This Fort Worth soul food restaurant is now a national culinary landmark
Drew’s Place Restaurant has been a fixture in Fort Worth’s Como neighborhood since 1991.
The restaurant, at the corner of Horne Street and Curzon Avenue, is owned and operated by Drew and Stephanie Thomas and their daughter, Krystal. It is known for soul food and fried chicken and is a cherished neighborhood destination.
On Monday, the restaurant was announced as one of 50 U.S. historic small restaurants that will receive $50,000 from American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The grants are given as part of the organizations’ Backing Historic Small Restaurants program, which invests in small, independent restaurants that serve as cultural and culinary landmarks across the U.S.
The Thomases were excited to be chosen for the grant and the opportunity to revitalize their business in the historically Black Como neighborhood.
“We entered in hopes of just being heard,” Stephanie Thomas said.
The family plans to use the money to improve the restaurant’s curb appeal. This will include new paint, an expanded outdoor patio seating, the addition of a mural on the wall facing their parking lot, a covered area for their walk-up customers, new lighting, and a remodeled sign.
They plan for construction to be finished by the end of the year.
When you enter the restaurant, you see celebrity photos of athletes and actors who have eaten at Drew’s Place, such as Will Smith, who visited Como in the ‘90s during a summer tour. Black and white family pictures, Arlington Heights High School shirts, newspaper clippings and awards also line the restaurant’s walls.
Drew Thomas played football at Texas Tech and has his jerseys framed with team photos, includuing coaches such as Bill Parcells, who recruited him to the team.
Born and raised in Fort Worth, Drew Thomas attended Arlington Heights High School, then went to Texas Tech University, and came back home to work at a steakhouse called The Keg off Camp Bowie Boulevard. After working as a dish washer and bussing tables he learned how to cut prime rib and how to cook steaks.
The experience helped grow his love of the restaurant business and cooking for people. His goal was to make the best steaks possible.
“I didn’t want anybody to send their steak back that night when I worked,” he said.
Drew Thomas opened his first restaurant in the Forest Hill neighborhood in 1987 before moving it to its first Como location in 1991 and its current location in 1998. First called Drew’s Sandwich Shoppe, the menu was expanded in response to customer suggestions and today focuses on soul food. The restaurant’s fried chicken was one of three finalists in the Star-Telegram’s Readers’ Choice poll for the best fried chicken in 2022.
The Thomases have given back to the community by providing meals to senior citizens and the homeless, and catering banquets and events.
The Como community last year won neighborhood of the year award from the Neighborhoods USA conference. It has a strong community neighborhood association, and this recognition will add another positive spotlight, Stephanie Thomas said.
“I really do thank and appreciate the National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express for just giving us this opportunity to just kind of recover, grow, thrive through this grant,” Stephanie Thomas said. “And we hope that it makes them proud, as proud as it has made us, and make our community proud as well.”
This story was originally published August 25, 2025 at 5:04 PM.
