Chef Graham Elliot and his business partner Charlie Rushton have found a home for their next Fort Worth restaurant, Commodore Tavern & Terrace, settling into the former Magnolia Wine Bar space at 1101 W. Magnolia Ave. in the Near Southside. The roughly 3,300-square-foot spot comes with patio space already in place, and the team is targeting a fall opening this year.
Word of the location first circulated in reports suggesting the Magnolia Avenue address would be the restaurant's new base, according to Fort Worth Inc. Elliot and Rushton are the chefs behind the concept, which is described as the pair's take on a neighborhood restaurant built around great food, great drinks and warm hospitality, according to fwtx.com.
The space previously housed the Magnolia Wine Bar, which had announced its closure before Commodore came together. The wine bar posted about its upcoming shutdown on social media on April 18, with a final service planned for May 16, per the same account. Reports differ on when the bar's doors actually closed for good, with CultureMap Fort Worth citing an April closure and fwtx.com citing May — a discrepancy the available reporting doesn't resolve.
How the Lease Came Together Before It Hit the Market
Brokers Sarah LanCarte and Brittany Doyle of LanCarte Commercial worked with the property owner to arrange the lease after learning of the wine bar's planned closure, allowing the deal to get done before the property was ever publicly marketed. The firm says its existing relationship with the owner enabled early discussions and let an opportunity come together ahead of the open market, per LanCarte Commercial.
For Rushton, Commodore is more than a single restaurant launch. He described the project as a springboard for starting a new hospitality company alongside Elliot, according to CultureMap Fort Worth.
Two Chefs With Fort Worth Track Records
Elliot moved to Fort Worth from Chicago in October 2022, joining Felipe Armenta's FAR Out Hospitality Group, per fwtx.com. Since then, he's helped co-create the French-inspired Le Margot, updated menus at Fort Worth staples The Tavern, Press Café and Pacific Table, and helped launch the Midland restaurant Cowboy Prime, the outlet reports.
Rushton brings his own résumé to the partnership. He previously served as chef at the Crescent Court Hotel in Dallas before joining Far Out Hospitality in 2023, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Commodore joins a spate of recent restaurant and food-service openings near Magnolia Avenue, the paper notes, suggesting the corridor's dining scene continues to grow even as bigger changes loom underground.
Construction Looms Over Magnolia Avenue's Business District
Those bigger changes come in the form of major underground repairs planned beneath Magnolia Avenue and six other major Near Southside streets, with construction expected to continue until spring 2029. The Fort Worth Water Department says the project is meant to reduce pipe breaks across the city, according to the Fort Worth Report.
Business owners along the avenue are already bracing for potential disruptions to access, parking and sales once the work begins, the outlet reports. Neighborhood Wine reported a slight dip in business over two months when similar infrastructure work was recently conducted near Lake Street, while Melt Ice Creams says it plans to stay open through the construction but expects it to affect sales across Magnolia regardless. No firm opening date, menu, hours or reservation details for Commodore Tavern & Terrace have been announced.
