Love Chef Tim
Fort Worth's top chef Tim Love expands barbecue concept to Bayou City

One of Fort Worth's most acclaimed chefs is extending his empire to a new city: Chef Tim Love will bring a second branch of Woodshed, his Trinity Trails smokehouse restaurant, to Houston.
The restaurant will open at Levy Park, a six-acre city park in Houston's Upper Kirby District. It's slated to debut in mid-2018.
In addition to the restaurant, Love will also oversee a food kiosk and double-decker bus that will be converted for beverage service at a beer garden; both are currently scheduled to open later this year. The park will celebrate its grand reopening February 25.
Park director Doug Overman says that the Levy Park Conservancy is ecstatic to have a chef of Tim Love's caliber be a part of the park's reinvention.
"Tim’s restaurant will be a huge draw for Houstonians as well as our out-of-town visitors," he says. "The Woodshed and Tim's team will bring something very special to the park and to our vision of a relaxed, social, and inspirational environment for all people."
Though dubbed a barbecue joint, Woodshed takes a unique approach to cooking, with smokers, rotisseries, and grills, and a variety of woods including mesquite, hickory, pecan, and oak to achieve different flavors and results. Along with meats by the pound, there are tacos, Asian-accented dishes, and a kale salad.
The Fort Worth restaurant occupies a prized location on the Trinity River, and has an indoor-outdoor spirit that includes an expansive, vivacious patio.
In addition to Woodshed, Love's empire includes his flagship Lonesome Dove Western Bistro in Fort Worth's Stockyards; Love Shack, his upscale burger joint; the White Elephant Saloon; and Queenie's Steakhouse in Denton. There are Lonesome Dove Western Bistros in Austin and Tennessee.
Earlier this year, Love also debuted Back Dough at several of his restaurants, a late-night pop-up serving sweet and savory doughnuts out of his restaurants' back kitchen doors on the weekends.
Woodshed will be opening in the same part of Houston that will be home to Eunice, a restaurant from New Orleans chef John Besh.
"Houston is such a dynamic city with great restaurants and culture, and I'm thrilled to partner with Levy Park as we create a fun, vibrant food and beverage experience for the neighborhood," Love says.
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Eric Sandler contributed to this story.