For lack of help, chef closes burger-biscuit grill near Texas Wesleyan in Fort Worth
Celebrity chef Ben Merritt has closed his Ben’s Triple B burger grill, an anchor of the Rosedale Renaissance development across from Texas Wesleyan University.
The restaurant, 3020 E. Rosedale St., closed May 25, partly because Merritt was unable to replace five workers who left at the end of the semester, he said.
“We’ve been trying to hire for two months and haven’t been able to get anybody,” Merritt said, echoing many Texas restaurateurs unable to replace lost workers since the COVID pandemic and four years of reduced immigration.
University President Fred Slabach said several other operators have asked about the space already and “stay tuned!”
Merritt has won local contests as the chef of Fixture Kitchen, 401 W. Magnolia Ave., and also won a 2019 season on TV’s “Chopped.”
Ben’s Triple B — biscuits, burgers and brews — opened two years ago, featuring Merritt’s jumbo biscuits made with Greek yogurt.
But it opened just before the chicken sandwich craze took hold, and the “Triple B” soon was selling as much bird as burger.
In a note posted on the door, Merritt attributed the closing to “the aftermath effects of the pandemic & staffing struggles,” saying that the “rising costs of products and minimal staff has resulted in not being able to operate the restaurant in any way that resembles hospitality.
“It has been an absolute blessing and pleasure to serve the Polytechnic neighborhood,” Merritt wrote.
This story was originally published June 3, 2021 at 11:30 AM.
