Kyle Noonan

Kyle Noonan (born April 2, 1980) is an American restauranteur, entrepreneur, TV personality, and speaker.^[1] He is the co-founder and CEO of FreeRange Concepts,^[2]^[3] and has a net worth of $50mm.

Education

Noonan holds a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from Southern Methodist University, Dallas (2002). After graduation, he decided to pursue a career in hospitality and restaurants instead of arts because of his passion.^[4]

Career

After graduation, Noonan opened and operated restaurants for Pappas Restaurants for 13 years. In 2011, he partnered with his former classmate Josh Sepkowitz and established FreeRange Concepts, a restaurant development firm based in Dallas specializing in creating innovative restaurant concepts.^[5] Initially, the company had two employees but has grown to 1000 employees in four years. Noonan’s company operates and owns 12 venues located in four cities: Fort Worth, San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas. The company has been named by National Restaurant News in 2017 on the National Power List, featured in Restaurant Hospitality Magazine’s 18 Innovators List for 2018, and listed in SMU 2020 Top 100 Companies.

In 2012, Noonan started his first venture under FreeRange Concepts, Bowl & Barrel. The restaurant has a boutique bowling alley with a full-service modern American tavern and house-made specialties by Chef Sharon Hage. The restaurant was first launched in Dallas, then San Antonio, TX, in 2015, and Houston in 2016.^[6]

In June 2013, FreeRange Concepts’ second venture, Mutts Canine Cantina, was launched. It is a restaurant and off-leash dog park, specially designed for dog lovers. People can play in the off-leash park or spend time in the beer garden. The first one opened in Dallas and the second opened in 2018, in Fort Worth. Eleven more units are under development in Arizona,^[7] Colorado, and Texas. In fall of 2013, FreeRange Concepts started a restaurant review show called “Local Fare”. The show aired on CBS television station KTXA Channel 21 for a year. Each episode featured three ordinary people from Dallas as guest restaurant critics, spotlighting Dallas's food culture.^[6]

In October 2013, The Rustic was launched in Dallas in a partnership with Grammy-nominated country music artist, Pat Green.^[6] The Rustic is a full-service restaurant with live music. Its other locations include Houston Downtown, Houston Galleria, and San Antonio. It has been named the Busiest Restaurant & Bar in the State of Texas. There are expansion plans for The Rustic in Colorado, North Carolina, Georgia, and Arizona.

In July 2015, FreeRange Concepts launched The General Public, a spirited neighborhood restaurant and bar focused on serving wholesome food and recreating popular recipes using fresh ingredients from local farmers and suppliers. The restaurant's first location opened in San Antonio, Texas, and the second was opened in Houston, in 2016.

Noonan is a registered Sommelier and tequila expert. He has worked with Herradura on their barrel selection program.^[5] In 2019, he became the President of the Greater Texas Restaurant Association.^[8]^[9]

He has been featured on national media outlets, including ABC, Fox, New York Times,^[10] Wall Street Journal, CBS, NBC, Bravo, ESPN, Food & Wine Magazine, FoodNetwork, Travel Channel, and Hallmark Channel.^[3]

In May 2020, Noonan legally reopened his restaurants after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced the reopening of certain businesses in specific counties at a capacity of 25% and 50% on Fridays, but that became a controversial topic on Twitter and other media.^[11]

Awards

New Restaurateur of the Year (2016)
Dallas 40 Under 40^[12]
EY Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist (2018)^[3]

Personal Life

Noonan got engaged to Courtney Kerr, a Dallas fashion blogger, in 2020 on his 40th birthday on Instagram Live and it had over 150k combined viewers.^[10] He has a son, Carter Noonan, and a daughter, Elle Noonan.

References

[1] ttps://franchisinginnovation.com/speakers/

[2] ttps://www.frontlinesourcegroup.com/people.-process.-service-creating-an-experiential-restaurant.html

[:0-3] 3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 https://www.tramarketplace.com/attend/events/presenters/kyle-noonan

[4] ttps://fleastyle.com/pages/blog

[:1-5] 5.0 ^5.1 https://nightclubbarshow2019.sched.com/speaker/kyle_noonan.1yljbrz8

[:2-6] 6.0 ^6.1 ^6.2 https://1800publicrelations.com/tag/kyle-noonan/

[7] ttps://tucson.com/entertainment/caliente/texas-based-dog-park-restaurant-concept-moving-into-tucson-in-2021/article_9a5eeead-4602-5c37-afcb-01a745fd5460.html

[8] ttps://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/supporters-gear-up-for-new-dallas-sick-time-law/215028/

[9] ttps://www.restaurantnews.com/president-of-the-gdra-kyle-noonan-has-aspiring-plans-to-put-dfws-deserving-culinary-scene-on-the-national-stage-011719/

[:3-10] 10.0 ^10.1 https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/16/nyregion/striking-a-lone-star-pose-at-betony.html

[11] ttps://www.foxnews.com/media/coronavirus-restaurant-owner-media-backlash

[12] ttps://dallasinnovates.com/ey-announces-southwest-region-entrepreneur-of-the-year-finalists/

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