North Texas Daily

The plans for a restaurant at the top of the Wells Fargo building on the Downtown Square have been abandoned in favor of making the eighth floor into an event center set to open at the end of this summer.

More than a year after the August 2017 announcement of a restaurant called Sunago Bell, Radical Hospitality Group, which also owns restaurants on the Square including Barley & Board and Lone Star Attitude Burger Co., now wants to utilize the space for a private event center by the same name.

“We think it’s going to be a great use for people for a multitude of reasons, and give a neat feel for Denton and Denton County,” John Pearson, who co-owns Radical Hospitality, told the Denton Record-Chronicle. “This seemed like a logical progression once we got into the nuances of trying to open a restaurant that high.”

With views of the Square below, the event center will be available to rent for parties, weddings and similar events. John Withers, a real estate agent with Scott Brown Commercial who is helping lease spaces in the building, said he believes the event center’s location and amenities will pique the interest of locals.

“The uniqueness of the project is similar to the other apartments on and around the Square,” Withers said. “But this is an elevator-served building, with newly updated finishes, large floor plans, dedicated parking, the views and the advantage of being in the middle of everything going on downtown.”

Film sophomore Nicholas Snyder said he was disappointed the plans had changed, despite the features the project is now set to include.

“[The restaurant] seemed like a nice way to go out and take in the views of Denton,” Snyder said. “However this new plan seems boring and adds next to nothing to downtown. What would be optimal would be to put an observation deck up there with a café or bar. I feel like the Square is lacking something and I can tell you right now a private event center is not needed or wanted by most.”

Communication design freshman Matt Noh said he sees potential in the idea for an event center, even if others would prefer a restaurant.

“Restaurants overlooking the city are in right now and very easy for people to share and freely advertise on social media,” Noh said. “Private parties offer a similar benefit but aren’t as easy to walk into. A venue in the sky sounds cool though, depending on what it’s capable of. Concerts by bigger names will tend to be in Dallas, but if you can host some upcoming artists next to, I don’t know, a music school, you might be onto something.”

Featured Image: The eighth floor of the Wells Fargo Bank on the Denton Square is set to become an event center. It is expected to be completed by the end of this summer. Image by: Dimaggio Escobedo.