Restaurant News Roundup

This Fort Worth restaurant news has both glad openings and sad closures

Bankhead Brewpub

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This roundup of Fort Worth restaurant news has some unfortunate news of closures, but some promising news of openings coming soon. Plus new dishes, new menus, and new doughnuts.

Here's what's happening in Fort Worth restaurant news, bad news (closures) first:

Jimboy's Tacos, the cult-favorite taco chain from California known for its unique crispy tacos dusted with Parmesan cheese, closed its location in west Fort Worth in early January. Despair not: The location at 7028 Blue Mound Rd. is still open.

La Onda, the restaurant that opened only recently at the Hotel Revel, has closed. The owners posted a notice on Facebook, apologizing to guests who'd placed reservations, and thanking the community for its support.

Eazy Monkey, the Asian-themed restaurant from chef Andrew Dilda that opened in late summer at 401 W. Magnolia Ave., has closed. Their website is disabled and they stopped doing social media posts in mid-December.

Nothing Bundt Cakes is opening a location at Alliance Town Center this weekend at 3251 Tracewood Way #111, directly across from Torchy's Tacos and CAVA. This is the 16th location in DFW for the chain, which also has locations on Camp Bowie Boulevard and in Lake Worth.

Batter & Beans, specializing in little doughnuts, plus coffee and more, has opened at 3548 South Hills Ave., south of TCU in Westcliff Center. They're doing fresh, made-to-order mini cake doughnuts plus premium coffee they're sourcing out from Metropolis, a small-batch artisan roaster from Chicago, which is the owners' hometown.

61 Osteria the Italian eatery on the west end of downtown has stopped serving lunch but has a new Apertivo Hour, an Italian-inspired happy hour from 4:30-6:30 pm, with choice of bubbly, white wine, red wine, a cocktail, or a spritz for $10, which comes with a complimentary snack.

Pizza Verde, the award-winning vegan pizzeria, has ramped up its frozen pizza operation, providing customers with frozen pizzas that are ready to take-and-bake at home. The pizzas are available at Hao's Grocery Cafe in Fort Worth, who are selling their Kimchi & Pepperoni pizza; Juice Junkies TX in Fort Worth and Keller, who are selling their Pepperoni & BBQ Chicken; Mashup Market in Denton, who are selling their Pepperoni pizza and their best-seller Three Cheese & Potato Leek; and FMG Vine in Grapevine, also selling their Pepperoni pizza and Three Cheese & Potato Leek.

Candlelite Inn Family Restaurant is offering lunch specials seven days a week until the end of January, which is this week, from 11 am-2 pm.

Bankhead Brewpub at 611 University Dr. has added new menu items including Steak Frites, Cajun Shrimp Risotto, Chevry Croquettes, and a clever Nashville Hot Pizza.

Shipley Do-Nuts has introduced its first-ever systemwide limited-time doughnut - made with freeze-dried Skittles, available now at all Dallas and the 350+ Shipley locations nationwide through March 31, or while supplies last. Shipley Do-Nuts is the first brand in the U.S. to feature the freeze-dried Skittles. It's a classic yeast doughnut with strawberry or cherry icing, topped with tangy, fruity freeze-dried Skittles bringing a light yet crunchy texture to the famed hexagon-shaped Shipley doughnut known for its fluffiness.

Yogurtland has limited-edition items to celebrate the season of love: the new Chocolate Hazelnut Lava Cake froyo made with real roasted hazelnuts and molten chocolate; the return of Chocolate Covered Strawberry froyo, inspired by the classic treat of milk chocolate-dipped strawberries; and Sour Gummy Hearts, a seasonal topping.

Girl Scout Cookie season in Northeast Texas us underway, with cookies available through February 25. You can get them from a registered Girl Scout as well as online Use the Girl Scout Cookie Finder to locate a nearby booth and support local Girl Scout troops. The cookies are being sold at the same price despite changes in our 32 counties. Little Brownie Bakers produces kosher and halal-certified cookies for the Northeast Texas Council with no high-fructose corn syrup or trans fat.

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.

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Closure News

Tropic Lady restaurant-bar on Fort Worth's Race Street says aloha