News You Can Eat

Exciting new openings on the horizon in this Fort Worth restaurant news

This burger comes to you via Whiskey Cake.

Courtesy of Whiskey Cake

This roundup of dining news around Fort Worth includes tasty bites about new openings, new menus, and new seasonal specials, including a tempting vegan version of shepherd's pie.

Here's what's happening in Fort Worth restaurant news:

Whiskey Cake Kitchen & Bar, a successful Dallas-based chain that dubs itself a neighborhood joint for craft cocktails and comfort food, is opening its first location in Fort Worth. A spokesperson confirms that a restaurant is opening at Alliance Town Center North, at 3001 Amador Dr., although there's no forecast for when. Named for the decadent dessert, they do classic American dishes and wood-grilled food in a rustic atmosphere. There are currently nine locations in Las Colinas, Plano, Uptown Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, and Tampa, with another set to open in Austin this spring.

Flower Child, the healthy, happy fast-casual restaurant, has opened its first location in Fort Worth, in the heart of University Park Village between Downtown Fort Worth and Texas Christian University's campus. The eatery from Fox Restaurant Concepts offers a wide-ranging menu that caters to all dietary lifestyles, from vegetarian and vegan to gluten-free, and features a selection of signature lemonades and kombucha on tap, along with wine, sangria, and local craft beers. The Fort Worth restaurant is Flower Child’s 10th location in Texas.

Marco's Pizza, the Ohio-based pizza chain that is home to "authentic Italian quality pizza," is opening a location in Fort Worth, in the Lincoln Village center at 6322 Camp Bowie Blvd. #6330. Obviously this is a welcome arrival, as there are currently only 16 locations in the Fort Worth area, although most are outside of the city center a la North Richland Hills, Burleson, Keller, Bedford, Arlington, and Roanoke. This is maybe a good time to mention that there is amazing pizza being slung a few blocks down Camp Bowie at Pizza Verde, 5716 Locke Ave., featuring pizzas topped with ingredients such as potato and leek. Back to Marco's, there's another Marco's opening in Grapevine, at 2150 W. Northwest Hwy., which their website says is "coming soon."

Spiral Diner, the acclaimed DFW vegan chain, has a great new Blue Plate Special for April: Shepherd's Pie, with a Spiral twist on the classic Irish comfort dish, featuring a savory base of Beyond Meat, onions, carrots, peas, spices, and VioLife cheese topped with perfectly browned mashed potatoes.

Thirsty Lion Gastropub has a new spring menu featuring spicy Moroccan meatballs seasoned with Moroccan harissa and spices, salmon cakes, blackened salmon Caesar salad, Wagyu burger with prosciutto, onions, cheddar, arugula, and pimento remoulade, Korean sweet-spicy baby back ribs & kimchi fried rice, lemon pepper shrimp with cilantro jasmine rice & asparagus, and whiskey apple crumble with cinnamon-pecan streusel topping. It's available through June 26 at both their locations in Irving and Euless.

Nourish Daily with Smoothie King is a smoothie subscription launched exclusively in Dallas-Fort Worth on April 12. Nourish Daily provides customizable purpose-driven smoothies in space-saving recyclable packaging with the convenience of free scheduled delivery. They send frozen ingredients and powder; you add 8 ounces of non-dairy milk, coconut water, or juice. Flavors include Veggie Mango with pineapple, mango, kale, and spinach; and Keto Berry with raspberries, blueberries, spinach, and almonds. The smallest quantity is a 7-smoothie package for about $50.

Corner Bakery has new limited-time menu offerings starting April 19 and available through June, including Hazelnut Cold Brew, Blueberry Topped Pancakes, and a variety of newly filled croissants including chocolate, strawberry & cream cheese, and apple. They're also bringing back Chicken Rosa Pasta with cavatappi, chicken, parmesan, spinach, tomato, pesto, and tomato cream sauce.

Razzoo's has a new Creole crab cake appetizer with two flash-fried crab cakes for $15, available through July 3.

Church's Chicken is launching a new Texas-sized meal and combo, with three-piece legs and thighs, two sides, a biscuit, and a jalapeno pepper, for $6. A Texas-sized combo comes with a large drink, for $7.49, available through May 29.

news-you-can-eat

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.

closings