This old-time Fort Worth restaurant has a new owner. He says it’ll all stay the same
The Star Cafe has been known for 42 years as one of Fort Worth’s best steak bargains.
That won’t change under new owner Chris Flores, he said last week.
Flores takes over May 1 at a Stockyards steakhouse known for its “baseball cut” top sirloin, chicken-fried steaks, burgers, pork chops and for salads with olive vinaigrette house dressing.
These days, it’s also known as an easy-going lunch cafe away from the Mule Alley crowds at 111 W. Exchange Ave.
That’s exactly why Flores bought it.
“The Star Cafe needs to stay like it is,” he said.
“There aren’t many places out here now where you don’t pay $16 for a drink or $25 for a cheeseburger. I want to keep the Star the Star. Let’s have someplace where local people can eat for a reasonable price.”
The bar-and-grill actually opened in the mid-1930s as Edna’s Star Cafe.
It was known mostly as the Star Cafe until it was remodeled in the 1970s into one of the early Black-eyed Pea Restaurant locations.
An accountant and salesman for Superior Meat Co., Don Boles, brought back the Star in July 1980. He built a reputation for inexpensive steaks rubbed with lemon and garlic, and for chicken-fried steaks.
He’s retiring at 86.
“I just want to be a good steward,” Flores said.
“The first thing out of everyone’s mouth is, ‘You’re not going to change it, are you?’ “
That’s partly because Flores was a Paschal High School classmate of “1883” and “Yellowstone” producer Taylor Sheridan, believed to be an investor on other developments along West Exchange Avenue in storefronts used in “1883.”
Flores catered some here for “1883,” he said.
But he’s not a Stockyards tenderfoot.
“I did my fair share of hanging out in PR’s and all these places,” he said.
He mentioned a new coffee shop and more variety along with the street’s country dance bars.
“It’s moving in the right direction,” he said.
Right now, the only change he has in mind for the Star is a throwback.
He wants to bring back the meatloaf lunch special Wednesdays, he said, and maybe restore Tuesday service.
For now, the Star is open for lunch and dinner Wednesdays through Saturdays; 817-624-8701, starcafefortworth.com.
This story was originally published April 18, 2022 at 5:45 AM.
