Bar News

Fort Worth gets its own location of massively popular Bottled Blonde

If you're over 21, then it's your kind of place.

Courtesy photo

A massively successful bar-restaurant venue is about to open in Fort Worth: Bottled Blonde Pizzeria + Beer Garden, the Arizona-based concept that combines bar, restaurant, and open-air outdoor space, is opening a location in Fort Worth's West 7th entertainment district, at 2821 Morton St., in what used to be a commercial office space and parking lot.

According to a spokesman, doors will open on Thursday, March 24 at 8 pm, and if it's like any other Bottled Blonde location, then Fort Worth can get ready to party.

Bottled Blonde Fort Worth is part of Evening Entertainment Group (EEG), the Arizona company that owns a portfolio of restaurants and bars in cities such as Scottsdale, Phoenix, Tucscon, Miami, and Dallas — home to the first Texas location of Bottled Blonde, which opened in 2017.

The concept was created by EEG founders Les and Diane Corieri, and has been a windfall wherever it goes. In Dallas, its overwhelming success has been a juggernaut, single-handedly spawning an entertainment zone near Deep Ellum, attracting half a dozen bars that have opened in its wake.

Its combination of food & drink, TVs & entertainment options, and expansive outdoor space have proven to be an irresistible formula, especially post-pandemic when outdoor spaces have become increasingly important.

In a statement, Les Corieri describes Fort Worth's huge patio as "more like a casual communal picnic area," with a large bar outside.

"Bottled Blonde is designed like an East Coast brewery, with large patios right up to the sidewalks, with very warm and inviting interiors, a lot of craft and local beers, and high-quality food," Corieri says.

The 9,000-square-foot restaurant will host PPV events like UFC, boxing, and other sports, with two 20' x 10' projection screens, a 15' x 7' LED wall, and more than 50 TVs.

Their menu is modern Italian, with from-scratch recipes, including salads, artisan sandwiches served on house-baked bread, and pizzas, which are especially popular.

Highlights include grilled Brussels sprouts with bacon, pine nuts, and Balsamic reduction; and signature pizzas such as the Carnivoro with Italian sausage, pepperoni, Bolognese sauce, and mozzarella.

They also do a serious brunch, with dishes such as Butterfinger French toast with whipped cream, Butterfingers, Texas toast, and Nutella cream cheese. The kitchen is helmed by chef Joe Absolar.

Like the Dallas location, Bottled Blonde Fort Worth joins an adjacent outdoor-driven venue called The Backyard, giving Bottled Blonde a footprint that extends from Foch Street (where Backyard's front door faces out) nearly a block down Morton Street, just short of Currie Street. The Backyard opened in late 2021.

Fort Worth will be home to the fifth Bottled Blonde, joining Dallas, Miami, Scottsdale, and Houston, and joins EEG's larger lineup of restaurants, bars, and ultra-lounges such as Hi Fi Kitchen & Cocktails, Chauncey Social, Casa Amigos, Skylanes, RnR, Backyard, Bevvy, and Sandbar Mexican Grill.

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Flair News

TGI Fridays files for bankruptcy but is still serving at DFW Airport

TGIF

TGI Fridays DFW Airport

Restaurant chain TGI Fridays filed for bankruptcy protection on November 2, saying it is looking for ways to “ensure the long-term viability” of the casual dining brand after closing many of its branches in 2024.

The Dallas-based company's Chapter 11 filing in a Texas federal court accelerates a gradual decline for an iconic chain that was once near the center of American pop culture but has seen its customer base dwindle as tastes changed.

TGI Fridays executive chairman Rohit Manocha said in a statement that the challenges were a result of COVID-19.

"The next steps announced today are difficult but necessary actions to protect the best interests of our stakeholders, including our domestic and international franchisees and our valued team members around the world," Manocha said. "The primary driver of our financial challenges resulted from COVID-19 and our capital structure. This restructuring will allow our go-forward restaurants to proceed with an optimized corporate infrastructure that enables them to reach their full potential."

Until recently, Dallas-Fort Worth had 11 locations including five at DFW Airport. Those airport locations are now the only ones still open.

Four locations all recently closed, mostly in the Dallas area, some after being in business for a decade or more including Addison, Cedar Hill, Garland, and Mesquite.

A location in Burleson closed in 2020 and is now a Twin Peaks. Arlington had two locations: 1524 N. Collins St., which closed in 2023; and 4601 S. Cooper St., which closed in mid-2022 after being having been there for decades.

There was a location at 4646 SW Loop 820 at Hulen but that closed a while ago; and a location in Keller closed in 2017. Fort Worth has been struggling without a TGI Fridays fix for a while now.

A Plano location also closed in 2022, while the flagship in Dallas' West End at 1713 Market St. closed in 2020 after 32 years.

Privately owned by TriArtisan Capital Advisors, TGI Fridays has been a beloved dining destination since its inaugural bar opened in Manhattan in 1965. It expanded over the following decades to become a ubiquitous suburban gathering spot known for its ribs, potato skins topped with cheese and bacon, and a decor bedecked with red stripes and Tiffany-style lamps.

The company has boasted that its bartenders trained Tom Cruise for his role in the 1988 film Cocktail, while its serving staff's button-filled uniforms, meant to evoke a fun atmosphere, were later parodied in the 1999 satire Office Space, starring Jennifer Aniston.

Its empire peaked in 2008 with 601 restaurants in the U.S. and a $2 billion business, according to Kevin Schimpf, director of industry research at Technomic. Its sales in the U.S. were $728 million in 2023, down 15% from the prior year, according to Technomic.

It now counts 163 restaurants in the U.S., down from 269 last year and 213 from a week ago. It closed 36 in January and dozens more in the past week. TGI Fridays Inc. said it only owns and operates 39 restaurants in the U.S, a fraction of the 461 TGI Fridays-branded restaurants around the world.

A separate entity, TGI Fridays Franchisor, owns the intellectual property and has franchised the brand to 56 independent owners in 41 countries. Those are independently owned and not part of the Chapter 11 process, and remain open.

A United Kingdom-based franchisee, Hostmore, also sought debt protection in September and abruptly closed locations throughout that country after a failed takeover deal to acquire TGI Fridays.

During the pandemic TGI Fridays made an effort to expand into the delivery market by making itself a hub for ghost kitchens, which have no storefront and only prepare food for delivery. Among the major creditors owed money by TGI Fridays is the delivery service DoorDash, according to Saturday's bankruptcy court filings.

Sit-down chain restaurants more broadly have faced challenges in recent years as diners choose to get food delivered or visit upscale fast-food chains like Chipotle and Shake Shack. In September a U.S. bankruptcy judge approved a reorganization plan for the seafood chain Red Lobster after years of mounting losses. Italian American food chain Buca di Beppo filed for bankruptcy protection in August. PAnother iconic U.S. sit-down restaurant, Denny's, announced in October that it is closing 150 of its lowest-performing restaurants in an effort to turn around the brand’s flagging sales. Wendy’s is also closing up to 140 restaurants, according to a statement from The Wendy's Co. on October 31.
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Teresa Gubbins contributed to this story.

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