Southside Fort Worth restaurant goes dark after employee protest, online disputes

The Southside Rambler restaurant has gone dark, apparently closed for now after one of the most short and turbulent runs ever for a Fort Worth restaurant.

Two days after former employees protested out front over a workplace dispute, the two-month-old restaurant did not open Wednesday and the space was being marketed to other operators, according to other restaurateurs who have been approached about the property.

The restaurant’s Instagram and official Facebook pages are no longer active. The phone rang unanswered.

Southside Rambler opened in mid-May as a Fort Worth spinoff from the Tipsy Oak in Arlington, a popular patio restaurant in the Urban Union neighborhood.

The loud patio music immediately drew noise complaints in the surrounding Fairmount neighborhood. City inspectors visited as recently as last week to remind managers about state health orders that require patrons to stay 6 feet away, according to a city code compliance spokeswoman.

In a June 3 report, the Fort Worth Weekly said that employees and patrons were not maintaining the required 6-foot distance. Co-owner Julia Cary von Ehrenfried had been tangling with commenters on social media about the state health orders and the need for COVID-19 precautions, according to the Weekly.

Kevin von Ehrenfried, owner and founder of Tipsy Oak and Southside Rambler, did not return repeated messages last week.

Southside Rambler moved into a former barber shop, key shop and used car lot that was remodeled and originally opened as La Zona on Magnolia.

This story was originally published July 27, 2020 at 5:45 AM.