Stirr Restaurant Not Permanently Closing, Co-owner Says

In today’s Star-Telegram, columnist Bud Kennedy announced that Stirr Restaurant has “closed permanently.”

Not long afterward, Fort Worth Weekly owner Lee Newquist received a text from David Hawthorne, a co-owner of the popular bar/restaurant in the West 7th corridor.

“Stirr did not shut down,” Hawthorn said. “That was media word vomit.”

Instead, Stirr is temporarily closed, which just makes sense, Hawthorne said, given the economic downtown and the fact that Stirr’s other location, in Dallas, has similarly temporarily closed. In a Facebook message, the Dallas location said, “Due to a [Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission] technicality that considers us a ‘bar’ even though we are very much a restaurant, we have been forced to close our doors until further notice.”

I called Hawthorne for further comment.

“We temporarily closed the location,” he said. “It’s a tough time there on 7th Street. We didn’t have the ability to float at 50% or any lesser capacity. We want to offer our customers consistency and a place to come out and have a great time without the scare of having to shut it back down again. We want to take care of our employees too. It’s been a rollercoaster.”

The Dallas transplant is one of several plaintiffs who have filed suit against Gov. Greg Abbott to fight the governor’s order that temporarily closed all bars and restaurants that earn 51% of their revenue from alcohol sales. Affected bar, restaurant, and brewery owners have recently taken to social media to decry what they say is an unfair and uneven order that allows gyms, churches, and other gathering places to remain open. Abbott has not made a decision on when to reopen bars or re-close other meeting places.