Is this Texas restaurant location jinxed? Fort Worth spot flops for 10th time
Goat & Vine Restaurant & Winery went dark this week, the 10th restaurant in 17 years to close in a Montgomery Plaza corner that has become the Bermuda Triangle of Fort Worth dining.
A sign on the door in early April announced closing for “maintenance,” according to social media posts. But that was replaced by a legal notice from the property manager saying the locks have been changed.
Goat & Vine, originally part of a Chicago company, lasted two years. That’s considerably longer than most of its nine predecessors lasted in that back corner of the plaza’s historic main building, 2600 W. Seventh St.
The previous nine:
▪ A Fort Worth location of Mac’s Steak & Seafood.
▪ Deluxe Bar & Grill.
▪ Barrel & Bones Craft Bar and Smokehouse and neighbor Bourbon Street Oyster Bar, which divided the space.
All have come and gone since 2008, most lasting only a year on average in what had become a classic “jinxed” location.
The space faces the central driveway on the center’s West Fifth Street side.
Most nearby diners seem to be in the drive-thru line for the Chick-fil-A across the street. This location of the Atlanta-based fried chicken chain is so busy that it will soon expand to a triple drive-thru.
Goat & Vine opened with an odd and pricey menu that included a $45 brunch package with unlimited appetizers and a $65 “premium” package with unlimited mimosas and cocktails.
But the restaurant revamped and was offering a reasonably priced selection of pastas, pizzas and grill items. Brunch was particularly popular on the restaurant’s large, shaded patio.
An early review in the alternative Fort Worth Weekly newspaper praised the restaurant and gave it a “Goat of a Chance.”
The retail and condominium complex features a Target and other big-box stores built behind a historic 1928 Montgomery Ward & Co. department store.
The building also served as a regional catalog-order fulfillment center — last century’s version of today’s Amazon.
Other restaurant neighbors in Montgomery Plaza include Dallas-based Gloria’s Latin Cuisine, Irving-based Pei Wei Asian Kitchen, Atlanta-based Chicken Salad Chick, Fort Worth-based Sushi Axiom and Dallas-based Pie Five Pizza, plus several smaller shops.
The center has two Starbucks Coffee locations a quarter-mile apart, one on West Seventh Street and the other inside Target.
This story was originally published April 10, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
