Magnolia Avenue News

Worldly new restaurant in Fort Worth's Near Southside has global plans

The menu will be Southern but incorporating global influences.

Beast & Co.

UPDATE 4-4-2022: The Beast and Company opened April 1. The menu includes deviled eggs, charcuterie, Thai lobster bisque, orecchiette with boar and white Bolognese, lamb, pork collar, and saddle of rabbit with Benton's country ham. Desserts include cake & ice cream, and milk & cookies.

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A new restaurant with a worldly flair is coming to Fort Worth's Magnolia Avenue: Called The Beast and Company, it'll open at 1010 W. Magnolia Ave., IE the former Mamma Mia space, serving an intriguing mix of Southern and global cuisine.

The Beast is a collaboration between founder Dustin Lee, a former marketing exec who moved to Fort Worth from Houston to launch The Beast; and chef Michael Arlt, a Johnson & Wales grad who has cooked in restaurants in Florida, Chicago, and Maine, including a stint at Emeril Lagasse restaurant E2 Emeril's Eatery.

Both are well-traveled and conversant in multiple cuisines, and wanted to bring some of that accumulated insight to Fort Worth. They're in the final stages of construction and hope to be open by the end of February.

The Beast will be a globally-inspired Southern restaurant, says Lee.

"It's rooted in Southern traditions, but we like to trace the flavors back to their point of origin," he says. "Flavors in the South incorporate a variety of elements including Western African, Northern African, a little Vietnamese, French, and Spanish."

The menu will be seasonal but with a few key signatures that serve as emblems of what The Beast is about. One is Mezze Maniche, a pasta dish with small tubes tossed in a Bolognese sauce that's "white" and features goat.

"It's a type of Italian pasta we'll serve with a goat Bolognese, it's a white bolognese, meaning no tomatoes," he says. "It has a salty Parmesan quality that really connects with the goat. Most often in a Bolognese, you have meat or lamb but you rarely see goat. Trust me, you want a gaminess in your Bolognese."

There's also Thai lobster bisque with a Thai lobster dumpling, and a spicy version of bouillabaisse made with skate wing.

The restaurant will have a full bar, with cocktails that reflect their global focus such as a saffron-tinted Bees Knees.

Prior to its tenure as Mamma Mia's, the location was home to Jerry Van Dyke's Soda Shoppe, owned by actor-comedian Jerry Van Dyke, which opened in the space in 1998.

"Unfortunately, during its Mamma Mia's days, it had fallen into disrepair," Lee says. "The walls were bleeding grease, we had to replace much of the drywall, and the ceiling was caving in in the kitchen. We did a lot of work to the floor to restore it."

"This was built in 1941 — from what I understand, it was military warehouse," he says.

"I love a place that has some history," he says. "Fort Worth is a huge market, and we're hoping to bring a new destination restaurant to town."

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Closure News

Tropic Lady restaurant-bar on Fort Worth's Race Street says aloha

Tropic Lady

The dip trio at Tropic Lady.

A chill restaurant and bar in Fort Worth's River East district has closed: Tropic Lady, which opened in the former Fuzzy's Taco space at 2719 Race St. in 2023, has closed.

The restaurant, which closed in mid-December, was a sibling to Bearded Lady, the popular gastropub in Near Southside; their last Facebook post was on December 10. Their phone number is not working, and their website is no longer active. Owner Shannon Osbakken was unavailable for comment, but a Bearded Lady employee confirmed the closure.

Tropic Lady was a tropical-themed gastropub opened by a trio of friends: Bearded Lady owner Shannon Osbakken, her business partner Sarah Allen, and general manager Amanda Yunger. It offered a similar menu as Bearded lady but with more tropical-inspired fare, including shrimp tacos, bacon-wrapped grilled pineapple bites, and guacamole dotted with mango.

For a gastropub, they did interesting food with dishes like watermelon salad with feta and cucumber; or their Dip Trio, with mango guacamole, tomatillo salsa, and queso blanco served with house-made tortilla chips. Definitely not run-of-the-mill. They also had great lunch specials like a smashburger with curly fries for $10.

Food did not seem to be the problem.

Decor featured artwork and murals created by local artists. A beautifully landscaped patio wrapped around the building’s facade. So the setting did not seem to be a factor.

It's tempting to point the finger at its location on Race Street, which has witnessed a round of closings in the past two years including buzzy birria taqueria Caliscience, which closed in February 2024; as well as The Post at River East, a restaurant and live music venue that shut down the same month.

In 2023, three other restaurants on Race Street closed: Tributary Cafe, the Bon Appetit-lauded La Onda, and vegan burger spot Zonk Burger. But separate reasons can also be found for each of those closures, whether that be inexperience or lease issues.

For years, the city and neighborhood advocates have been trying to turn Race Street into a trendy hotspot. As part of the city’s Urban Villages program, the city of Fort Worth invested $5.6 million in revitalizing the area, making improvements to traffic flow, sidewalks, landscaping, and outdoor lighting.

When Osbakken opened the bar, she said she loved the area, stating "it reminds me of Magnolia when were first were on it 10 years ago in our old location. It's a great community and the neighbors have been friendly and reaching out."

And there are still restaurants along the street, including a popular Mexican restaurant called Tesoro, the Dough’d Up doughnut shop, and Kingyo Sushi & Ramen House, as well as a coffee shop, Race Street Coffee.

The Bearded Lady continues to flourish. Osbakken originally opened the popular gastropub on Magnolia Avenue in 2013. Six years later, she moved it to the South Main, where it’s still going strong.

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