On West Magnolia Ave., where Fort Worth\u2019s modern barbecue scene first staked its claim, Heim Barbecue is closing its original brick-and-mortar. The restaurant that helped spark the city\u2019s craft \u2019cue boom will serve its final plate on Feb. 1; a decision rooted less in declining appetite than in some costly upgrades.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe cooked so much barbecue there that we kind of wore out the smokers,\u201d\u00a0Will Churchill, co-owner of Heim Barbecue, said over the phone. \u201cAnd when we started looking at replacing them, we realized we\u2019d have to tear down the smokehouse entirely.\u201d<\/p>\n
Replacing the smokehouse would have required bringing the structure up to current code, a costly and complex project. By the time Churchill and his sister, Corrie Fletcher, evaluated the scope \u2014 demolition, rebuilding, and a full restaurant refresh \u2014 it became clear the Magnolia location was no longer the most practical place to invest. Sales at the site had also begun to soften amid a Fort Worth barbecue scene that looks very different from what it did when Heim first opened in 2017.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Heim opened on Magnolia, we kind of started the craft barbecue world in Fort Worth,\u201d Churchill said. \u201cBut now there\u2019s a lot of saturation, and most cities can realistically support only one high-end barbecue restaurant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nearly two years ago, Churchill took over co-ownership and day-to-day operations of Heim Barbecue, while Emma and Travis Heim\u00a0\u2014 the concept\u2019s original founders \u2014\u00a0remain minority partners.<\/p>\n
Heim\u2019s story in Fort Worth began with a food truck off Pennsylvania Avenue in 2015, arriving just as the city was ready for more serious smoked meats. Lines formed immediately. Within two years,\u00a0the\u00a0Heims\u00a0opened their first brick-and-mortar locale on West Magnolia, helping turn the street into a destination and setting a standard for others to follow. Expansion followed: Burleson, the River District, Dallas, Weatherford \u2014 along with menu diversification that now includes burgers, smoked chicken, and corny dogs.<\/p>\n
To keep things moving forward, Heim is currently launching a new concept called\u00a0Heim Pig Stand, a leaner, more price-conscious operation designed to make high-quality barbecue accessible without lowering standards. The first test begins March 4, when the rebranded food truck sets up at 9904 Camp Bowie West Boulevard on a 3.5-acre property purchased last year. From there, it will rotate through neighborhoods to test demand for future permanent locations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not lowering our standards at all,\u201d Churchill said. \u201cSame prime beef. Same high-quality pork. Same portions. We\u2019re just doing it more efficiently \u2014 small spaces, few staff, a simple menu, one price point between twelve and fifteen dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n
Back on Magnolia, the closure carries a personal weight.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s emotional,\u201d Churchill said. \u201cIt was the first brick and mortar. We\u2019ve got a lot of great relationships in that neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Churchill and Fletcher still own the building and are taking it to market for sale or lease, with the intention of bringing a new tenant to the street.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s closing is not just a restaurant but a marker of a specific moment in North Texas barbecue lore \u2014 when growth felt limitless, and demand seemed endless. Heim helped define that moment in Fort Worth. Now, it\u2019s responding to what followed.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day,\u201d Churchill said, \u201cwe have to do what\u2019s fiscally responsible for the longevity of the company.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On West Magnolia Ave., where Fort Worth\u2019s modern barbecue scene first staked its claim, Heim Barbecue is closing…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":530765,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5138],"tags":[5229,26874,2105,25713,7371,7372,235324,37937,18247,988,10763,358,7453,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-530764","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fort-worth","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-barbecue","10":"tag-food-and-drink","11":"tag-food-trucks","12":"tag-fort-worth","13":"tag-fortworth","14":"tag-heim-craft-bbq","15":"tag-magnolia-avenue","16":"tag-near-southside","17":"tag-restaurants","18":"tag-stephen-montoya","19":"tag-texas","20":"tag-top-story","21":"tag-tx","22":"tag-united-states","23":"tag-united-states-of-america","24":"tag-unitedstates","25":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","26":"tag-us","27":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115929695555274475","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=530764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530764\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/530765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=530764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=530764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=530764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}