Yearby's Barbecue & Waterice has begun serving customers at 405 Central Expressway, and a former Sonic drive-thru on East Stacy Road is becoming a coffee shop, according to the City of Allen's October building permit report.

The report, dated Nov. 3, covers permits issued between Oct. 1 and Oct. 31. It logs new restaurants, retail tenants and a $7.25 million church project among dozens of commercial filings.

Yearby's opens on Central Expressway

Yearby's Barbecue & Waterice received a certificate of occupancy on Oct. 23 for its 4,065-square-foot space at 405 Central Expressway. The city also marked the restaurant's $25,000 building remodel permit as completed on Oct. 6.

The restaurant specializes in halal barbecue, serving brisket, lamb ribs and turkey breast alongside Philadelphia-style water ice, Community Impact first reported.

Owner Sabrina Henley relocated the business from Pilot Point to Plano in December 2025, then closed the Plano location in June after finding a long-term lease in Allen, according to Community Impact. Local Profile reported the restaurant began its soft opening at the Allen address, with additional soft-opening dates scheduled for Oct. 30, Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. A grand opening date and permanent hours had not been announced as of that Oct. 27 report.

ARWA Coffee converting former Sonic

A $345,000 restaurant remodel permit was issued Oct. 2 for ARWA Coffee at 1536 E. Stacy Road. The permit application describes a complete interior remodel and cosmetic exterior changes to a former Sonic drive-thru restaurant.

The old Sonic parking-lot canopy covers will be demolished, according to the application. A sidewalk addition will connect the building's front to existing patio seating. The application states there will be no commercial kitchen on the premises. All food items will be pre-prepped and brought in ready to serve, with on-site preparation limited to brewing coffee.

ARWA Yemeni Coffee operates its original location in Richardson. The Allen location does not yet appear on the chain's website.

Church Eleven32 files $7.25M project

Church Eleven32 filed two certificate-of-occupancy applications in October for suites at 700 Rivercrest Blvd. The applications, filed by Kacie Kintz, describe a storm shelter being prioritized in a new building project to satisfy education-building requirements. Suite 1100 covers 10,570 square feet; Suite 3100 covers 4,730 square feet. Each application lists a $7.25 million valuation.

The church operates an Allen campus led by Pastor Brent and Kacie Kintz, according to its website. The Academy at Church Eleven32, a private Christian school at the same Rivercrest Boulevard address, serves grades K–6 with about 94 students, according to U.S. News. The Suite 1100 application was placed on hold as of the report date; the Suite 3100 permit was issued Oct. 23.

More permits across Allen

Other notable October filings include:

  • Drive-thru coffee kiosk, 1535 E. Main St. — A $500,000 permit was issued Oct. 30 for a 675-square-foot drive-thru coffee kiosk. Applicant Christopher Contreras is listed as tenant; Alberto Porto is listed as owner.
  • Generator, 309 Century Pkwy. — A $2.1 million permit was issued Oct. 16 for a Cummins diesel generator. CORE Construction of Frisco is the listed contractor.
  • Cookie Society, 906 W. McDermott Dr. — A certificate of occupancy was issued Oct. 26 for Cookie Society Allen LLC. The 1,200-square-foot space will continue operating as a retail cookie bakery under new ownership, according to the permit description.
  • Tanning salon, 109 Central Expy., Suite 509 — An $80,000 interior finish-out permit was issued Oct. 7 for a new tanning salon tenant.

The full 109-page report is available on the City of Allen's website.