Roy Pope Grocery, the corner market that fired up its grills on Camp Bowie back in 1943, quietly rang up its last sale Sunday after 83 years serving west Fort Worth. Regulars watched the deli line wind down and shelves empty as a local hospitality group stepped in to rework the space into a full-service restaurant that will still carry the Roy Pope name.
As reported by the Houston Chronicle, the longtime store at 2300 Merrick Street shared a social media note thanking customers for "more than 80 years" of support before the handoff. Westland Hospitality is taking over the property and, in a company Facebook post quoted by the paper, said the restaurant "will humbly bear the name Roy Pope as an homage to what once was."
Westland's Plan: Neighborhood Food With Southern Roots
Westland Hospitality, the group behind Pulido’s Kitchen and Margie’s Italian Gardens, is steering the next chapter. The company told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram it plans a menu of contemporary Southern-American dishes, with partners Gigi Howell, Juan Rodriguez, and Levi Gardner leading the kitchen. Managing partner Bourke Harvey framed the project as an effort to keep the market’s memories alive while making the spot more sustainable as a restaurant operation.
A Long Run and Recent Reboots
The market has anchored the neighborhood since Roy and Rose Pope opened it in 1943, but the old-school grocer has tried on several identities in recent years, toggling between grocery store, wine bar, and dining room. According to the Houston Chronicle, the store closed during the pandemic, then reopened in 2021 under new operators and ultimately struggled to keep grocery sales strong enough to survive, which set the stage for the restaurant-focused pivot.
Neighbors, Competition and What’s Next
Neighborhood reaction has been mixed, with some residents lamenting the loss of a walkable grocery even as others look forward to a fresh place to eat. Local coverage points to rising competition from specialty grocers and a wave of delivery services that have put the squeeze on small markets across the area. Westland says the new Roy Pope is being designed as a go-to neighborhood spot for lunch, dinner, and casual hangouts, and that details on the opening timeline and menu will roll out later, according to CultureMap Fort Worth.
