Crockett Row food hall ‘permanently closed,’ latest shutdown in Fort Worth’s West 7th
Crockett Hall, a bar with a food court that opened three years ago as a trendy “food hall” concept, has closed, leaving another vacancy in the struggling Crockett Row bar district and West 7th neighborhood.
A sign reading “Permanently Closed” was posted Wednesday. The Facebook page had announced a temporary closing Dec. 28 due to “a shortage in staff due to illness.”
Christmas decorations were visible through windows Thursday along with a fully stocked bar. A letter on the door notified tenants that the locks have been changed.
Originally the Food Hall at Crockett Row, it opened as a chef John Tesar concept with his Knife Burger and bar surrounded by a food court-like lineup of restaurants, bakeries and coffee shops near the Cultural District and Stock Show rodeo grounds.
It launched small businesses such as Press Waffle from the ABC series “Shark Tank,” but it never prospered despite drawing a series of popular kiosks.
One of the most popular kiosks, Shawarma Bar, closed about two months ago.
Hooker’s Grill, a busy Stockyards restaurant known for Oklahoma-style grilled-onion burgers, replaced Knife Burger and operated about six months but closed during the pandemic in 2021, owner Ruth Hooker said.
“It was just not going to work,” she said. “There was no outdoor dining, and one of the biggest problems was parking.”
.jpg "Crockett Row Food Hall (1).jpg")
A parking garage next door went little-used, and diners didn’t want to pay meters.
A name change to Crockett Hall didn’t help.
The hall offered top-rated shawarma, poke and dumplings, originally with barbecue from Not Just Q. But it had nothing traditional like “an awesome coffee shop or great chicken,” Hooker said.
“If you go to the food hall in Oklahoma City or Plano, they have activities and it’s fun,” she said. “This felt sterile.”
The Crockett Hall shutdown follows the closings nearby of Dallas-based Blue Fish Sushi and Fort Worth-based Fred’s Texas Cafe, which is moving to a west side location.
This story was originally published January 6, 2022 at 1:35 PM.
