Downtown Fort Worth sees a big closure this weekend, but there are openings galore at a hot new development in southwest Fort Worth. Read on for the hottest restaurant news in town:
Mercury Chop House will close on August 20, giving you mere days to get there for your last fine steak dinner in the restaurant's richly appointed interior. Jon Bonnell's Waters will move into the space. A spokesman for the Mercury said that owner Zack Moutaouakil was searching for another location to reopen, but that wouldn't be resolved until the end of the month.
Whole Foods Market in Fort Worth, opening at the Waterside development at 3720 Vision Dr., has an opening date: October 12. The 45,000-square-foot store will be the company’s first Fort Worth location and its 13th in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
"We’re thrilled to open our first store in Fort Worth, and to give the community a shopping experience unlike anywhere else," says Whole Foods' Dennis Berryman.
Sur La Table, the deluxe kitchenware store, opened at the Waterside development on August 10. This marks the fourth Sur La Table in the area, behind Dallas, Plano, and Southlake. In addition to spatulas for every occasion and Kitchen Aid mixers in every color, the store hosts cooking classes, noted for being hands-on.
Steel City Pops is also joining the Waterside team with a 677-square-foot store, what the development calls a "micro-restaurant," which we take to mean, it's small. There's a lot going on at Waterside. Steel City will open in the fall.
Other coming-soons at the Waterside include Piattello Italian Kitchen, the new concept from chef Marcus Paslay; Tokyo Joe's, the fast-casual Asian restaurant chain which has big designs on DFW; and more "local, chef-driven restaurants" still to be identified.
El Pollo Loco opened its very first store in the Dallas-Fort Worth market in Bedford, at 1900 Central Dr. The restaurant seats 62 and features a new design for the company that highlights an authentic, Mexican-inspired atmosphere with warm textures, rustic elements, and a focus on freshness. The California-based chain specializing in citrusy chicken has a big expansion in the works for Dallas and Houston.
Fort Worth-based Fuzzy's Taco Shop opened its 100th restaurant. The lucky shop that can call itself "100" is in Oklahoma City. The chain also just opened a branch east of Dallas in Royse City.
Cast Iron, the restaurant at the Omni Fort Worth Hotel, is going all out on the Hatch chile, with a special menu featuring the special seasonal Hatch chile pepper. There's Hatch-crusted salmon. Chilled Hatch bisque. A Hatch relleno. A pork chop with Hatch chile and mango salsa. And Hatch chile bread pudding. There's also a three-course menu with three Hatch dishes. Hatch it up from August 22 to September 9.
Rahr & Sons will launch Ugly Pug in cans in September, in response to a growing consumer demand for canned craft beer. Fort Worth's original brewery is in the process of transitioning almost all of its beers to cans after purchasing a larger canning line earlier this year. Cans are more eco-friendly and prevent light and oxygen from breaking down hops in a beer.
Amateur barbecue chefs can enter the Foreman's Backyard BBQ Competition at the Bedford Blues and BBQ Festival on September 2. Cooks will square off using their skills and mass market grills; no competition smokers allowed. There'll be two divisions, chicken and ribs. The top three competitors in each will receive cash or a trophy. Entry forms and complete details at bedfordbluesfest.com.
Steel City Pops is one of the many places opening at the Waterside development.
