Council approves restaurant at Roy Pope site despite neighborhood concerns
A Southern-style restaurant proposed for the Roy Pope Grocery is expected to start serving dinner soon.
On Tuesday, Fort Worth City Council members approved a zoning exemption for the restaurant at 2300 Merrick St. despite a lack of parking spaces that led to a denial earlier this month by zoning commissioners.
Westland Hospitality Group, a growing Fort Worth-based restaurant group, intends to open a neighborhood family restaurant that will serve alcohol at the shuttered neighborhood grocery store. The exemption request added alcohol sales and restaurant uses to the site as well as a reduction in parking requirements since developers have an agreement for 50 parking spaces with a nearby property owner.
“I feel like y’all have found an amicable solution for this,” said District 7 council member Macy Hill, who represents the area.
Developers sought to preserve the legacy of the gourmet grocery and meat market opened by the late Roy and Rose Pope in 1943. Westland Hospitality took over the lease of the one-story 7,218-square-foot building on June 1.
Bourke Harvey, Westland Hospitality managing partner, said the eatery will serve food at lunch and dinner with alcohol sales at the neighborhood landmark. Food sales will comprise about 75% of sales at the restaurant, he said.
“It was really important to me to preserve this concept,” Harvey said during a public hearing in which dozens of residents voiced their concerns about the restaurant.
Tyler Wallach, a land use attorney with Jackson Walker law firm, said Westland officials met with West Byers Neighborhood Association to negotiate concerns about the restaurant operation.
“We do understand parking is a key concern,” he said.
Roy Pope has 34 existing parking spaces, with 24 located off-street spaces and 10 on-street. An agreement with a nearby property owner will allow the use of 50 parking spaces after 6 p.m. The restaurant will close at 9 p.m. on weekdays and 10 p.m. on weekends, Harvey said.
Residents who live near Roy Pope noted that the site lacks 37 parking spaces and that street spaces nearby don’t add to the count.
Maureen Corns, president of the West Byers Neighborhood Association, said the restaurant would not be compatible with the surrounding area.
“The zoning commission acted wisely and denied the request,” said Corns, who advocated for the council to also deny the zoning exemption since about 56% of impacted properties are opposed to the restaurant.
Lynda Swift, another member of the West Byers group, said some leaseholders of nearby retail businesses were not aware of the parking agreement with Westland.
Other residents, like Mike Mullins, said the zoning matter should be delayed so negotiations can continue.
“We would love to see a new Roy Pope but one that is part of the neighborhood and not forced upon us,” he said.
Scott Sankary, who lives on Merrick, said his neighbors are “clamoring for this” restaurant, noting that Westland Hospitality has quality restaurants that are well operated.
Janie Harper agreed.
“It would be a shame for one of Fort Worth’s oldest landmarks to be done away with because of misinformation,” Harper said, referring to neighborhood emails that were circulating.
Candace Fyfe, a past president of the West Byers group, said the association feared that their neighborhood would be filled with parked cars at night.
“There’s just not enough parking,” she said, noting that parking is an issue at some Camp Bowie District area restaurants.
Gigi Howell of Westland Hospitality noted that many customers will take ride-hailing services or walk to the restaurant. She said that the restaurant’s bar sales will be about 20% to 25% of total sales. There will be a minimum of 14 seats at the bar, but no more than 25, she said.
“It’s not Austin,” she said. “We’re Fort Worth. That’s not how Westland Hospitality operates.”
Howell said Roy Pope Grocery closed at 9 p.m. but staffers often let people stay on their patio until 10 p.m.
She said Westland Hospitality plans to serve Southern coastal cuisine that is high-end but welcoming to families.
The hospitality group owns several Fort Worth restaurants including JD’s Hamburgers, Pulido’s Kitchen & Cantina, Margie’s Italian Gardens, Curly’s Frozen Custard, Magdalena’s Catering & Events, West Side Cafe, Westland Gardens and Westland Bar Co.
Eric E. Garcia is senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org.
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