The Stockyards is getting a $175 million makeover. Here’s why some still feel left out

A quick glance through the guest book at Hooker’s Grill finds visitors from all over the world have grabbed a bite at the small restaurant in the Fort Worth Stockyards

Diners from Brazil, Taiwan, China, Poland, Australia and South Africa — to name a few — have strolled into the small burger joint along West Exchange Avenue.

And they’re coming for something they can’t find anywhere else, said Ruth Hooker, owner of Hooker’s Grill.

“They’re here for that authentic Western feel,” Hooker said. “You can’t fake it.”

But down the street, $175 million is being poured into development along East Exchange, where a new hotel, shops and restaurants were announced last week.

Hooker worries that many of those tourists — both domestic and international — will no longer make the trek to her place or other West Exchange businesses.

“Aren’t we part of the Stockyards too?” Hooker said.

From bringing parades across Main Street to adding more signage, Hooker said more needs to be done to promote the western edge of the Stockyards. Some other businesses echoed Hooker’s concerns but didn’t want to be quoted.

One who was willing to talk, Cody Hales, who works at The Star Cafe, said West Exchange needs to be marketed as part of the Stockyards.

“We need something to tell them (visitors) to come down here,” Hales said.

The divide between the two sides of the Stockyards is nothing new, said Fort Worth historian Quentin McGown.

“The East Exchange-West Exchange issue has gone on as long as the Stockyards have existed,” McGown said.

Some of that separation was due to the way the Stockyards developed.

“East Exchange was a company town, a unified company property,” McGown said. “It has always retained elephant-in-the-room status. West Exchange has always been small business owners and individually owned buildings.”

City Council member Carlos Flores, who represents the Stockyards, said many of Hooker’s concerns can be addressed.

“Part of my charge as a council member representing this district is to make sure the Stockyards develops comprehensively and wholly and that is inclusive of West Exchange,” Flores said, adding that more parades and festivals can certainly include the west side of the Stockyards.

“We can look at adjusting the routes to have them come this way,” Flores said.

He’s also looking at a long-discussed Stockyards sign, similar to the one along East Exchange.

“I think it’s very doable,” Flores said.

The developers of the Stockyards redevelopment, Stockyards Heritage Development Company, a partnership between Majestic Realty Co. and The Hickman Companies, say they are working with the city to add signs directing visitors to West Exchange and elsewhere in the area.

“The goal is to enable visitors to easily locate points of interest, historical markers, parking locations and other amenities,” said Macy Bales, a spokeswoman for developers. She added that there are plans to have details about events taking place throughout the Stockyards such as The Herd, the daily cattle drive in the Stockyards.

“While we do not control the parades, The Herd or the producers of such events, we support the overall inclusion for tenants in programming relevant to the Stockyards,” Bales said. “We share in the enthusiasm for having visitors experience the entire National Historic District.”

Keith Kidwill, who owns several properties along West Exchange and Ellis Avenue in the Stockyards, sees the new Stockyards redevelopment as a windfall for the entire district.

“If they want to spend $180 million on the Stockyards, I think it’s a plus-plus for everybody,” Kidwill said. “I’m happy with everything they’re doing.”

While Hooker said the new development will undoubtedly bring more people to the Stockyards and is helping pave the way for utility and street improvements, she isn’t happy that the buzz-worthy Shake Shack is coming to the Stockyards.

“You have a California company bringing a New York chain to a Texas historical district,” Hooker said.

She’s gone so far as to start a petition on her Facebook page urging people to oppose chains in the Stockyards.

In most of the Stockyards, she said customers can often meet the owners of the establishments, something she fears could eventually disappear.

But McGown, the historian, said the new dynamic also provides an opportunity for West Exchange businesses.

“I think what encourages me now is West Exchange has the opportunity to become and remain the real Stockyards,” McGown said. “We’ve all sensed the risk in the new development of losing what makes the Stockyards authentic.”

This story was originally published August 17, 2018 at 4:32 PM with the headline "The Stockyards is getting a $175 million makeover. Here’s why some still feel left out."