Fort Worth’s Tastiest Restaurant News — A New Spanish Tapas Bar, Cowboy Coffee, an Empanada Palace, a Nursery Restaurant and More

With more expansions, rebrandings and new flagship restaurants coming to the Fort Worth market, Cowtown’s food scene is more interesting than ever. It is only February and 2023 already brings the promise of truly garden fresh food, a new coffee haven, empanada mania and a whole lot more.

This is the Fort Worth Restaurant News You Need to Know:

La Coqueta Renovations

The new La Coqueta restaurant first got teased a year ago. Now Magdalena’s Catering and Events owner Juan Rodriguez has finally begun construction to renovate the space the new Fort Worth restaurant will occupy. A bar space near the intersection of Northside Drive at 1216 N. Main Street will become a snug Spanish-inspired tapas bar with boutique wines, specialty cocktails and coffees flowing. The menu will showcase Rodriguez’s showstopping paella, which has been a hit at both his catered events and the Fort Worth Food + Wine Festival over the years.

La Coqueta is expected to open in the fall.

Olivella’s Adds Dine-In

Olivella’s Pizza & Wine closed its dine-in restaurant at 6333 Camp Bowie in 2020 and moved a bit further down the bricks to 4910 Camp Bowie as a takeout-only pizza place. Now, the Roman and Neapolitan-style pizza kitchen has completed a 1,200-square-foot expansion of its existing space pumping it up to 3,000 square feet with the room to once again offer full-service dining in.

Olivella’s now boasts seating for up to 70 diners and a full bar featuring its house-made red and white sangrias. There is also a wine list, daily food and drink specials and online ordering.

John Wayne Gold Handle Coffee Shop

One of the Stockyard’s only independent coffee shops Rail Car Coffee is set to become John Wayne Gold Handle Coffee Shop in March. The transformation at 122 W. Exchange Avenue is currently underway. Cowboy movie star John Wayne was in the habit of giving his cast and crew coffee mugs with gold handles — and now that’s inspired a new Fort Worth coffee haven.

This shop is slated to be the flagship for John Wayne Gold Handle coffees, which range from decaf to dark roast. There are five expressions in all, sourced from Brazil, Honduras, Columbia and South America.

Yes, Fort Worth is becoming even more of a John Wayne town. The John Wayne Experience museum is already planted next door to Cowtown Coliseum.

Del Campo Empanada El Numero Dos

Del Campo Empanada opened during the worldwide pandemic, back in May of 2020, bringing a taste of traditional South American-style savory empanadas to Fort Worth. Picture Argentine style beef ― flaky pockets filled with ground beef, eggs, raisins, onion, green pepper and Argentinian spices.

Now Argentinian immigrants Andrea Cacho-Gigante and Leo Gigante are opening a second Del Campo Empanada restaurant in Flower Mound. It’s already open at 901 Long Prairie Road, Suite 160.

Heirloom FW

A new patio restaurant is now under construction at Archie’s Garden Land. Heirloom FW promises garden fresh food from Tokyo Cafe chef Kevin Martinez. Owner Randall Archie has long dreamed of a garden to table restaurant at the generational nursery located on Fort Worth’s Westside.

A recent menu tasting from Martinez included a garden fresh mashed avocado toast topped with sun-dried tomatoes, greens, lemon juice, shaved parmigiana and a poached egg. Brunches and lunches will be serviced from a food trailer, with the shady and lush nursery backdrop setting quite the scene.

Heirloom FW is slated to open this spring.

Fitzgerald Gets Jazzy

Camp Bowie’s Fitzgerald restaurant has drawn a fast following for its Ben Merritt-crafted menu and its backroom lounge and patio, which have become the see-and-be-seen spot on Fort Worth’s westside. Now Fitzgerald has just launched a jazz brunch.

It takes over the patio every Saturday and Sunday from 11 am to 2 pm.

Rusty Nickel Emerges

A quirky collection of buildings surrounding a grassy open courtyard first opened as Smokestack 1948 at the end of 2020. It became a cool bar with live music, room for young families to rollick and food trucks. But Smokestack 1948 is currently closed for a rebrand and a March relaunch under a new name.

Get ready for Rusty Nickel Icehouse. Expect cold beer and icehouse cocktails, plus coffee and non-alcoholic drinks. The smaller bar onsite will be called Side Door. It will offer cocktails and coffee too. The food will include low country boils and barbecue.

The new ownership includes Drew Boatman (a partner in Bodega, Dirty Laundry and Pinky’s Champagne Bar), Chas Taipale (a partner in Bodega and Dirty Laundry), Tino DeFranco (owner of Whisky Garden) and Dalton Dear (the up-and-coming bartender at Lottie’s).

This reimagined TCU area hangout located at 2836 Stanley Avenue will also have a new stage for live music with new audio and visual installs insuring it all sounds good.