Heim Barbecue sets plan for Weatherford restaurant; owners make more Fort Worth moves
A former cowboy steakhouse and bar in Weatherford will become the next Heim Barbecue, co-owner Will Churchill said.
The sprawling former Montana restaurant, 1910 S. Main St., will be remodeled into a large barbecue serving line, bar and patio to open by fall, Churchill said.
Montana closed in December after 25 years, and the contents are up for auction online.
The original Montana in Stephenville, open since 1992, continues at 1376 W. Washington St.
Heim, a Central Texas-style restaurant known for candied pork belly “bacon burnt ends,” closed a Burleson location to move to the new Weatherford space.
The 9,400-square-foot Burleson space, 139 W. Ellison St., is for rent and has drawn interest from several regional grill-and-bar restaurants, Churchill said.
The 6,000-square-foot Weatherford restaurant will have a traditional barbecue service line, a larger bar than other Heim restaurants and a meat market, he said.
“I still think Weatherford is an underserved market for barbecue,” Churchill said.
Much-praised Dayne’s Craft BBQ in Aledo has drawn attention to Parker County.
“Dayne does a great job, but that’s 20 minutes away,” Churchill said.
Texas Monthly magazine has praised the Tailgaters BBQ food truck, 321 E. Oak St., but there is room in the Weatherford market for a larger-volume restaurant with catering, he said.
Heim has three locations in Fort Worth and Dallas. Founders Emma and Travis Heim opened in a food trailer near Interstate 35W at the current Panther City BBQ location, then partnered with Churchill for locations in south and west Fort Worth and near Love Field in Dallas.
Churchill took over running the restaurants in March. The culinary leadership is the same and nothing has changed, he said, except for a couple of the side dishes and new, lower prices.
For example, Heim is now $2-$5 per pound cheaper than the new Fort Worth location of Austin-based Terry Black’s BBQ.
Churchill and his sister, Corrie Fletcher, are also partners with restaurateur Hao Tran in a new Vietnamese cafe and grocery, Duong DeVille, to open in their Entrepreneur Park headquarters complex, 405 S. Loop 820 West (Jim Wright Freeway) in White Settlement.
More restaurant spaces will be available in the horseshoe-shaped complex, Churchill said.
Also, the Churchills recently closed the pizza restaurant and patio at their Fort Brewery, 2737 Tillar St., but kept the adjacent brewery.
The restaurant and patio space is available, Churchill said.
This story was originally published January 6, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
