Hotel Dining News

Seafood restaurant drops anchor at rebranded Kozy Hotel in Bedford

Fettucine alfredo with chicken at Anchor Room.

Photo courtesy of Anchor Room

A seafood restaurant from a mom-and-pop has sailed into Bedford: Called The Anchor Room, it just opened at the Kozy Hotel, a former Holiday Inn located at 3005 Airport Fwy., about seven miles from DFW Airport, where it's dishing out seafood, pasta, steaks, and cocktails.

The Anchor Room is from restaurateur Blain Bastow, an entrepreneurial sort who also owns Quickie Crab Cajun Seafood Kitchen, a Cajun seafood spot in Lewisville with his wife, Thanh Tran Bastow.

The restaurant, which is attached to the Kozy Hotel but with its own entrance, is designed to be a more refined dining experience, says Blain.

The hours are listed on Facebook as daily from 11 am-10 pm for dine-in; they also profess to provide room service from 11 am-9:30 pm.

Highlights of the menu include:

spiced redfish with yellow fried rice
beef short rib with garlic mashed potatoes
steak frites, a 12-oz NY strip with truffle fries
shrimp & grits
seafood pasta with shrimp, crawfish, and crab

There are also crab cakes, chicken meatballs served over fettucine, salt & pepper chicken wings, and a Cobb salad. Prices range from $16 for the shrimp & grits to $36 for the steak frites. There's a full bar with colorful cocktails such as a spicy watermelon margarita; beer on tap; and a wine selection that's mostly limited to "white or red?"

Bastow's experience spans several restaurant concepts and markets including Mad Dog 159 in Pennsylvania, Texas Wine & Wood (a paint-and-sip place they opened in Dallas which is now closed), Crab N Bar, and Quickie Crab.

They got a hit of notoriety in March when a car crashed through the front of Quickie Crab, and then someone broke into the restaurant a week later. They capitalized on the adversity, garnering coverage on WFAA, Fox, NBC, Telemundo, and Univision.

The couple is not shy about being in the limelight; in 2017, they took over the intercom on a Southwest Airlines flight so that Blain could recite their wedding vows.

Kozy is a new hotel brand from Kapstones, a private equity and real estate investment firm based in Florida. They introduced the first Kozy Hotel in Houston in a former Hilton Garden Inn in 2025, and opened the Bedford location in May 2026.

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Taking root

Fort Worth Botanic Garden debuts new cafe with garden-inspired fare

Flora House rendering, Fort Worth Botanic Garden, Westland Hospitality

Rendering courtesy of Fort Worth Botanic Garden

Flora House will reopen in the fall in the current Rock Springs Cafe space.

A highly anticipated new restaurant has fully bloomed at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden: Flora House Cafe, from local group Westland Hospitality, has opened its doors to diners.

Flora House took over the restaurant space that most recently operated as Rock Springs Cafe. While the cafe opened quietly in early November, a grand-opening ribbon cutting officially kicked off service on Wednesday, November 11.

Flora House's menu centers on fresh, garden-inspired fare, including wraps, sandwiches, small plates, dips, and charcuterie boards. Price range from about $5 for a cup of the Soup of the Day to $15 for a smash burger or turkey & avocado cobb salad. Sample menu items include:

Green Goddess Salad: Brussels sprouts, avocado, green cabbage, baby kale, and tzatziki-style goddess dressing
FWBG Harvest Salad: Cherry tomatoes, carrots, cucumber, red onion, herbed croutons, romaine, and dill ranch
Flora Smash Burger: Double smashed beef patty, garlic aioli, American cheese, onion, sesame seed bun
Turkey Club: Roasted turkey, cheddar, thick-cut bacon, romaine, tomatoes, red onions, lemon-tarragon aioli, sourdough
Shrimp Tacos: Mango pico, spicy remoulade, fresh avocado on corn or flour tortillas with salsa taquero and refried black beans
Shareable Mezze Planner: Lemon-herb hummus, muhammara, feta, artichokes, marinated olives, grilled pita, and crudites

Scratch-made desserts include seasonal pies, sea salt chocolate chip cookies, baked apple galette, and Curly's lavender custard - available only at Flora House.

A kids menu features mac & cheese, butter pasta, grilled chicken bites, and grilled cheese.

There's a small selection of wines by the glass; beer; and craft cocktails made with local spirits from Blackland Distillery and La Pulga Tequila.

Chef and Westland Hospitality partner Juan Rodriguez oversees the culinary program, and longtime restaurateur Paige Rodriguez manages event operations and guest experience. (Yes, they're also husband-and-wife.)

Flora House is open 11 am-4 pm daily. Hours will truncate to 11 am-2 pm during Christmas in the Garden, which runs November 20-January 3.

Flora House is open to guests who have purchased admission to the Fort Worth Botanic Garden ($14-$15 for adults, $12-$13 for seniors, $8-$9 for kids 3-15, and free for 0-2 years old). Members receive free admission to the garden and a 10 percent discount at the cafe. (Also, a little-known deal: Members of more than 400 other botanic gardens nationwide - including the Dallas Arboretum - receive free admission into the FWBG, a perk that might come in handy for out-of-town holiday visitors to Fort Worth.)

In addition to the restaurant, Westland Hospitality has been named the Fort Worth Botanic Garden's exclusive catering partner for weddings, galas, corporate events, and other private gatherings held on the grounds. They'll operate a coffee cart in another part of the garden and will host special food-focused events throughout the year, they say.

In his opening remarks at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Fort Worth Botanic Garden president and CEO Patrick Newman said Westland is more than a food and beverage vendor to the FWBG, they're a hospitality partner.

"We are in this together to provide an experience for all of the guests who come to the Fort Worth Botanic Garden for some of life's most memorable experiences, whether it's a casual visit with family, whether it's a wedding, a proposal, whether it's a memorial service," Newman said. "People come here to create emotional souvenirs, and we wanted this team to be with us when we were creating those emotional souvenirs with our guests."

The new partnership started when Westland Hospitality served as the food provider for the Fort Worth Botanic Garden's popular Christmas in the Garden event in 2025. Visitors had their pick of cuisine from some of Westland's most popular concepts: meatballs from Margie's Italian Gardens, tacos from Magdalena's, frozen hot cocoa custard from Curly's Frozen Custard, and more.

Westland will return with even more food and beverage options for the 2026 edition of Christmas in the Garden, they say. (They've revealed that Curly's will offer a Christmas Sugar Cookie frozen custard created for the event, combining vanilla frozen custard with sugar cookie crumbles, vanilla frosting, and sprinkles.)

"One hundred and twenty acres here at the Botanic Garden, and this is just the start," Juan Rodriguez said at the opening ceremony. "The cafe is our anchor to everything that's going to happen here at the garden, that we're excited about ... They have so many plans that it gets us super excited for the possibilities for our hospitality group."

Westland Hospitality's growing portfolio includes Roy Pope, Margie's Italian Gardens, Pulido's Kitchen & Cantina, JD's Hamburgers, Curly's Frozen Custard, Magdalena's Catering & Events, Westland Gardens, and Westland Bar Co.

The FWBG will open its new Baker Martin Family Garden to members beginning November 15, with a grand opening for the public planned in early 2027.

To mark Texas Recycles Day weekend, November 13-15, guests can bring one single-use plastic bag or bottle to the FWBG and receive free admission for that day, courtesy of H-E-B. The Garden opens at noon Saturday, November 14; offer is valid only on the day of your visit. More details here.

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