Culture

6 Great Women-Owned Restaurants and Shops in Fort Worth’s Stockyards

In Celebration of Women's History Month

By Amanda Ogle // Mar 10, 2025

1/0

Wide Brim's owner Brittany Cobb has numerous stores across Texas. (Courtesy)

MELT focuses on small-batch, artisan ice cream. (Courtesy)

Sidesaddle Saloon is just one of owner Sarah Castillo's numerous Fort Worth projects. (Courtesy)

Chief Records sources records from all genres. (Courtesy)

Mallory Blair focuses on Native American-made pieces at Turquoise & Co. (Courtesy)

The classic onion fried burger from Hooker's Grill. (Courtesy)

Some of our favorite businesses in Fort Worth’s Stockyards have a woman behind the brand, from bars and restaurants to turquoise shops and record stores. Women-owned businesses are on the rise in DFW, according to a 2024 report by Wells Fargo that named us the No. 2 metropolitan area in the country for the growth of women business owners. In honor of Women’s History Month, here are some of our favorite restaurants and shops in the Stockyards owned by female trailblazers.

Wide Brim

200 Mule Alley

Inside Hotel Drover, Wide Brim is a curated lobby store with Western-style hats, apparel, jewelry, and accessories. Owner Brittany Cobb spent a decade as a journalist writing about fashion and home décor before embarking on her pop-up shopping event in Dallas in 2009. In 2015, she rebranded the concept to Flea Style (Wide Brim’s parent brand) and expanded to other Texas cities. Today, there are multiple Flea Style stores across Texas, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

Fort Worth women-owned — MELT focuses on small-batch artisan ice cream. (Courtesy)

MELT Ice Creams

122 East Exchange Avenue, Suite 624

In 2014, Kari Crowe-Seher decided that Fort Worth needed a dose of artisan ice cream and opened MELT, which creates small-batch ice creams using natural ingredients. The menu changes seasonally, but “always” flavors include Cookie Crush, Sweet Cream, and Peanut Butter Explosion, among others. Aside from the Mule Alley location, there is another MELT on Magnolia Avenue, plus one in Dallas and Willow Park.

Sidesaddle Saloon

122 East Exchange Avenue, Suite 240

Tucked away in Mule Alley, Sidesaddle Saloon is a craft cocktail bar owned by Sarah Castillo, who also owns Mexican restaurants Taco Heads and Tinies in Fort Worth, plus tequila brand La Pulga. Returning to Fort Worth after college and living in various places, Castillo opened her Taco Heads food truck in the 7th Street area, which eventually led to her brick-and-mortar Taco Heads across from Dickies Arena in 2016.

Chief Records

140 East Exchange Avenue, Suite 135

Formerly the Ernest Tubb Record Shop, Laura Croy purchased the record shop in 2014 to save it from closing and renamed it Chief Records in honor of legendary country music singer Ray Price and the Cherokee Cowboys. A longtime fan of the shop before purchasing it, Croy sells country music records just like when the place was the Ernest Tubb Record Shop but also carries all genres of music. Check the calendar for album release parties held right at the shop.

Turquoise & Co.

112 West Exchange Avenue

At Turquoise & Co., owner Mallory Blair focuses on supporting Native American artists, sourcing her pieces from Native American artists across the West. Of course, there’s plenty of turquoise jewelry, but you’ll also find Navajo pearls, opal, coral, lapis, and other stones artfully placed in rings, necklaces, pendants, bracelets, and more.

Hooker’s Grill

213 West Exchange Avenue

Owned by female Native Americans Ruth and Kathryn Hooker, Hooker’s Grill specializes in the Oklahoma fried onion burger and the Indian Taco, the latter a nod to their heritage with the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. There’s also Frito pie, hot dogs, fried bologna sandwiches, and BLTs that add to the menu of this Stockyards staple.