News You Can Eat

Healthy takeout arrives and more Fort Worth restaurant news

What a bountiful board this is.

Photo courtesy of Meyer & Sage

There is news here of grand openings, new menus, new breweries, and new cider spots. There's also a closure or two. Last but not least, there's a freebie souvenir cup being given out at Starbucks that'll get you a drink discount through the holidays.

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

Meyer & Sage is a new chef-driven meal delivery service in the Foundry District at 2621 Whitmore St., where it's offering grab-and-go salads, sandwiches, snack boxes, grazing boards, jarred items, and oven-ready meals. They're using organic pastured chicken and turkey, wild-caught seafood, and organic pastured eggs. The storefront also has local retail and unique gifts, a semi-private dining room for events, and demonstration-style cooking classes and workshops. Grab-and-go items will be delivered to their storefront Monday through Saturday.

Saladworks is opening its first DFW-area location on November 6 at 3000 E. Southlake Blvd., at the Gateway Plaza in Southlake. The specialty salad, grain bowl, and toast restaurant identified Dallas as its latest priority market, and plans to open 20 locations over the next few years.

Green Gator, a Cajun restaurant in Frisco, is opening a location at the Toyota Music Factory in early 2019. It'll be adjacent to Texas Lottery Plaza, directly beside newly signed Reservoir and across from Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. Known for its family-friendly, casual atmosphere with sports and live music, Green Gator will add a special Southern New Orleans flair. Owners are Jeff Coleman and Ash Mansinghani; Coleman is also a musician.

Babe's Chicken Dinner House is opening a new location in North Richland Hills, at 6720 Northeast Loop 820, on property where the former city library and recreation center were, and before that, North Richland Hills Church of Christ. Owner Paul Vinyard told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that the city requested they open a restaurant there, and that it will be their first restaurant on a highway. There'll be the trademark fried chicken, smoked chicken, and chicken fried steak. Sweetie Pie's Ribeyes, a Babe's sibling in Decatur that does steak and home cooking, will open next to Babe's in summer 2019. Babe's was founded in Roanoke in 1993, and now has locations in Garland, Sanger, Carrollton, Burleson, Granbury, Frisco, Cedar Hill, and Arlington.

The Smoke Pit, a barbecue restaurant and tavern on Belknap Street, closed on September 28. Owner Sam Gibbins will reopen another Fort Worth restaurant nearby: Sammie’s Bar-B-Q, at 3801 E. Belknap St.

Shep's Off the Hook Seafood is a new restaurant opening at 3005 University Dr. in the former Salsa Limon Universidad spot. Shep's comes from John David Shepherd, who currently owns Shep's Place and Saltwater in Weatherford. The new Shep's will serve fried chicken, fish and chips, and crab cakes.

Barrel & Bones, a barbecue joint from The Colony, has opened at 2600 W. Seventh St., in Montgomery Plaza. The menu has brisket, sausage, ribs, and chicken, along with a huge selection of whiskey and bourbon. It'll soon be joined by sibling restaurant Bourbon Street Oyster Bar & Grill.

Rogers Roundhouse is a restaurant and beer garden opening in a former air conditioning service warehouse behind University Park Village, at 1616 Rogers Rd., in early 2019. Owners are Tommy Koons and Bourke Harvey, who are celebrating the historic relationship between Fort Worth and the railroad industry. It will have a spacious patio, TVs throughout, simple yet innovative food, and 30 taps. The menu and decor will nod to the railway industry.

Cowtown Brewing Co. is a new craft beer brewery, now open at 1301 W. Belknap St., with half a dozen beers on tap and more to come. They also serve barbecue, smoked on site.

Locust Cider is a cider company now open at 710 S. Main St., from brothers Jason and Patrick Spears, who founded Locust Cider in Washington state. They'll have 10 ciders on tap with five standard flavors and five seasonals.

Ginger Man closed its location in Fort Worth at 3716 Camp Bowie Blvd. A representative confirmed that the building will be demolished.

Bartaco has a new fall menu with dishes such as miso cod taco, red and golden beets with goat cheese, beet and kale and goat cheese salad, stewed black beans with sofrito, horchata caramel panna cotta, and pozole pork stew.

97 West, a restaurant inside Hotel Drover, a Marriott boutique hotel under construction at the Stockyards, has hired Jenna Kinard, one-time chef at Max's Wine Dive in Fort Worth.

Starbucks is giving customers who order a holiday beverage on November 2 a free, limited-edition reusable red cup, while supplies last. Customers who bring their reusable holiday cup to a participating Starbucks company-owned or licensed store after 2 pm from November 3 to January 7 will get 50 cents off any grande holiday beverage.

openings

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