Burger News

Burger joint on Fort Worth's Near Southside to close after 2 years

Farewell to Vice Burger

Vice Burger

A Fort Worth burger joint with a vegan menu is closing: Vice Burger, a fast-casual restaurant with vegan burgers and shakes, located in the Near Southside district at 1515 W. Magnolia Ave., is closing after two years.

According to a post from owners Charlsye Lewis and Marcus Brunt, the restaurant will close on June 22.

“We’ve loved serving this community and your support has meant the world to us,” the post read. “Be sure to come try our amazing house made Camp Bowie burger at Boulevard of Greens — just a few minutes west.”

Vice Burger started as a pop-up spinoff of the owners’ other vegan restaurant and juice bar, Boulevard of Greens. They opened Vice Burger as a full restaurant — in a former poke bowl space in an old 1935 building — in November 2023.

Signature items included the Vice burger, a plant-based burger topped with American cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and pickles; Vice dog with an Impossible hot dog, cheese sauce, chopped onions, and pickles; and spiral shaped sidewinder fries. They also offered loaded tater tots and kale and Caesar salads.

Shakes were another draw, made from non-dairy vegan gelato in flavors such as chocolate, strawberry, and peach.

It was a small, cute space with indoor seating limited to counter seating and bar stools. It was bright with neon wall signs, a pink and blue color scheme, and gold hanging lights. They made up for the limited seating with a spacious patio with bench seats to enjoy meals.

The restaurant is closed Mondays and Tuesdays, but will be open the rest of the week for those who want to stop by the restaurant for one last bite.

“Join us these final days to enjoy your favorite plant-based burgers one more time - while supplies last,” the post read. “Let’s go out with good vibes, great food, and lots of smiles! Thanks for living life on the veg! Hopefully we'll see y'all in the future!”

closings burgers

Bagel News

New shop Branded Bagels in Northlake does it New York style

Branded

Branded Bagel

A bagel shop serving New York-style bagels has opened in Northlake: Called Branded Bagels, it’s an indie shop in a new-ish shopping center at 1242 FM 407 #300 in Northlake Commons, where it opened softly in May, with an official opening on July 10.

Branded Bagels was founded by couples Peter & Christie Wangoe, and Craig & Andrea Wilkinson, friends who were inspired to open a shop after taking a life-changing bagel tour in New York two years ago.

With Branded, their goal is to replicate a New York-style bagel with the contrast of a chewy inside and a crispy shell, and bring it to Texas.

“We went to New York several more times, got some recipes, came back, and built it from the ground up,” Christie says. “It probably took 75 recipes to get to the plain bagel recipe that we love. We’ve had people come from the East Coast and say it’s just like a New York bagel."

To achieve the desired texture, they use a multi-rack oven which steams, then bakes the bagels.

They serve 14 to 16 bagel varieties such as Sesame, Everything, Garlic, Onion, Poppyseed, Cinnamon Raisin, and Jalapeno Cheddar. They have more than a dozen cream cheese schmears, all made in house in creative varieties such as honey almond, sundried tomato, spicy bacon, and birthday cake.

They offer a weekly rotating flavor such as the Asiago bagel and a hot honey maple bacon schmear. Single bagels are $4; a dozen are $22.

The bagels can also be ordered in breakfast and lunch sandwiches such as bacon, egg & cheese; Caprese with pesto cream cheese schmear drizzled with Balsamic vinegar; and salmon lox, starting at $6. They also have hot and iced coffee, and soft serve ice cream.

Although it's a new venture, Christie says that she and Andrea always enjoyed being in the kitchen, trying new recipes, and cooking for family gatherings.

They chose to open in Northlake because of personal connections to the community and closeness to home. The space is rustic-chic, with gray brick counters and indoor and patio seating.

"We had a vision and it was a big leap of faith, but we wanted to serve the community in Northlake," Christie says.

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