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Up
in smoke
New
restaurant to offer more dining options close to campus
A
new Western-themed has some area residents worried about
additional late-night activity.
By
Allison Goertz
This
spring, students won’t have to drive all the way
to the Stockyards to experience a true taste of Cowtown.
The new Western-themed restaurant, Gunsmoke Grill and
Saloon, will be opening in the heart of the TCU area on
Cockrell Avenue, right behind Fuzzy’s Taco Shop.
Construction began about a year ago, but an exact date
for completion has not been set, said Travis McKnight,
owner and operator of Gunsmoke Grill and Saloon. He said
he hopes for it to be open in April.
Neighbors who live near the location of the restaurant
are worried about possible trash and late-night activity
the restaurant could bring, said Keri Ryan, president
of Bluebonnet Place Neighborhood Association.
“If he wasn’t open late, it wouldn’t be
a concern,” Ryan said.
Ryan said neighbors will have to wait and see what happens
when the restaurant opens.
“There’s nothing else we can do about it,”
she said.
Lauren Mirsky, a sophomore nursing major, said she thinks
the restaurant will expand the options students have for
dining close to campus.
“Sometimes you get tired of the typical fast food
places and you want something a little different,”
said Nikole Dawson, a junior radio-TV-film major.
Gunsmoke Grill and Saloon will be a full-service independent
restaurant. For now, the menu is being kept secret. McKnight
and his wife April, both Paschal High School graduates,
will be the restaurant owners and operators.
“We want to give a reason for people to stay in this
area,” McKnight said.
The interior of the restaurant will not be lacking in
Western-themed accessories. McKnight said an old 1870s
antique bar, which was used inside a New York hotel, served
as the inspiration for the theme of the restaurant. He
found the bar on the Internet and purchased it to put
inside his own Fort Worth restaurant.
“It’s going to be one of the most unique pieces
in Fort Worth,” McKnight said.
The McKnights have acquired additional original art pieces
by Buck Taylor, who was an actor in the “Gunsmoke”
television series.
The couple also attended an auction where they purchased
genuine pieces crafted by Edward Bohlin, a silversmith
who made many of the silver items in old Western movies.
All the interesting bits and pieces at Gunsmoke Grill
and Saloon will make it unlike any other restaurant near
campus, McKnight said. |
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Photos
by Ty Halasz/Staff Photographer
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| Construction
continues on the new Gunsmoke Grill and Saloon,
located behind Fuzzy’s Taco Shop on Berry Street,
which owner Travis McKnight hopes to open by April. |
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