Curry News

Indian street food joins restaurant mix at buzzy new Fort Worth center

Hurry up now for Curry Up Now, coming to Fort Worth.

Photo courtesy of Curry Uo Now

An Indian street food concept is coming to Fort Worth: Curry Up Now, a chain from the West Coast, will open a location in the growing North City development at Alliance in North Fort Worth.

A spokesperson for the center says there's still no street address and it won't open for probably at least another year, since the growing North City development still has to be built. Still, we can all agree that it's never too soon to get excited about Indian food.

Curry Up Now is an Indian fast-casual concept from San Francisco, founded in 2009 as a food truck by husband-and-wife Akash and Rana Kapoor. They've since expanded to three food trucks, plus more than a dozen brick-and-mortar restaurants in Northern and Southern California, Utah, New Jersey, and Georgia.

Their motto is "not your average Indian fare," with fun items such as a tandoori fried chicken sandwich, sweet potato waffle fries with hot & sweet tomato dipping sauce, and fried cheese ravioli with tikka masala dip.

Signature dishes include:

Tikka Masala Burritos
Deconstructed Samosas
Indian-style tacos
Naughty Naan

There is also a section of Indian street food snacks and more traditional dishes like Thali Platters, Kathi Rolls, and Bhel Puri; plus craft cocktails and bar bites.

One of the largest mixed-use developments in the southwest, the North City development is on fire, with other coming-soons that include super-buzzy Portillo's, Snooze an AM Eatery, Velvet Taco, and Kura Revolving Sushi.

Curry Up Now CEO Akash Kapoor acknowledges the specialness of the center, stating, "We couldn’t have asked for a better location and a better team for our next location in the great state of Texas."

The first location in Texas opened at Grandscape in The Colony in 2021. There's also a Curry Up Now presence in Dallas as part of the Kitchen United take-out counter inside the Kroger store at 5665 E. Mockingbird Ln.; however, that is just a commissary kitchen doing Curry Up Now dishes and not anyone actually connected with the concept.

The franchisee bringing Curry Up Now to Fort Worth is Ekam Gourmet Kitchens, LLC, a female-run franchise group led by Samyuktha Kilaru and Kiran Khajuria, who boast more than 25 years of experience in logistics and customer service, including Kilaru’s experience working in the food business.

They've been committed to bringing Curry Up Now to DFW for at least two years, and now finally have the perfect space.

“We’re beyond excited to have found the perfect location to bring this concept to Fort Worth,” Kilaru says. “North City is the kind of development we’d been targeting, and it will be the perfect home to display the dynamic flavors and bright energy that makes Curry Up Now such an exciting experience. The people of Forth Worth are really going to love it.”

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