Tamale News
Tex-Mex restaurant and Yelp top favorite unwraps warm tamales for Keller
A small Tex-Mex chain that's adored for its tamales is bringing some much-appreciated positive news to the Fort Worth dining scene: Tommy Tamale Market & Cafe, which currently has two locations in Grapevine and Coppell, will open a third location in the city of Keller.
According to a notice by the city, the restaurant will open at 208 N. Main St., a space that was previously home to Tres Casas. It's anticipated to open in late summer.
Tommy Tamale is so well liked that it was rated one of the "Top 100 Places to Eat in the Nation" three separate times in tallies conducted by Yelp, besting every other restaurant in Dallas-Fort Worth for the national honor.
The rankings were determined by the number of positive reviews from Yelp users around the country. In 2017, Tommy's came in at No. 21 on the list.
Tommy Tamale is a casual cafe-market combination with a BYOB policy serving tamales, burritos, quesadillas, and salsas. Order a tamale plate and you get a choice of two or four tamales in pork, beef, chicken, habanero pork, or black bean, in both vegetarian and vegan versions, with choice of refried beans and rice or black beans and salsa, for $8.
Tommy's founder Steve Barker began selling tamales out of the back of his pickup truck, then graduated to the Grapevine farmers market, where he and his wife JoAnn set up every week for six years. They opened their first permanent location in Grapevine in 2015, and Coppell in 2018.
In addition to tamales, the award-winning cafe also serves burritos, quesadillas, tamale pies, and nachos, as well as more than 70 varieties of dips and salsas and accompaniments from their on-site market.
Tres Casas had been in that location since 2009, where it built an enthusiastic following for dishes such as its tortas and shredded beef tacos. The restaurant initially closed on March 21, which they anticipated would be a temporary closure due to coronavirus. They called it quits for good in July.
