Palio’s Pizza Café

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This article appeared in the August 2010 issue of Texoma Living!.

What Goes Around Comes Around

by Leslie Cummins

Alan and Sheila Hardin left Grayson County when Alan’s job evaporated. Now the pair is back in town. This time as owners of Palio’s Pizza Café, which opened in July at Sherman Town Center.

Back in the eighties Alan worked for T.A. Reynolds, a hotel management company in Sherman. It was in the hotel business that Alan hired a young college student Harry Awad. Hardin remembers the young man as one of those standout employees who you just know will be a success. “We knew he was destined for great success in business. After Harry graduated from SOSU, we lost touch,” said Hardin.

Meanwhile, Awad went on to open a small independent pizzeria in Dallas. As the business grew, Awad decided to expand it into a full service restaurant or “Pizza Café, inspired by one his brother owned in Italy. And as they say, what goes around, becomes round, or something like that. The first Palio’s opened in Highland Village in Dallas and grew to multiple locations throughout the Metroplex.

It was well over twenty years until Alan and Sheila ran into their former star employee again. They walked into a Palio’s Pizza Café in Prosper and discovered their old friend Harry Awad was the owner.

After catching up, Awad suggested that the Hardins might consider starting their own business, with his help. He encouraged them to open a Palio’s in Sherman. “We both agreed that there wasn’t another restaurant like it here,” said Sheila. “It has a homey atmosphere, and you can sit and talk without having to shout or constantly bothered by the waitstaff .”

Their first month in operation has been encouraging. “We already have regular customers,” said Sheila. “It’s great to get to know people that come in a lot.” So what’s the best thing on the menu? “Our lasagna is outstanding,” said Alan, “and the pizza I order the most often is The King.”

Like many boomers the Hardins realized that they probably wouldn’t be getting any big dollar job offers at their age and with the economy in its current state. So, like a lot of other couples their age, they decided owning their own business didn’t look so bad after all.