Austin’s Best Bar Is Opening in Fort Worth

Austin’s favorite neighborhood bar Nickel City is opening a second location out in Fort Worth. It will be found at 212 South Main Street, taking over an old flag store in the SoMa neighborhood sometime in the summer.

“We’re looking forward to being part of Fort Worth,” said Nickel City co-owner Travis Tober. “We believe in that, it’s that more blue-collar city, it’s got that vibe that Nickel City already has. We just want to go up there and be part of that.”

“It’s truly the most authentic city in Texas,” Tober added.

The new Nickel City will be almost double the size of the Austin one. Co-owners Tober, Brandon Hunt, and Zane Hunt, and Craig Primozich are already looking for a historic bar to refurbish for the bar (much like the Austin bar’s predecessor Longbranch Inn did with its old Driskill Hotel bar top, which still remains).

On-site food truck Delray Cafe, courtesy of the Hunt brothers (who also run Detriot-style pizza trucks and restaurants Via 313) will expand to the Fort Worth location as well. There is a possible menu expansion to offer more food alongside its coney dogs and sliders. It will be found in food truck form on a slightly bigger patio.

The Fort Worth Nickel City will feature an agave bar. Rather than serving out of a back window like the Nickel Austin’s Cash Only bar (where traveling bartenders and pop-up bars serve special menus, usually benefitting nonprofits), it will work as an actual separate bar within Nickel Fort Worth. That 15-seat space will serve tequila and other agave spirits, as well as Tecate on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

There will be special items on the menus, both drinks and food, that will work as “homages to Fort Worth,” Tober said.

Nickel Austin’s Dan Brennan will become Nickel Fort Worth’s bar manager. To help prep, Nickel also brought down bartenders from Fort Worth to work at the Austin bar.

The team is already open to expanding with third and fourth locations of Nickel City. Houston is a possibility (“Houston loves a great dive bar,” Tober said), and, “if we want to get bold,” Knoxville, Tennessee.

The Hunts and Tober opened the Eater Award-winning Nickel City in July 2017, with the goal of opening an everyday bar for everybody. The group, along with chef Nicholas Yanes, just opened an Italian cafe, Uncle Nicky’s, in Hyde Park this week.

• All Coverage of Nickel City [EATX]