Speakeasy News
Funky Fort Worth brewpub unveils speakeasy bar with pizza on the side
A Fort Worth restaurant is about to debut an ultra-trendy new spinoff. Funky Picnic Brewery & Café, the brewpub in the Near Southside, is opening a speakeasy bar and pizza kitchen called The Back Room at Funky Picnic, which will occupy the space right next door at 401 Bryan Ave. #109 that was previously occupied by Black Cat Pizza, which closed in March.
According to a release, The Back Room will open on September 23. It'll be an adults-only speakeasy bar and lounge open for now on weekend nights only, Friday-Saturday-Sunday from 3-11 pm.
Co-founder/general manager Samantha Glenn says in a statement that they couldn't pass up the opportunity to expand into a connecting space and create a unique yet complementary experience.
"This led us to creating The Back Room with a more sophisticated speakeasy vibe, along with later operating hours for the 21 and older crowd," she says.
Plus, surely our October 2021 story about speakeasy bars being a big hot trend was a factor.
There'll be food from Funky Picnic chef Josh Rangel and sous chef Parker Gordon, including 10-inch pizzas such as Steak Pizza with an olive oil base, bleu cheese, steak, greens, and balsamic drizzle; and one topped with mushrooms and shaved asparagus. Tim Love just demo'd shaved asparagus on Fox 4, is that a thing now?
Anyway, in good news for Funky Picnic diners, the pizzas will also be available on the Funky Picnic menu from Tuesday–Saturday.
The bar program at the Back Room will include cocktails, beers on tap from Funky Picnic next-door, as well as experimental beer and cocktail experiences such as shareable bottles of Lambic, says cofounder and ciccerone Collin Zreet in a statement.
"In addition to limited single keg releases from head brewer Michael Harper, The Back Room will be the only place in Fort Worth to enjoy authentic Belgian Lambic on-site, alongside other mixed fermentation beers from breweries like Jester King Brewery in Austin to give customers a unique and enjoyable new experience at Funky Picnic," Zreet says.
Funky Picnic opened in 2019 and recently earned a nomination in CultureMap's annual Tastemaker Awards for 2022 Bar of the Year.