Hedary's Last Night
Fort Worth Mediterranean restaurant institution goes out with a pop

One of the oldest restaurants on Fort Worth's west side is on the move.
Hedary's Mediterranean Restaurant will close its location on Camp Bowie Boulevard and relocate to a new space this spring.
"I have decided to close the location on Camp Bowie as of January 1, so Thursday will be our last day," according to owner Joseph Hedary, who says the rent at Camp Bowie is too high.
He leases the space and pays $5,200 a month in rent. "The rent is killing me," he says.
Hedary's first opened in 1976 on White Settlement Road. Two years later, it moved to its current location in The Village at Camp Bowie shopping center. The location has been the site for fond memories for many Fort Worthians, with many a bowl of hummus enjoyed. The restaurant makes its hummus from scratch, starting with dry garbanzo beans.
Joseph took it over last year after closing his own restaurant, Celaborelle Phoenician, on the south side. Customers followed him to Hedary's, where he duplicated Celaborelle's lower prices and larger portions. The menu includes Mediterranean-style pizza, fatoosh, baked chicken, and stuffed eggplant.
In early December, Hedary placed an ad for the restaurant on Craigslist, asking $35,000 for the restaurant's furniture and equipment, including a brick oven he uses to bake bread and pizzas. His new location is at 2257 Hemphill Blvd.
"Moving to Hemphill just makes more sense to me," he says. "I own that building. I won't have to pay any rent. I can close it when I need to and not have to worry about how I'm going to pay the rent."
Other members of the Hedary family own Byblos Lebanese Restaurant and Hookah Lounge on the north side of Fort Worth and a second Hedary's location in Allen, as well as a Hedary's restaurant in Las Vegas.
Hedary says that the re-opening on Hemphill Street will take place in early spring.
"It will take some time to get organized, we will keep everyone updated on when we will reopen because there will be work to be done," he says.
Meanwhile he encourages customers to celebrate New Year's Eve at the current location.
"We will be discounting our beers and wine so we can sell all of it by Thursday," he says. "If you plan on drinking this New Year's Eve, this is the place."
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