Sundance Square News

Fort Worth restaurant Reata settles on interim address in its relocation saga

Reata is leaving Sundance Square.

Facebook/Reata

Fort Worth restaurant Reata Restaurant, which is leaving its longtime location at at 310 Houston St. in Sundance Square, is moving to a new interim location nearby: According a release, it'll return to its original location at 530 Throckmorton St. in July 2024, where it will reside until it moves into a more permanent home still TBD.

The restaurant will be situated on the ground floor of the northeast corner of The Tower building. They're moving because their lease expires in June 2024; they'll continue to operate from their current location until June 30.

The release says they conducted a comprehensive exploration of Tarrant County, before deciding to remain in downtown Fort Worth.

And they already have history with The Tower, says Reata president Mike Micallef.

"23 years ago, an F3 tornado devastated our community, making our original Fort Worth location uninhabitable and forcing our relocation in 2001,” Micallef says. "Like Fort Worth, Reata is a testament to resilience and rebirth. Together, we will continue to create unforgettable experiences, regardless of geography."

The Tower was purchased in June 2022 by SADA Tower LLC of Texas and SADA Capital Partners LLC, an Illinois based real-estate holdings group and has already secured corporate headquarters for Fort Worth-based Dickies.

“With Reata Restaurant and Dickies’ corporate headquarters relocating to The Tower, SADA has had an inspiring entry into the Fort Worth community," says SADA Tower LLC managing Saad Sindhu in a statement. "Working together with homegrown stakeholders like Reata and Dickies will help us achieve our goal of bringing more and better opportunities into the great city of Fort Worth."

Reata was founded by Al Micallef, owner of the CF Ranch, who opened the first Reata Restaurant in Alpine, Texas in 1995. The Fort Worth location opened in 1996, then relocated to its Houston Street address in 2002.

Reata also operates three satellite locations during the annual Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo – Reata at the Rodeo, Reata at the Backstage and La Espuela.

"Reata transcends physical boundaries,” Micallef says. “It's not just about the walls that house us, the western artifacts that adorn us, or the plates and cutlery that serve us. Reata embodies the spirit of Fort Worth. What truly defines us is our community. Our location may change, but the soul of Reata – the people – remains constant.”

openings

Flair News

TGI Fridays files for bankruptcy but is still serving at DFW Airport

TGIF

TGI Fridays DFW Airport

Restaurant chain TGI Fridays filed for bankruptcy protection on November 2, saying it is looking for ways to “ensure the long-term viability” of the casual dining brand after closing many of its branches in 2024.

The Dallas-based company's Chapter 11 filing in a Texas federal court accelerates a gradual decline for an iconic chain that was once near the center of American pop culture but has seen its customer base dwindle as tastes changed.

TGI Fridays executive chairman Rohit Manocha said in a statement that the challenges were a result of COVID-19.

"The next steps announced today are difficult but necessary actions to protect the best interests of our stakeholders, including our domestic and international franchisees and our valued team members around the world," Manocha said. "The primary driver of our financial challenges resulted from COVID-19 and our capital structure. This restructuring will allow our go-forward restaurants to proceed with an optimized corporate infrastructure that enables them to reach their full potential."

Until recently, Dallas-Fort Worth had 11 locations including five at DFW Airport. Those airport locations are now the only ones still open.

Four locations all recently closed, mostly in the Dallas area, some after being in business for a decade or more including Addison, Cedar Hill, Garland, and Mesquite.

A location in Burleson closed in 2020 and is now a Twin Peaks. Arlington had two locations: 1524 N. Collins St., which closed in 2023; and 4601 S. Cooper St., which closed in mid-2022 after being having been there for decades.

There was a location at 4646 SW Loop 820 at Hulen but that closed a while ago; and a location in Keller closed in 2017. Fort Worth has been struggling without a TGI Fridays fix for a while now.

A Plano location also closed in 2022, while the flagship in Dallas' West End at 1713 Market St. closed in 2020 after 32 years.

Privately owned by TriArtisan Capital Advisors, TGI Fridays has been a beloved dining destination since its inaugural bar opened in Manhattan in 1965. It expanded over the following decades to become a ubiquitous suburban gathering spot known for its ribs, potato skins topped with cheese and bacon, and a decor bedecked with red stripes and Tiffany-style lamps.

The company has boasted that its bartenders trained Tom Cruise for his role in the 1988 film Cocktail, while its serving staff's button-filled uniforms, meant to evoke a fun atmosphere, were later parodied in the 1999 satire Office Space, starring Jennifer Aniston.

Its empire peaked in 2008 with 601 restaurants in the U.S. and a $2 billion business, according to Kevin Schimpf, director of industry research at Technomic. Its sales in the U.S. were $728 million in 2023, down 15% from the prior year, according to Technomic.

It now counts 163 restaurants in the U.S., down from 269 last year and 213 from a week ago. It closed 36 in January and dozens more in the past week. TGI Fridays Inc. said it only owns and operates 39 restaurants in the U.S, a fraction of the 461 TGI Fridays-branded restaurants around the world.

A separate entity, TGI Fridays Franchisor, owns the intellectual property and has franchised the brand to 56 independent owners in 41 countries. Those are independently owned and not part of the Chapter 11 process, and remain open.

A United Kingdom-based franchisee, Hostmore, also sought debt protection in September and abruptly closed locations throughout that country after a failed takeover deal to acquire TGI Fridays.

During the pandemic TGI Fridays made an effort to expand into the delivery market by making itself a hub for ghost kitchens, which have no storefront and only prepare food for delivery. Among the major creditors owed money by TGI Fridays is the delivery service DoorDash, according to Saturday's bankruptcy court filings.

Sit-down chain restaurants more broadly have faced challenges in recent years as diners choose to get food delivered or visit upscale fast-food chains like Chipotle and Shake Shack. In September a U.S. bankruptcy judge approved a reorganization plan for the seafood chain Red Lobster after years of mounting losses. Italian American food chain Buca di Beppo filed for bankruptcy protection in August. PAnother iconic U.S. sit-down restaurant, Denny's, announced in October that it is closing 150 of its lowest-performing restaurants in an effort to turn around the brand’s flagging sales. Wendy’s is also closing up to 140 restaurants, according to a statement from The Wendy's Co. on October 31.
________________________
Teresa Gubbins contributed to this story.

closings airport