‘Christmas wonderland’ restaurant closing this year near Fort Worth
Campo Verde Mexican Bar & Grill, a 42-year North Texas landmark known mainly for its elaborate Christmas decor with 120,000 lights, is saying goodbye forever this holiday season and will close after dinner Dec. 24, chef “Moose” Benhamacht announced Monday.
Campo Verde, 2918 W. Pioneer Parkway, will reopen in 2026 as a completely different restaurant, Benhamacht announced.
Benhamacht, an accomplished hotel and resort chef, revived Campo Verde this year after it had struggled for three years under its second owner.
Benhamacht, the chef at Cafe Americana in Arlington, upgraded the Campo Verde menu and tried to change it into a chef-driven restaurant that would draw business year-round.
But Campo Verde’s faithful patrons objected to the new menu and prices. They had come as children, and brought their own children and grandchildren just to see the holiday lights and eat simple enchiladas and fajitas, not steak flambe or poblano chimichurri. Online reviews were mixed.
Benhamacht and co-owner Liesl Best have cleaned the entire building, upgraded the lights, replaced the well-worn decorations and restored the signature toy train circling the ceiling that gave the restaurant the same kind of fierce, multi-generational following on a smaller scale as Casa Bonita of Denver and “South Park.”
They will return a classic Tex-Mex menu in October through closing Dec. 24 and will sell tamales in December, a spokesperson said.
“This marks the final opportunity for families and longtime fans to experience the restaurant’s famously over-the-top holiday celebration,” the restaurant announced, promising Santa visits and special holiday events.
The announcement added apologetically that “the nostalgia surrounding the concept has made it increasingly difficult to reimagine or evolve.”
In a statement, Benhamacht and Liesl said:
“We’ve come to realize that Campo Verde is more than a restaurant; it’s a memory, a feeling, a time capsule. But trying to recreate something so tied to the past comes with real challenges. We’ve decided to honor that magic by giving it a joyful, heartfelt sendoff.”
Before Benhamacht and Liesl bought Campo Verde, the restaurant had struggled since founder James “Smiley” Williams retired in 2022.
Williams had been a manager at traditional Mexican restaurants for Fort Worth restaurateur Don Bowden, founder of now-gone Dos Gringos and today’s Mercado Juarez Cafes. Williams opened the first Campo Verde in 1979 at 7108 Camp Bowie Blvd. West in Fort Worth, then added the second in 1983 on Pioneer Parkway.
Williams expanded the menu to include a few exotic dishes, quail and game, but relied on selling enchiladas, burgers and chicken-fried steaks.
Campo Verde is open for lunch and dinner daily except Mondays; 319-595-2967, thecampoverde.com.
This story was originally published September 22, 2025 at 8:33 AM.
