FORT WORTH
Bodega South Main isn’t just a little grocery anymore.
Six years after it opened as a reliable neighborhood market and sandwich counter, Bodega is now an excellent breakfast-lunch-and-takeout cafe, and it’s only a half-mile from downtown.
Bodega is a survivor in South Main Village. It was one of the first food shops on the street and faithfully fed neighbors through both the pandemic and the disastrous 2021 Texas freeze.
Now, the cafe at 203 S. Main St. serves a growing menu of paninis, Reubens, quiche and desserts, with a full-service breakfast menu coming soon.
“The grocery component was great in theory, and I still miss the idea,” owner/chef Tasha Monticure wrote in a message.
She didn’t elaborate, but there isn’t as much demand for small neighborhood markets anymore. Supermarket delivery is cheap and easy.
So Bodega is more of a cafe-bakery.
It’s good at both.
On a recent visit, a turkey Reuben on bakery rye with a spicy Russian dressing was a complete surprise.
That’s one of the menu favorites, along with a turkey-brie sandwich with apricot preserves, a roast-beef-and-cheddar on ciabatta or a ham-and Gouda on a croissant.
These are huge sandwiches. Save half for dinner.
Spinach-cremini mushroom quiche ranked with the best. A blueberry pie, uncommon in local bakeries, was loaded with flavor.
Bodega also has muffins, cookies, bagels with a schmear and, sometimes, one of its custom cakes.
That’s what caught my attention. Teddy Wong’s Dumplings & Wine nearby sells Bodega’s cakes. A “slice” of the Italian cream was big enough for the table to share.
Monticure’s background is in baking and catering. Her family owned grocery stores in Wisconsin.
She’s shortened the afternoon hours — Bodega closes at 5 p.m. weekends, 4 p.m. Saturdays — to expand the breakfast. It opens weekdays and Saturdays at 8 a.m.
South Main Street is not as lonely as it used to be.
With new restaurants opening nearby, Bodega will focus on “delicious scratch-made everything,” she said, from sauces to baked items.
Park on the street or behind Bodega; 682-224-5148, bodegasouthmain.com.
This story was originally published May 13, 2026 at 4:20 AM.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Bud Kennedy is celebrating his 40th year writing about restaurants in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He has written the “Eats Beat” dining column in print since 1985 and online since 1992 — that’s more than 3,000 columns about Texas cafes, barbecue, burgers and where to eat.
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