By Matt Payne
Ellerbe Fine Foods
One of the first restaurants in the farm-to-table category, and one of the first new destinations to ignite the Magnolia Avenue renaissance, Ellerbe Fine Foods has recently expanded, and there’s more to come.
Chef Molly McCook and co-owner Richard King just celebrated the tenth anniversary of their quintessential eatery in the summer of 2019. The location, which was a humble gas station in its early life, has been transformed into one of the most stylish restaurants in Fort Worth.
McCook’s own family home was featured last year on HGTV’s “One of a Kind,” which features Fort Worth homes reimagined by interior designer Grace Mitchell. Now, though completely unrelated to the show, McCook’s own iconic restaurant is getting some updates.
That covered gas station awning has served as a fashionable patio for the restaurant. It has recently given way to what they are calling “the garden room.” The newly enclosed dining room debuted the first week of December and added about 35 more seats to the restaurant’s layout.
They’ve kept the awning with its original rounded edges and created the garden room, enclosed with retractable glass window panels so the space can still be open-air. A central chandelier now sparkles overhead. The original metal awning supports now reside inside the structure of the garden room.
McCook and King are also in the process of repurposing what was their market area to the right of the entrance to match.
“We decided to update the market area, making it into more of a wine bar,” McCook says. “Richard’s wine collection has grown, and now we’ll have a temperature controlled space to display those bottles.”
The new wine cellar will add a communal table along with additional bar and booth seating for around 20 guests.
The restaurant will be closed for lunch through the month of January while construction takes place. When complete, the addition will provide a place for patrons to land in advance of their reservation.
The best news of all: Ellerbe plans to keep the new space open through dinner service. For a decade, they were closed between lunch and dinner, and now fans will have another option for small bites and drinks right after work or even to enjoy a late lunch.
McCook hopes it will debut before Valentines Day, and hours will then begin at 11 a.m. lunch service and flow through until close at 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, and 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Ellerbe is closed on most Sundays and Mondays. But they also added a new Sunday Supper to the mix on the second Sunday of each month. That began a couple of months ago, offering a relaxed pre fixe, three-course option. The casual, family-style meal that McCook describes “like eating at your grandmother’s table” runs $32 for adults with an $8 children’s option. Her co-owner, Richard King pairs wine with the meal ― $14 for a half carafe or $26 for the full.
