Good Neighbor Podcast: Frisco

EP 359: Your Table Is Ready, Your Diet Isn’t: Didi’s Downtown Keeps Changing The Menu

• Sophia Yvette

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What makes Scott Hoffner with Didi’s Downtown a good neighbor?

What happens when a chef falls for an old house in Frisco’s rail district and decides to build a place that feels like home, sounds like live music, and tastes different every week? We sit down with Didi’s Downtown founder and chef, Scott Hoffner, to uncover the craft and grit behind a neighborhood restaurant that keeps a city coming back. From washing dishes at nine to earning culinary and hospitality degrees, Scott’s journey is a study in persistence, humility, and creative fire.

Scott takes us inside the real economics of dining out, busting the myth that restaurant owners are swimming in cash. He explains why the staff comes first, how culture shapes hospitality, and why consistent marketing is now a second full-time job. Daily live videos at 10:45, behind-the-scenes pre-meals, music lineups, and feature teases on Facebook and Instagram turn followers into regulars and make Didi’s one of the most discoverable spots in the rail district. If you’re curious about restaurant marketing, social media strategy, and building community through content, this is a masterclass wrapped in a friendly chat.

Food lovers get the good stuff too: a solid core menu backed by eight weekly features ranging from Cajun and Creole to French, Italian, and Asian fusion. Think veal ravioli one week and smothered fries with pepperoni and basil ranch the next. Scott shares how rotation fights creative boredom, feeds regular curiosity, and adapts to seasons and sourcing without losing the soul of the place. We also touch on family rhythms, ski trips, Disney traditions, and a TV project in the works, reminding us that a great neighborhood restaurant is powered by a life well balanced.

If you love Frisco, live music, and food that keeps you guessing in the best way, you’ll feel right at home. Tap play, subscribe for more conversations with local makers, and leave a review to help other neighbors find the show.

**To learn more about Didi’s Downtown, go to
 🔗 https://didisdowntown.com/

Didi’s Downtown

(469)-888-4020


SPEAKER_01:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Sophia Yvette.

SPEAKER_02:

Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of a restaurant? Well, one may be closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Scott Hoffner, with DD's Downtown. Scott, how are you today?

SPEAKER_00:

I'm doing fantastic. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02:

Great. Well, we're excited to have you on. Can you go ahead and tell us a bit about your company?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, my restaurant's called DD's Downtown. Uh, and it started in 2018. We're in the rail district at 7210 Main Street in Frisco, Texas. And the rail district's a real special little area with a bunch of neat little shops and restaurants to walk around through. And uh, I saw this spot, this old house for many years. I drove by it and I always really wanted it. And uh the opportunity came about, and seven years later, we're here. Uh, the goal of the restaurant and what we do is based on making you feel like you're at home, uh, but being attended to with amazing hospitality and fantastic food, libations, and a lot of live music.

SPEAKER_02:

And what made you want to get involved in an industry like this, other than buying an old house?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I started as a dishwasher when I was nine years old in Plano, Texas, at a place called Plano Steakhouse. So I've been in the restaurant business since nine, ten years old, and I have not stopped. So at 18, I went to chef school in Providence, Rhode Island. I went to Johnson and Wales, where I received two degrees culinary science and hospitality marketing. And I just haven't stopped cooking. So that's kind of the deal.

SPEAKER_02:

Now, what is the most common myth or misconception in the restaurant industry?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I think that most people feel like you just make a ton of money. I think everybody thinks restaurant owners are super wealthy people. I would say that's probably the biggest misconception when you know margins are margins, and there's a lot that goes into it. It's a it's a life of living and breathing the restaurant business.

SPEAKER_02:

Now we know marketing is the heart of every business. Who are your target customers or audience? And in terms of marketing, on that note, how do you attract them?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I would like to say this. I believe my staff is the heart and beat of my business. Without them, uh there's no reason to market anything. So I'll I'll go with, you know, my staff is is the heartbeat, but as far as marketing goes, uh it's a non-stop uh activity, so to speak. It's actually a it's a whole nother job within the restaurant itself. I can tell you when I went to chef school, I never thought I would be making Instagram posts or taking pictures of food every single day and taking pictures of people and drinks and going live and you know, all of those things would have never crossed my mind if you if you had asked me when I was 18 years old at culinary school. But as far as the importance of it, you know, it's enormous. And getting your name out there, making sure you're recognized and people know who you are, where you are, and keeping it interesting, I think is uh is also a you know has a lot to do with it.

SPEAKER_02:

Now, where do you market your business?

SPEAKER_00:

Uh, we're on Instagram, we're on Facebook, we're also on TikTok. Uh TikTok is a little bit different, it's more of my lifestyle page than the restaurant, but uh Instagram and Facebook for sure, you can see us everywhere and every day.

SPEAKER_02:

Have you ever thought about having your own podcast for the business, Scott?

SPEAKER_00:

Uh I have. And there's a couple of things actually in the works right now. Uh, there's a television show that I created and that I produce. And right now uh I'm talking with Netflix uh about hopefully getting that off the ground. But uh I've done several podcasts, not my own, but it's definitely been discussed.

SPEAKER_02:

And outside of work, what do you and your family like to do for fun?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, we like to go snow skiing. We also there's kind of a mix of what we like to do. Disney World is a big thing. I have two daughters and they love Disney World. My my wife's family uh are Disney World fanatics, I would call them. So that's a I I would bet if you asked any three all three of them what they snap a finger, and it's gonna be a Disney World type of situation. Uh, but the girls also love to fish. I love to fish, and so when we we like to be out in the outdoors uh as well, but you know, spending just quality time together is so important.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow, that's amazing, and it's so great that you have those activities that you like to do with your family. Now, please tell our listeners one thing they should remember about Didi's Downtown.

SPEAKER_00:

Didi's downtown where it all goes down. It's a transporter, it'll take you anywhere you want to go if you open up your mind, and it's got something for everybody.

SPEAKER_02:

Amazing. And what type of food do you have in Dee Dee's Downtown?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, that's kind of tricky. Uh, as the owner and chef, I get bored very easily. So weekly we do about eight features. So there's the solid core menu, and then there's the feature page, which in its own right is a whole nother menu, and that happens every week. So you could get anything from you know southern Cajun cuisine, Creole food to French cuisine to northern or southern Italian, uh, Latino cuisine. You get it. I I fuse with Asian quite a bit, and then of course, French food is one of my favorite favorites. But um, I like to play around with food a lot. So you'll you never really know. You my core menu will keep you interested and has plenty of things on it for everybody. But that special page, you know, could be a viol ravioli or it could be smothered fries with pepperoni and basil ranch and roasted garlic marinara.

SPEAKER_02:

Amazing. And does your family help run the business with you?

SPEAKER_00:

No. Uh, I have one daughter that works a couple days a week at the restaurant. She likes to help out and run food and help on the expo. Uh, and in the beginning, you know, my wife helped out quite a bit with pushing paper as you've known me through this very quick relationship. Uh my weakness is computers, they're not my favorite thing. So she definitely has helped out with that. But for the most part, um, the family lets me handle my business there.

SPEAKER_02:

And where can our listeners go to learn more about DD's downtown?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, if you go to Facebook, I go live every day about 10 45. Every day I go live and we talk about what the features are going to be, what the music is going to be, uh, what the soups of the day are, who's working. You never know what we'll do on the live video. You may be involved just front and center in the middle of a pre-meal where I'm going through all the dishes with the servers and we're talking about the wines and all the features. Uh, to me, maybe being on top of a crane, right? It just depends on the day and the situation. But Instagram is also a great place to find us. Um, again, those live videos go up there. You get to see all of our features. And then I do a lot of video work where we do uh a bunch of editing. So there's kind of a bunch of you know fun things for you to see on there.

SPEAKER_02:

Well, Scott, I really appreciate you being on this show. We wish you and your business the best moving forward.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you so much for having me, and thanks for uh inviting me on. It's been a pleasure and you've been great, and I hope to see you again.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gmpfrisco.com. That's gmpfrisco.com or call four six nine two two one nine three four five.