The Local gets new owners, plan to create inclusive culture at West 7th bar
Two minority entrepreneurs have taken over West 7th’s The Local bar with a plan to revive its neighborhood feel and welcoming environment in an area known for complaints of discrimination.
Longtime friends Brian Torres and CK Sanders bought The Local on Feb. 25 after noticing that the understated bar had fewer visitors, wasn’t doing new promotions and was barely profitable.
“It’s a great bar. It’s a great location, great staff, so there’s no reason for it not to do well,” Sanders said.
The owners have kept it running since the purchase, but have been making changes to revive it. They’ve retrained staff members, hired others, deep cleaned the space and plan to repaint some walls and add new games. And they’ve said the morale of the staff has improved and some of the bar’s loyal customers have started to notice.
“They love the changes. They love the upgrade. The bar was just outdated, and it just needed some more personal attention. And it’s getting that now,” Torres said.
The owners hope to preserve what has always made The Local unique to the area: how understated it is. Many of the newer bars in West 7th district are club-style with loud music and bottle service, Sanders said.
“If you just wanted to go to a bar with a couple of your friends and sit and hang out and talk, those just aren’t things that you want to do,” Sanders said.
The bar features softer music to encourage conversation, outdoor areas, a variety of games and cheaper prices.
For Torres, he said he wants The Local to represent what he loves about Fort Worth, where he was born and raised.
“Fort Worth has that hometown feel,” Torres said. It’s “always friendly, always welcoming.”
Torres said he encourages staff to go the extra mile with customers, talk to them about their backgrounds and make them feel welcomed.
Some West 7th area bars have a history of discriminatory complaints.
Two men sued Whiskey Garden in 2019 alleging they were attacked and harassed with racial slurs after they asked why the man who is Black wasn’t allowed inside.
At Texas Republic, a customer wasn’t allowed entry because he was wearing Jordan 11’s. He later went to Twitter to criticize the “racist motive” behind the “specific” dress code that also prohibits baggy clothing, Air Force Ones and sports attire. Bar operators cited safety as the reason for the code.
The Fort Worth Race and Culture Task Force have brought up these complaints with the West 7th Restaurant & Bar Association, which defended the policies, saying the dress code isn’t discriminatory “in any manner,” according to a 2018 report in the Star-Telegram.
The Local owners aim to make everyone feel welcome. They don’t have a specific dress code and allow customers to wear any kind of sneakers.
“Being a person of color, it’s very important to me that everyone is welcome regardless of race, or … orientation. None of that stuff matters to me — everyone is welcome,” Sanders said.
