Westland Dining establishment Group has plenty on its plate

Bourke Harvey and Gigi Howell, leaders of the Westland Restaurant Group, have short answers when asked what they prepare to change now that their group has actually partnered to acquire the West Side Cafe.

" Nothing," stated Harvey. "Let me repeat, absolutely nothing."

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" Not a thing," stated Howell. "Why would we?"

From the wait personnel, to the tables, chairs, grill, the counter, the old-style tickets to the stainless steel order wheel utilized to move the orders to the kitchen area, neither wishes to tinker the success-- or customer commitment-- of the West Side Cafe.

" Their consumers?" asked Harvey. "They enjoy, enjoy, love the place. Why would we change that?"

Harvey and Howell are not just co-owners now of the 23-year-old coffee shop at 7950 Camp Bowie West Blvd., they have actually been and stay a part of the adoring clients of the location.

" You'll find me at the counter nearly every Sunday early morning," Howell stated. "I've enjoyed that location from the minute I stepped in there."

Both can also recite their favorite order without any hesitation.

" Whatever I order, I have a pancake on the side," stated Howell. "I enjoy whatever, but I need to have a pancake."

" I have the No. 1 breakfast, but rather of 2 fried eggs, I get a 3rd, over medium," said Harvey. "They might also begin preparing it when I stroll in."

Those are quite some honors from industry veterans who in 2021 formed Westland Restaurant Group with prepare for a brand-new hamburger restaurant. On Aug. 16, Westland Group revealed that West Side Cafe would start a new age by partnering with Joel Hancock, the cafe's basic manager for over 20 years and his son, Brian Hancock.

Harvey and Howell couldn't be happier. "Fans, count us as huge fans," Howell stated.

While it seems as if it has actually been around given that Camp Bowie Boulevard was the place to cruise American Graffiti-style in the 1950s, West Side Cafe's story dates back just to 1996. When Tracey Sanford bought the facility that had actually been open just three months, that was.

Under his management, the coffee shop grew, acquiring regional popularity for its comfort food, quick-witted wait staff and neighborhood spirit. It likewise ended up being a preferred amongst the military member of the family on the west side with lots of articles and mementos of the Bomber Heights area around what is now the Naval Air Station. The walls of West Side Cafe are adorned with Air Force and military service memorabilia.

Along the method, West Side Cafe racked up awards and an increasingly faithful clientele.

" You go there, you reverse the clock," stated Harvey. "They have no point of sale system. They can toss out food in that cooking area quicker than anything I've ever seen in 30 years. The servers hang the orders on the spinner and spin it around to the kitchen area. It's simply incredible how they still do that."

Sanford died suddenly at age 64 in 2021. 2 years later on, Harvey was approached about assisting long time supervisor Handcock get the offer done to obtain the dining establishment.

" Tracey told Joel before he died, that Joel needs to work with me if anything must occur to him," said Harvey. "Now, that's happened."

Harvey and Howell both said consumers can expect the exact same homestyle-cooking favorites that have defined West Side Cafe's experience, such as buttermilk pancakes, biscuits and gravy, chicken 'n' dumplings, and chicken-fried steak.

" They can likewise expect the exact same personnel, who actually are the foundation of the place," Harvey said. Long time worker Stacy Phillips is general manager.

The addition of the West Side Cafe likewise includes an essential piece to the prepare for The Westland Group. Westland also owns J.D.'s Burgers, further west at 9901 Camp Bowie West Blvd., which is named after Howell's grandfather, who resided in the location. J.D. was a truck driver and his work principles motivated Howell growing up.

The Westland name comes from the name of the six-mile stretch of Highway 80 (the continuation of Camp Bowie Boulevard) west of Loop 820. The location thrived during the '50s and '60s and was home to several long time restaurants before the interstates enticed tourists far from the location. It was likewise part of the older Bankhead Highway system.

Howell and Harvey are both Fort Worth dining establishment and food service veterans. Howell spent much of her life working in Fort Worth restaurants, consisting of a number of years at Reata and then its spinoff, 203 Cafe, in City Center downtown. Harvey runs the popular Curly's Frozen Custard at 4017 Camp Bowie Blvd. and is a partner in the Rogers Roadhouse dining establishment at 1616 Rogers Road. He also is a Jason's Deli franchisee beyond this area.

" Gigi and I have loads of restaurant experience between us, however strangely enough we don't truly have breakfast experience. That's not been our thing," said Harvey. "West Side Cafe brings us some of that, ought to we need it going forward."

And Westland Group has lots of plans. In March, they acquired Margie's Original Italian Kitchen, beside J.D.'s Burgers. It holds a lot of memories for Howell. Her moms and dads worked and satisfied there.

Both Howell and Harvey believe the location is ripe for a return.

" You've got Montserrat, Montrachet, Skyline Ranch, the Walsh development and they either have to go west or east to eat, so this area makes sense," said Howell.

Although J.D.'s Burgers has been open only since September of in 2015, Howell said it is working. Together with plenty of restaurants, J.D.'s Burgers showed to have a faithful customer base that assisted when high winds blew the roofing system off, momentarily closing the dining establishment.

" It was fantastic to have numerous individuals pitch in and assist," stated Howell.

The next plan is to refurbish Maggie's and have it open by the end of the year. There's likewise a nearby vintage filling station that they plan to become a craft cocktail bar. Following that, they prepare to convert the Longvue Baptist Church constructing to a Mexican dining establishment concept. "It's a methods off, most likely 2 years," said Harvey.

Harvey also owns the neighboring Westland Gardens at 3416 Longvue Ave. It's house for a nursery in addition to his Legendary Trees organization, which grows trees from seeds of distinguished trees.

" The trees tell a story," said Harvey.

They will likewise be using the gardens to grow food for their dining establishments.

" That will provide us a farm-to-table part," he said.

All those strategies might look like there is a lot on their plate, however Howell says she's not getting tired.

" It's just amazing," she said. "It keeps us energized. We can't wait to see what it's gon na be like at the end of it."

Do you have something for the Bob on Business column? Email Bob Francis as bob.francis@fortworthreport.org

Bob Francis is company editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made separately of our board members and monetary fans. Read more about our editorial self-reliance policy here.

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