A massive new restaurant with room for over 340 diners has opened its doors in Langley, promising affordable happy hours, made-from-scratch pizzas, and plenty of screens for watching the game.
King Taps, which opened April 3 at 6141 200th Street, is bringing its casual dining concept to the community with an 11,000-square-foot space that includes outdoor patios and a dedicated takeout window.
For Langley families looking for a night out that won't break the bank, the new restaurant offers daily happy hours from 2 to 5 p.m. and again from 9 p.m. to close, featuring $5 beers and highballs, $10 cocktails, and half-price wine bottles. The timing fits well with shift workers in the area's industrial zones and parents looking for an affordable date night after putting the kids to bed.
The restaurant sits right across from its corporate sibling, Cactus Club, creating a dining cluster near Willowbrook Shopping Centre.
While both restaurants share the same ownership under the Fuller family empire, King Taps aims for a more relaxed vibe with its focus on pizza, sports viewing, and casual gathering spaces.
What's on the Menu
King Taps positions itself as the laid-back alternative to its more polished siblings, focusing on approachable food meant for sharing while watching the game.
The menu centers around pizza, with nearly a dozen varieties including the signature "Stinging Bee" topped with soppressata, kalamata olives, and Calabrian honey.
"The pizzas are thin with a nice chewy crust," notes one review, praising the balance of salty olives against rich meats. For those with dietary restrictions, gluten-free crusts are available, and the kitchen offers various dipping sauces for an extra charge.
Beyond pizza, the menu includes crowd-pleasers like mini Nashville-style fried chicken sandwiches, fried shrimp tacos, Caesar salad with fried chicken cutlet, pasta dishes, burgers, and a trio of meatballs.
The Crispy Sushi starter, featuring deep-fried rice rectangles topped with chopped raw tuna, has already emerged as a social media favorite.
The bar program emphasizes regional craft beers and wines alongside classic cocktails and sugar-free margaritas. Drink options range from the simple Ranch Water (soda with lime and tequila) to a large sangria meant for sharing.
Weekend brunch service adds another dimension for folks looking for a weekend outing.
Most importantly for budget-conscious diners, those happy hour deals make dining out more accessible. With $5 drinks and discounted food twice daily, the restaurant seems positioned to serve both the after-work crowd and late-night diners.
The Space and Experience
Designed by McKinley Studios, the new Langley location features multiple dining areas to suit different moods and occasions.
The interior uses organic textures, warm lighting, and plants to create a welcoming atmosphere, while artwork from Canadian artists Graham Gillmore, Tyler Toews, and Jason Dussault adds visual interest.
The layout includes an interior lounge, traditional dining rooms, an enclosed all-season patio with an adjustable slatted roof, and an open-air deck for summer evenings.
This variety of spaces helps manage noise levels, with reviewers noting that the indoor dining room can get quite loud, while the patios offer quieter conversation zones.
Sports fans will appreciate the 14 TVs and three projectors throughout the space, ensuring good sightlines for NFL, NHL, and NBA games. The setup makes King Taps a natural gathering spot for playoff games and major sporting events.
A particularly practical feature is the dedicated takeout window on the 200 Street side, designed to make pickup orders quick and easy for both customers and delivery drivers. While the takeout service was still launching at the time of opening, this addition recognizes how dining habits have changed, with many families balancing restaurant meals with takeout convenience.
King Taps History: The Fuller Family's Restaurant Legacy
The story of King Taps begins more than 40 years ago with a handshake deal in Edmonton. In 1982, Leroy and Stan Fuller co-founded Earls, launching what would become one of Canada's most recognizable restaurant chains.
That simple agreement grew into a family business empire that now dominates much of Western Canada's casual dining scene.
The family's influence expanded through both partnerships and splits. In 1988, two former Earls associates, Richard Jaffrey and Scott Morrison, left to start Cactus Club Cafe in North Vancouver.
Stan's brother Jeff Fuller opened Joey Tomatoes in Calgary in 1992, which later became simply Joey. Scott Morrison went on to create Brown's Social House after leaving Cactus Club.
King Taps itself emerged in 2017 when Richard Jaffrey launched it as a sister concept to Cactus Club, first opening in downtown Toronto. The brand aimed to capture a more casual, sports-bar atmosphere while maintaining the quality standards of its upscale sibling.
A major shift came in 2022 during a power struggle between the Fuller family and Jaffrey over Cactus Club's management.
The Fullers, who had owned a partial stake, bought out Jaffrey completely, giving them full control of both Cactus Club and King Taps. Today, the Fuller family controls three major restaurant brands: Earls, Cactus Club/King Taps, and Joey.
This consolidation means the family essentially competes against itself, with each brand trying to outperform the others while serving slightly different markets.
The arrangement has led some observers to note the "Earlification" of Western Canada's dining scene, with Fuller family restaurants becoming a dominant presence in many communities.
What King Taps Means for Langley
The arrival of King Taps adds another option to Langley's growing dining scene, particularly in the Willowbrook area that's seen significant development in recent years.
With 340 seats, it's one of the larger restaurant spaces in the community, offering capacity for large groups, sports teams, and special events.
The restaurant's hiring likely created dozens of jobs in the community, from servers and cooks to hosts and bartenders.
These service industry positions, while demanding, provide employment opportunities for students, those seeking flexible schedules, and workers building hospitality careers.
For local sports leagues and community groups, the massive space with multiple viewing areas could become a regular gathering spot. The combination of affordable happy hour pricing and room for large groups makes it practical for team celebrations and fundraising events.
The opening also raises questions about market saturation, with King Taps joining numerous other casual dining chains in the area. As the Fuller family expands its restaurant empire, independent operators may find it increasingly difficult to compete with the marketing budgets and economies of scale these chains command.
Looking Ahead
King Taps Langley represents just one piece of the brand's expansion plans. A 10,000-square-foot, two-storey location is already under construction at the revitalized Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver, suggesting continued growth for the concept.
The restaurant operates Monday through Wednesday from 11 a.m. to midnight, stays open until 1 a.m. on Thursday and Friday, and offers weekend brunch starting at 10 a.m.
Whether King Taps becomes a community fixture or just another chain restaurant remains to be seen.
But with its combination of sports viewing, affordable happy hours, and space for large gatherings, it's positioned to serve a specific need in Langley's dining landscape.
For families looking for a night out that doesn't require a special occasion budget, or groups seeking a place to watch the big game together, King Taps offers a new option in a familiar format.
The success of this latest Fuller family venture will likely depend on whether it can maintain quality and service standards while keeping prices accessible to working families.
In a time when restaurant meals increasingly feel like luxury purchases, finding that balance may be King Taps' biggest challenge and greatest opportunity.
References and Further Reading
Lindsay William-Ross
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