Major Fort Worth Store and Restaurant News — Permanent Closures, Reopenings and New Debuts

From coronavirus pandemic shutdowns to protest triggered curfews, many North Texas stores and restaurants just can’t seem to catch a break. Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price may even extend the city’s 8 pm curfew through the weekend with a decision expected Thursday.

It’s tough to figure out the “new normal” when nothing seems normal, and hours and occupancy limits are a constantly moving target, for already weary business owners.

The Dallas and Fort Worth region has been hit by the closing of hundreds of store locations and the permanent shuttering of some favorite restaurants.

There are some store and restaurant bright spots still on the horizon as well. This is your roundup of notable store and restaurant news, particularly in Fort Worth.

A Shrinking Retail Landscape

Several local retail giants are reeling, especially after the added strain of mandated closures. Fort Worth giant Pier 1 Imports is in the process of liquidating and closing all its stores, while JCPenney, Tuesday Morning and Neiman Marcus are all in the midst of trimming the fat during restructuring.

Pier  1 Imports began in 1962 in San Mateo, California, but quickly moved its headquarters to Fort Worth in 1966, where it became an established hometown brand. As the importer grew nationwide from eclectic finds to home decor, it built a new Fort Worth headquarters campus in 2004 on a 14 acre site on the edge of downtown ― including its towering 20-story, 460,000-square-foot Pier 1 Building.

The home decor and furnishing giant had hoped to only close around 450 of its stores, prior to being kneecapped by the coronavirus. The pandemic shutdowns forced the closure of its remaining 541 stores. The going out of business liquidation sales are available online through July, and in store until sold out, with added safety guidelines in place.

Likewise, Dallas-based discount chain, Tuesday Morning announced the closure of approximately 230 of its nearly 700 stores last week. Tuesday Morning CEO Steve Becker says the first phase of closures, which includes around 130 stores, will begin this summer. “The complete halt of store operations for two months put the company in a financial position that can be effectively addressed only through a reorganization in Chapter 11,” he notes in a statement.

JCPenney, which has its corporate campus in Plano, is restructuring as well. “I want to assure you: JCPenney is not going out of business. JCPenney will continue to be one of the nation’s largest apparel and home retailers,” CEO Jill Soltau says in a statement.

As a result of ongoing bankruptcy proceedings, the century old JCPenney will be forced to permanently shutter 242 of its remaining 846 stores ― roughly 29 percent of them. As of this week, 304 of its stores had reopened following Covid-19 closures.

And, of course, Dallas-based Neiman Marcus announced the closing of its Last Call locations in mid-March, following up with a bankruptcy filing of its own in early May. Restructuring of the iconic luxury retail brand will also include closing two of its distribution centers located in Longview and Las Colinas, but early reports indicate no immediate plans to close any of its 43 Neiman Marcus and two Bergdorf Goodman stores nationwide.

Other retail giants are lightening their load as well, announcing the closure of many locations across the nation. Bath & Body Works will close 50 stores. Nordstrom will close 16 of its stores and three of its boutiques. Victoria’s Secret plans to close 235 of its United States locations.

Fort Worth Restaurant Losses

Both a Rusty Taco and a Fred’s Texas Cafe are vacating their TCU area locations on the Bluebonnet Traffic Circle. The entire Crockett Row development was built up around Fred’s original location on Currie Street. While Fred’s Western Center restaurant opened a few weeks ago, the original has sat silently as the lights of neighboring businesses slowly clicked back on, igniting some speculation.

Still, Fred’s co-owner Quincy Wallace assures me the sign on the side of the building reading “Open Soon” is accurate. “I wanted to open it back up last week, and again this week, but with operating guidelines that change with each news cycle, I honestly don’t know,” Wallace tells PaperCity Fort Worth. “But I can confirm that it is definitely reopening.”

Another famous TCU area haunt has long been the Hoffbrau Steaks on University Boulevard. Sadly it is abandoning its longtime digs. Having opened there in 1982, owners Aron and Rainey Fogiel helped build up the area. Their Hoffbrau Steak and Grill House l0cations in Granbury, Benbrook, Amarillo and Haltom City will remain open.

Twigs American Kitchen, which unveiled a slight rebrand last year, is leaving Clearfork. “This crisis created a significant strain on our ability to operate the restaurant during the pandemic with the resulting loss of revenue, for which we have been left no choice,” Twigs president Trevor Blackwell wrote in a social media post.

While it’s out of Clearfork, Twigs opened a brand new location at new $1.5 billion Grandscape mega development in The Colony recently.

North Texas Restaurant Openings and Store Comebacks

Market by Macy’s which opened in Southlake in early February, had only about a month under its fashionable belt before the coronavirus shutdowns hit. But Macy’s just revealed its reopening plan today. The store, which is a unique collection of boutiques, will welcome the public for abbreviated hours between 11 am and 7 pm, Mondays through Saturdays, and be open Sunday from 11 am to 6 pm. For the time being, the in-store cafe, Herald, will remain closed. Market by Macy’s website promises that online shopping will be added soon.

The second ever Market by Macy’s, planned for Fort Worth’s WestBend development, remains in a holding pattern ― the finish out of that space has yet to resume.

There is also some good restaurant news. The owner and chef behind Fort Worth’s Righteous Foods, Lanny Lancarte, used the coronavirus shut-downs to launch his newest venture ― Eat Fajitas. It is a ghost kitchen concept ― a delivery only model, featuring boxes of fajita set ups and drink-at-home margarita packs.

Lancarte is well known in North Texas’ food scene for his former Lanny’s Alta Cocina restaurant and his clean eating Righteous Foods. But Lancarte is also part of the family the founded Fort Worth’s famous Joe T. Garcia’s Mexican restaurant. Fab “Jeets and Reets” are a part of his DNA.

Eat Fajitas’ newly launched website allows you to order fajita boxes in four varieties: beef sirloin, chicken, veggie and tofu “veggitas” or a combination. The house margarita blends Camarena tequila, Cointreau, fresh lime juice and agave nectar. While the Top Shelf margarita option includes Patron Silver tequila.

More fajitas always qualify as good news — and Fort Worth’s restaurant scene can use some.