At least Fort Worth’s biggest celebrity chef is learning the art of a graceful exit (or, more likely, the importance of hiring a public relations team to smooth out his barbed edges). Tim Love’s recent tweeted statement on losing his concessions gig at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial was brief and classy. He wished golf tournament officials all the best and praised the Colonial as a Fort Worth tradition.
Fort Worth Weekly’s Jeff Prince wrote about Love’s business travails last summer (“Eat, Drink, and Burn Bridges,” July 2, 2014). Back then the chef had angered plenty of folks at the Colonial, who had to deal with food shortages, long lines, and spotty service. Just prior to that fiasco, he’d lost his concessions gig at Texas Christian University football stadium events, with some people saying he wasn’t easy to get along with. And he’s stepped on more than a few toes among fellow business owners in the Stockyards, where he owns the White Elephant Saloon and Lonesome Dove Western Bistro. Love refused to be interviewed for the Weekly article and then blasted the publisher for printing it.
On the positive side, CNBC renewed Love’s reality TV show, Restaurant Startup, for a second season. And the chef remains busy with restaurants, catering gigs, cookbooks, and TV appearances. No need for him to say something petty on his way out a door.
In totally unrelated news, the 10th Annual Texas Music Showdown at the White Elephant has been under way for weeks. The saloon had enlisted Prince to serve as a regular judge for nine consecutive years. This year, Prince’s phone has been quiet.
“I wish Love and the music contest all the best and praise them as Fort Worth traditions,” Prince said.
Introducing Interim Editor Anthony Mariani
Until help arrives, Anthony Mariani will be handling all of your editorial needs. Though certainly no Gayle Reaves –– then again, no other writer/editor in North Texas is –– the Weekly’s now former associate editor has been at this writing thing for nearly 20 years, working his way up from alt-weekly intern to now, uh, alt-weekly interim editor. Seriously, the 43-year-old Pittsburgh native and diehard Steelers/Penguins/Pirates fan is a little bit country and a little bit rock ’n’ roll. Arts journalism? His music writing has been published in The Oxford American, Paste magazine, and The Village Voice (mainly when the music section belonged to only the best rock critics in the world), and he’s won a half-dozen Lone Star awards for his Weekly feature writing. News? Mariani knows that too. At the Weekly, he broke the story of a lawsuit filed against La Familia Mexican Restaurant by several former employees. He also was the first in town to write about underhanded towing practices around Montgomery Plaza, and he brought to light deed restrictions in the West 7th Street corridor that would have challenged businesses’ ability to sell alcohol. Along with Weekly publisher Lee Newquist and the rest of the editorial staff, Mariani will ensure that no matter what direction the paper takes, there will always be a place for the social justice and environmental reportage that Reaves championed. Mariani can be reached at anthony.mariani@fwweekly.com.
Kinda hard to tell who’s writing what around here…
Static is co-written by staff and edited by the managing editor.