Bar News

Acclaimed Austin bar opens spinoff location on Main Street Fort Worth

Save your nickels for this new bar coming to town.

Courtesy photo

UPDATE 10-23-2020: Nickel City is now open.

-------------------

Dallas-Fort Worth loves things from Austin, and here comes another concept to make our day: Nickel City, which has won awards as Austin's favorite neighborhood bar, is opening a location in Fort Worth.

According to Eater Austin, it'll open at 212 S. Main St., a gorgeous old brick building that was previously home to Lone Star Banners and Flags, which relocated to Haltom City.

Nickel City is an acclaimed spot in Austin that won a CultureMap Tastemaker award in 2018 for Best Bar.

"Austin has been waiting for a bar like Nickel City for a long time," wrote CultureMap Austin's Brandon Watson, describing why it won. "Owners Travis Tober, Zane Hunt, Brandon Hunt, and Craig Primozich saw an opportunity in the former home of Longbranch Inn by (slightly) jazzing up the interior while keeping the dive roots firmly planted. The result is a bar that feels like home from the moment you walk in the door."

The drink menu in Austin includes contemporary versions of famous mixed drinks, takes on New Orleans classics, and originals from Tober and Bar Manager JR Mocanu. The bar showcases almost 300 whiskey labels, including special barrels from some of the biggest names in American spirits.

Food comes courtesy of a food truck on-site called The Delray Café which serves sliders, Coney dogs, onion rings, fries, and chicken wings. Fort Worth will have its own Delray Cafe truck, with a few dishes special to Fort Worth, as well as a small 15-seat agave bar-within-the-bar serving tequila and other agave spirits.

Co-owner Travis Tober tells Eater Austin that they're looking forward to being part of Fort Worth. But here's a curious statement:

"We believe in that, it's that more blue-collar city, it’s got that vibe that Nickel City already has," he says, before calling it "truly the most authentic city in Texas."

Is that really true, that Fort Worth is more blue collar than Austin? How do you measure blue collar? Is it day laborers? Waitresses named Alice? People who buy Bud?

The team, which CultureMap's Watson says has redefined Austin’s dining culture, is busy: They are also opening a restaurant in Austin called Uncle Nicky's that'll be a Northern Italian-infused all-day cafe.

craft-beer nightlife

Cheers News

Point Pub and Grill brings friendly Cheers vibe to north Fort Worth

Facebook

Behold the Daddy Mack, from The Point Pub & Grill.

A neighborhood hangout from Oregon is opening in Fort Worth: Called The Point Pub and Grill, it’s a casual bar and restaurant opening in the former Wicked Wing Pub space in north Fort Worth at 5636 N. Tarrant Pkwy., inside Parkwood Plaza, celebrating its grand opening on November 7.

There are no shortage of restaurants called The Point, including two already in the Fort Worth area. However, this one is the Point Pub and Grill, founded by a group of eight friends in Central Point, Oregon in 2013. They opened a second location in Medford, Oregon in 2016. Fort Worth will be the third, and the first outside of Oregon.

It's coming to Fort Worth via franchisee Balasarath Kurapati, a well-traveled tech guy who met the owners at a convention and loved the restaurant's friendly, laid-back spirit. Overseeing the opening is general manager Kris Jara, a congenial host who served in the military before returning to the restaurant industry.

The menu serves a mix of stick-to-your-ribs American, Mexican, and vegan bar fare. There are wings, fried pickles, burgers, salads, jalapeno poppers, and onion rings.

Sandwiches are a tempting collection including a reuben, patty melt, French dip, and Philly cheesteak. They also do mac & cheese, and it appears in an over-the-top sandwich called the Mac Daddy Patty Melt in which a burger is topped with caramelized onions, bacon, BBQ sauce, pepperjack cheese, and mac & cheese on grilled sourdough.

Their adherence to the original recipes included a training session at the original location. “I got sent up to Oregon to go work for about a week for training,” Jara says.

There's also a big nod to vegan and gluten-free diners, with vegan versions of nearly their entire menu including vegan chicken mac & cheese, served with vegan garlic bread; vegan chicken tacos; vegan patty melt; and a vegan Philly cheesesteak. This is something you might expect in Oregon, but they'll be offering it in Fort Worth, too.

"We like to take care of people — it's part of our desire to include and serve everyone," Jara says.

Five desserts include mini fried doughnuts with choice of chocolate, caramel or strawberry dipping sauce; and a unique item called deep fried apples: fresh apple slices that are battered and fried, tossed in cinnamon sugar, and topped with caramel sauce, served with vanilla ice cream.

Prices range from $8 for a half salad to $21.50 for an apple bacon bleu sandwich wrap.

The bar program includes fruity, youthful cocktails like the Wild Raspberry drop with raspberry vodka, and one with lavender and vanilla. Beers are specific to each location with different selections on tap.

"It's a great neighborhood pub and grill," Jara says. "Lots of places like to compare themselves to the TV show Cheers, but we really are like that, except we're above ground and you can see outside. That thing of remembering your name — we strive to make sure that when you come in, even if it's the first time, you feel like you've been here before."

craft beer openings