamame over brown rice.
"We wanted to do bar food but higher-end — souped up," Meagan says.
They'll host a little pizza shack outside, where you can walk up and grab a pizza or sub. Pizzas range from pepperoni and meat lovers to gourmet items such as the Owners' Special with garlic sauce, prosciutto, and arugula, or a "pickle-loaded" pizza with creamy sauce.
"Our goal is to have options for everybody — from diners seeking something higher end to families coming in after their kids' baseball games," Meagan says.
At night, the space will transform into a dynamic live event venue, hosting everything from local bands and stand-up comedy to open mic nights and themed parties.
"We're hoping My Stomping Grounds will be like a watering hole, a nostalgic place for Haltom City to bring their families," she says.
