Shark Club opened its second U.S. restaurant in Northlake, Texas, in August — a 5,000-square-foot, 37-television sports bar sited inside the Children's Health StarCenter Multisport complex, seven years after the Canadian brand's Plano, Texas debut.

The unit marks the first doubling of Northland Properties Corporation's American Shark Club count. The company-operated restaurant features a patio overlooking pickleball courts and shares an ownership lineage with the NHL's Dallas Stars.

Who operates Shark Club?

Northland Properties Corporation, a family-held Canadian company, runs the concept through its Northland Restaurant Group division. Alan Howie, president and CEO of that group, frames the brand as a sports bar backed by a premium-casual food program and elevated service — not the other way around.

"The things that differentiate us, I think, is the environment and the food," Howie said.

Why did Northlake fit Shark Club?

Northland owns a portfolio that includes Moxies (11 U.S. restaurants, targeting 25 within three years), steakhouse concept Chop, Denny's Canada, and other brands. That breadth lets the company match real estate to concept rather than the reverse.

The Dallas Stars and Northland share an ownership group, and the multisport complex draws families, athletes, coaches, and fans for hockey, basketball, volleyball, and pickleball. Howie said Northland considered its full lineup before settling on Shark Club.

"Maybe Denny's wasn't the right one for that one, maybe Moxie's wasn't the right one for that one, but Shark Club definitely is because this would be people going to play sports and watch their kids play sports and hockey and basketball, all those sorts of things," he said.

How does the menu differ from Canada?

Each Shark Club runs with its own chef alongside a general manager — a structure Northland also uses at Moxies and Chop. The chain leans on shareable appetizers, burgers, handhelds, entrées, late-night specials, and happy hour offerings.

To translate across borders, Northland adjusts regional variables while keeping core experience intact. Texas menus feature more Tex-Mex dishes, larger portions, and additional protein options than Canadian units.

What is Shark Club's U.S. growth plan?

Northland will not commit to a fixed unit target. "We've now got two, so we've doubled. Maybe we'll double again," Howie said. The operator studies income, homeownership, and other demographic data around each potential site, then matches the profile to whichever portfolio brand fits.

Will Shark Club franchise in the U.S.?

Most Shark Club units are corporate-owned. One franchised location operates in Canada, and Northland is open to additional franchise deals without making recruitment a primary development engine. Many of its existing franchisees came from inside the organization first.

Can a sports bar work on non-game nights?

Northland's "For All Fankind" positioning targets guests who arrive to follow hockey, tennis, or football — or who simply want a meal. The bet addresses the segment-wide challenge of driving traffic outside marquee sporting events.

"We recognize that maybe not everybody is just an NFL football fan, and they may have other things that they're fans of," Howie said.

The next test for Northland is whether Shark Club can convert Northlake's multisport-anchored demand into repeat visits beyond game days — and whether the portfolio-matching playbook that landed this site will surface enough candidates to justify a third U.S. unit.