The couple who helped put Fort Worth on the national barbecue map are back — but this time, they’re trading brisket for bar pies. Travis and Emma Heim, founders of Heim Barbecue, are behind a new concept called One Trick Pony Pizza Tavern, set to open later this year in a century-old corner building in the city’s South Main Village.
As reported by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, One Trick Pony will serve thin, crispy tavern-style pizzas and cocktails from the ground floor of a 1926 brick building at 313 South Main Street. The space — a former biscuit and brunch spot at the corner of East Broadway Avenue — features picture windows, exposed brick, steel beams, and a layout that Travis Heim calls “super cool.”
“It’s such an awesome building,” he told Bud Kennedy. “We’ve wanted to do a pizza restaurant. When we saw the space, we thought this would be a good place for a bar and late-night hangout.”
The tavern’s menu will focus on New York–inspired thin-crust pizza with a crispy edge, plus a few pasta dishes and a burger. Heim says he’s been tinkering with pizza recipes for years — a way to mix things up after hours at the barbecue pit.
“I’d get bored with barbecue,” he admitted. A well-worn pizza oven in the Heim commissary kitchen has been his testing ground, with employees serving as taste-testers for what’s coming next.
One Trick Pony marks the first solo venture from the Heims since stepping away from Heim Barbecue in early 2024. The couple launched their barbecue operation in 2015 from a food truck parked on East Hattie Street, on the site that’s now home to Panther City BBQ’s patio. They opened their first brick-and-mortar restaurant a year later in partnership with Will Churchill and his family, and the Churchill team now operates three Heim locations in Fort Worth and Dallas, with a fourth on the way in Weatherford.
“I loved barbecue — I’m proud of my accomplishments,” Travis said. “This is an interesting new deal. We know restaurants and how to create a fun environment.”
And while the name One Trick Pony might sound like a wink at their barbecue legacy, Heim says the goal is simple: to build a pizza tavern where people want to hang out. With its gritty charm, cocktail program, and tavern-style slices, the place aims to be a neighborhood fixture by the time the winter holidays roll around.