A popular restaurant in Downtown Fort Worth has chosen a new location. Reata has been at the corner of Houston and 3rd since 2002.
Owner Mike Micallef opened the first Reata location in the West Texas town of Alpine in 1995. He opened a location in Fort Worth a year later in Bank One Tower. Now known as The Tower, the building on Throckmorton was damaged in the tornado in 2000, leading Micallef to move to his current location in 2002.
He is now planning to move back to The Tower when his lease expires at the current location at the end of June 2024. Micallef says The Tower will serve as an interim location while a permanent restaurant is planned.
"The important thing for Reata is not, 'Where has the best place been for Reata in the past? It's really, where is the best place for Reata in the next 20 years?" Micallef said when announcing Sundance Square would not renew his lease.
Micallef said he had reached out to Sundance Square about a lease renewal, but he said the organization had refused meetings.
In announcing the move Wednesday, Micallef said he and the rest of the restaurant's leadership were determined to stay in Downtown Fort Worth to stay within walking distance of office buildings, residential, the convention center, Bass Performance Hall and 3,500 hotel rooms.
"Our history with The Tower is both storied and strong. Twenty-three years ago, an F3 tornado devastated our community, making our original Fort Worth locations uninhabitable and forcing our relocation in 2001," Micallef wrote in an email. "Like Fort Worth, Reata is a testament to resilience and rebirth. Together, we will continue to create unforgettable experiences, regardless of geography."
Reata's location will be on the ground floor in the northeast corner of The Tower. Micallef says Reata will stay open at Houston and 3rd through the end of the lease June 30, 2024. He says the restaurant's catering division will continue during the move.
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