Toasty Bros’ taproom is informally known as “The Gallery,” as the interior walls of the heavy cinderblock construction are covered by paintings and sketches for sale by both staff and local artists. The place is a small, cozy spot transformed from a former auto garage on the edge of walkable downtown Denton, just a block away from the larger and flashier

Less than a minute’s drive off of US Highway 75 in Van Alstyne is an open field containing only a small cinder-block building with an unpaved parking lot. The city is a tiny rural community about 15 minutes north of McKinney that drivers usually speed past, with explosive and unceasing urban expansion approaching from all sides. There’s little development nearby with a new me...