The parent company behind well-known North Texas staple Mi Cocina has partnered with Arnulfo “Trey” Sanchez to expand his Grapevine-based food truck, Vaqueros Texas Bar-B-Q, into a stand-alone restaurant in Allen.
“Trey’s take on Texas barbeque is unique, one-of-a-kind and, above all, authentic,” Edgar Guevara, president and CEO of Carrollton-based M Crowd Restaurant Group, said in a prepared statement. “I am excited to partner with Trey to allow his creations to soon land on even more plates across North Texas.”
Sanchez, in partnership with M Crowd, plans to open Vaqueros at Watters Creek Village in Allen in spring of 2024. The menu is set to showcase the founder and pitmaster’s diverse culinary mastery and incorporate items such as frozen palomas, margaritas, and beer.
According to its website, Sanchez grew up in the barbecue business with his father, Arnold Sanchez, who started winning barbecue chili cook-offs in 1979. A decade later, Arnold’s Texas Bar-B-Q was opened in East Dallas, and Trey and friend Don Glasco managed the restaurant until 1999, when Arnold opened Western special event and production company Silverado Ranch.
Trey’s work as a pitmaster has been featured on the Cooking Channel’s “Man Fire Food” and “Man’s Greatest Food” and was included on the New York Times’ “The 20 Best Texas Barbecue Restaurants for the New Generation” list earlier this year.
M Crowd has 23 Mi Cocina restaurants in Texas and Oklahoma, the first of which opened in 1991 with help from Michael Rodriguez, Ray Washburne, Dick Washburne and Bob McNutt in the Preston Forest neighborhood of Dallas. Two years later, another Mi Cocina opened at Highland Park Village, according to its website.
By 1998, M Crowd added its Taco Diner brand, highlighting the bold flavors found in Mexico City taquerias. The same year, M Crowd ventured into fine dining with the opening of The Mercury. That restaurant features new American cuisine prepared with Mediterranean and French influences.
