This roundup of restaurant news in Fort Worth includes some high-profile BBQ activity, including openings, celebrity appearances, and coming-soons. There's also news of pizza, dumplings, fried chicken, and Mexican food.

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

West + Stone is a new "high-concept eatery” opening at the Sheraton Fort Worth Downtown Hotel where it will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The hotel gave Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. a sneak peek of the space, part of an extensive $53 million renovation from the lobby to the rooftop.

Ribbee's, the spinoff of Fort Worth's top-ranked Goldee's BBQ, has opened on the east side of Fort Worth, at 923 E. Seminary Dr., in a former Sonic, where it's specializing in baby back ribs, along with sides like mac & cheese and French fries.Partner Jonny White will be running the day-to-day.

Goldee's BBQ received a celebrity visit on March 3: Hunky actor Jon Hamm, who is in town working on the Landman TV series, visited the restaurant with his wife.

Tia's on the Bluff, the Mexican eatery that first opened in 2017 at 1301 Bluff St. in a former home just north of downtown, is getting ready to return. The restaurant from Patricia "Patsy" Ann Sotelo Villarreal, known for their chicken mole and great hospitality, closed in 2023 to do some remodeling but will reopen in March once construction is finished.

Rita’s Italian Ice & Frozen Custard opened a location in South Arlington at 6275 S. Cooper St. on March 1. Founded in May 1984, in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, the chain is known for its Italian ice, frozen custard, gelati, and specialty frozen treats. It now has approximately 550 shops in more than 30 states.

Terry Black's BBQ is beginning construction on a new location coming to Fort Worth. It's going up on the site of a former Wendy's at 2926 W. 7th St. and will be the fourth for the chain, following Dallas, Austin, and Lockhart. Architecture firm Gensler shared renderings of the project, which will be 6,400 square feet with a 1,400-square-foot smoker building, and will cost $6 million to build.

Terry Black's BBQRendering by Gensler

Bojangles, the very popular Southern fried chicken chain, is opening a location in Bedford in a former Cheddars space 1937 Airport Fwy. According to an alert from the city of Bedford, the Cheddars is being torn down to be replaced by a new build, and the restaurant is expected to be open by the end of 2024.

Noodle Works is an authentic family-run Chinese restaurant that recently opened in Southlake at 250 Randol Mill Ave #140 in the same area as Sprouts. Inspired by food from the northeast area of China, it features noodles, dumplings, bao, and pot stickers all made by hand in dishes such as Lanzhou spicy beef noodles, chicken noodle soup, and Dan Dan Noodles with a spicy sauce featuring crushed peanuts.

Mama’s Pizza, the Fort Worth pizza chain founded in 1968, is opening a location in Keller at 1801 S. Main St. #109, in a former Golden Corral The chain serves East Coast-style pizza, wings, salads, and sandwiches, according to its website. According to a spokesperson, they're aiming for an early summer opening.

Hao's Grocery & Cafe is launching dumplings, starting March 7. Offerings will rotate each week and will always include a vegetarian option. This week's menu has pork, beef, and curry potato. Dumpling hours will be Thursday-Friday 12-6 pm, and Saturday-Sunday 12-3 pm.

Yogurtland self-serve frozen yogurt chain has brought back its Lucky Irish Mint flavor, plus gummy rainbow cluster toppings.

DQ restaurants in Texas have new Carolina Reaper Tacos, a limited-time item with Carolina Reaper-infused Monterey Jack cheese, ground beef, lettuce, tomato, and cilantro lime crema sauce.

Dunkin’ Spiked is a line of Spiked Iced Coffees and Spiked Iced Teas, the brand’s first excursion into the hard-tea space and features four flavors – Slightly Sweet, Half & Half, Strawberry Dragonfruit Refresher, and Mango Pineapple Refresher. The Spiked Iced Tea line up has an ABV of 5% and comes in a Mix Pack and a 6-pack of the Slightly Sweet Spiked Iced Tea. The Spiked Iced Coffee line up has an ABV of 6% and features four flavors; Original, Caramel, Mocha, and Vanilla, in a Mix Pack and a 4-pack of 12-oz cans, sold at Kroger, HEB, Spec's, Circle K and Buc-ee's.

Beyond Meat unveiled its revamped plant-based burgers, with more protein and less sodium, plus swapping in avocado oil and swapping out canola and coconut oils. They're made from peas, red lentils, faba beans, and brown rice.

KFC has introduced the Chizza, a new creation combining chicken and pizza, featuring fried chicken as a "crust" topped with marinara, mozzarella, and pepperoni, sold a la carte or as part of a combo meal. The Chizza made its debut in the Philippines in 2015 and has since appeared on menus in Korea, Taiwan, India, Thailand, Germany, Spain, Mexico, and others. It's part of their effort to attract younger and more diverse customers. Younger customers prefer boneless chicken to chain’s traditional bone-in chicken, and KFC has previously launched nuggets, chicken sandwiches, and chicken wraps.

North Richland Hills City Hall has created a new Restaurant Guide to help residents sort through the more-than-70 eateries located in the city, which also includes a sub-list of fast food and coffee establishments.