Catch up with the Fort Worth restaurant news you may have missed in May

During the month of May, the Fort Worth restaurant scene had a few common themes: reviews of Tex-Mex brunch spots, goodbyes to small-scale grocery markets and hellos to some new steakhouses.

Bud Kennedy reviewed two new(ish) establishments: Tinie’s, and the brunch at Tacos and Avocados. Tinie’s now serves weekend brunch, with a Fort Worth favorite, chilaquiles. Tacos and Avocados also serves chilaquiles, as well as cornmeal pancakes, which Kennedy says is “a brunch comparable to a nicer restaurant menu.”

Three grocery markets in Fort Worth will no longer be considered “markets.” 83-year-old Roy Pope Grocery will be remodeled into a restaurant and bar with the Roy Pope name. Bodega South Main used to be a neighborhood market and is now a breakfast-lunch-and-takeout café. And finally, Hao’s Grocery and Café is transitioning into a full-service tea shop and deli.

As for steakhouses, five new restaurants are on the docket with steak on the menu. Here’s the full scoop from last month.

Fort Worth restaurants we reviewed:

• The Vandy is a new restaurant inside Arlington’s $60 million Caravan Court Hotel near AT&T Stadium, which opened June 1, leading a menu of steaks, salmon and salads.
• Atomic Wings returned to Texas with a new Fort Worth location at 1229 Eighth Ave. Different from the previous Arlington location, this one focuses on giant chicken wings, tenders and sandwiches with 15 sauce and rub options. There’s even a small bar.
• Tacos & Avocados in Benbrook impressed with a Tex-Mex weekend brunch featuring cornmeal pancakes with caramelized pineapple and chilaquiles, served Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Kennedy says: “My advice is to set your alarm.”
• Tinies launched a new weekend brunch menu with chilaquiles, blue corn pancakes and steak-and-eggs. Offering patio seating with terrace views of the downtown Fort Worth skyline. Oh, and there is valet!
• Bodega South Main is shifting from a neighborhood grocery to a full breakfast-lunch-and-takeout café. They serve huge sandwiches, quiche and desserts. We tried the turkey Reuben on bakery rye with a spicy Russian dressing.
• Reporter Ella Gonzales found brisket, sausage and a side for under $25 at Woody Creek Bar-B-Q near Ridgmar Mall. Barbecue was the most requested “On a Budget” item and she found brisket prices that start at $7.45.
• Fort Worth Food Works, a 10,000-square-foot ghost kitchen off White Settlement, houses 13 individual restaurants options for takeout or delivery.

Don’t miss these DFW restaurant updates:

• The owners of Chimy’s are teaming with a Dallas fly-fishing shop to open Levee Porch along the Trinity River next summer. The new restaurant and beer garden will serve burgers, cheesesteaks and Cuban sandwiches.
• Station & Vine, a new prime steakhouse and wine bar, will open this summer inside the 1931-vintage Fort Worth T&P commuter rail station at 221 W. Lancaster Ave.
• The 83-year-old Roy Pope Grocery will close May 31 and be remodeled by Westland Hospitality Group into a restaurant and bar serving Southern Americana dishes.
• Fort Worth restaurateur David Shaw survived a life-threatening chest injury and cancer, then opened Shaw’s Southwest Grille on the Granbury square last November. He plans to open Stringfellow’s bar upstairs any day now.
• The Original Mexican Eats Cafe is building a 743-square-foot drive-thru stand and patio on its old parking lot at 4733 Camp Bowie Blvd.
• After 45 years in the Cultural District, J&J Oyster Bar closed on May 30 due to the 612 University Drive building being sold.
• A $1.5 million Culpepper Cattle Co. will open in Arlington. This will be the third restaurant from Culpepper, similar to the Dallas location with the same menu of Tex-Mex, comfort food and steaks.
• The Malt Shop, a 1958 Weatherford drive-in, is expanding to Peaster at the former Merl’s 111 barbecue stand, opening by mid-June to early July.
• Stillwell’s Steakhouse in Dallas is offering a “Dine like the Duttons” four-course tasting menu for $115 per person, available only until June 21.
• Village Bakery in West, Texas — the first Texas bakery to sell kolaches 74 years ago — reopened May 23 under new owners Shelly and Darell Miller after seven years closed. And yes, the kolache recipes are the same.
• The Benouared family behind La Bistro is opening On The Rocks Italian Bistro in Old Town Burleson later this year at 135 W. Ellison St. The new restaurant will sell steak, seafood and pastas.
• Wayback Burgers opened another location in Hickory Creek under franchisee Thomas Kincaid, though it’s not affiliated with local favorites Jake’s Burgers or Kincaid’s Burgers.
• Taqueria La Revolucion in Haltom City made Texas Monthly’s “25 Best New Texas Taquerias” list and opened a second location in North Richland Hills at 7509 Grapevine Highway.
• Portland-based Salt & Straw opened its first Fort Worth location on Magnolia Avenue on May 22 with Texas-exclusive flavors including Cream Cheese Jalapeño Jelly and a Frito pie sundae.
• Sweetie Pie’s Ribeyes in North Richland Hills closed May 15, with the Vineyard family planning to develop a new concept in the same building.
• Hao’s Grocery and Café will transition to a full-service tea shop and deli on July 1, with Cho Ke’s Arte Tea Co. and Chef Luu Lac’s plant-based dumplings and Vietnamese banh mi.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.

Ella Gonzales

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Ella Gonzales is a service journalism reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She is part of a team of local journalists who answer reader questions and write about life in North Texas. Ella mainly writes about local restaurants and where to find good deals around town.