Cork & Pig Tavern has reopened a short drive from Fort Worth, landing at The District at Willow Park about 15 minutes west of Loop 820, six years after the chain's original Fort Worth location shut its doors. The new restaurant brings back a dish longtime fans have been missing: Fruity Pebbles French toast topped with vanilla ice cream.
The Willow Park restaurant sits at 460 Shops Blvd., next to Melt Ice Creams and near Danny's Greek Cafe, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The address places it within CultureMap Fort Worth's reporting on the same Shops Boulevard storefront. The newspaper's Eats Beat column, written by Bud Kennedy — who has covered Texas dining in print since 1985 and online since 1992, authoring more than 3,000 columns on the subject — describes the restaurant as a wood-fired grill with cocktails and a pizza menu, open for brunch on weekends and for lunch and dinner daily.
A Six-Year Wait Ends in Parker County
The original Fort Worth location opened in 2016 at the corner of Crockett and Currie streets as an anchor restaurant in the Crockett Row development, but it closed in 2020 amid trouble at that development and was not expected to reopen, per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's earlier reporting. The brand's return lands instead in Willow Park, marking Cork & Pig's seventh location overall, according to Wilks Development. The company traces its roots to San Angelo, where it started, and has since grown to locations in Abilene, Midland and Odessa as well as Southlake and Irving, per the Star-Telegram.
At Southlake and Irving, the double-cut pork chop ranks as the No. 1 favorite dish, the Star-Telegram notes. The Willow Park menu includes that same double-cut pork chop with bourbon cream sauce, alongside a blackened rib-eye, roasted beef rib, grilled salmon, fish tacos, pork ribs and chicken. For lunch and dinner, diners can also order a prime rib French dip with gruyere.
Brunch Lineup Brings Back an Old Favorite
Brunch runs on weekends starting at 10 a.m., the Star-Telegram reports, with a menu that includes huevos rancheros with chorizo, pancakes with bacon, wood-grilled steak and eggs, and a breakfast pizza topped with pancetta, poblano and egg. The headliner remains the Fruity Pebbles French toast, which the Star-Telegram's reporting notes was a favorite brunch dish at the chain's former Fort Worth location and was photographed at the new Willow Park restaurant earlier this month. Cork & Pig's Southlake location served a similar version of the dish alongside wood-fired pizzas, Carolina pork ribs and Nodding Donkey cocktails when it opened in May 2022, according to Community Impact.
Beyond the plate, the Willow Park restaurant offers a chef-driven blend of signature entrees, gourmet salads, sandwiches and wood-fired pizzas, along with wine, craft beer and specialty cocktails, according to Cork & Pig Tavern's own site. The company says it was founded in 2010 when chefs Felipe Armenta, John Nestor and Virginia Dalbeck opened the first location in Armenta's hometown of San Angelo, with Ed Buenaventura later joining as a partner. Wilks Development lists all four as the leaders of Cork & Pig Tavern today.
Part of a Growing Restaurant Row
The Willow Park restaurant anchors The District at Willow Park, a more than 27,000-square-foot restaurant and entertainment destination in Parker County, per Wilks Development's company history. The development is now fully leased, with Cork & Pig Tavern joined by Melt Ice Cream and 589 Hickory BBQ Co., according to the Weatherford News. Earlier plans for the site, reported by CultureMap Fort Worth ahead of the summer 2025 opening target, also called for Melt Ice Creams, The District Butcher, Lone Star Dry Goods and The Lumen Room.
The project includes an amphitheater that Wilks Development describes as having a capacity between 1,500 and 2,000 people, while the Weatherford News describes the same venue as a 2,000-person-capacity amphitheater with a concert-grade stage. Wilks Development's newsroom post notes that a free kickoff event for the development featured DFW acts Straight Tequila Night, Rob Brooks Band and DJ VidaReal.
For now, Parker County diners can reach the Willow Park restaurant at 817-616-9777, with brunch on weekends and lunch and dinner served daily, according to the Star-Telegram's reporting.
