At 7 a.m., a bar in Fort Worth is doing something it technically shouldn’t be doing at all: it’s open, the grill is hot, and eggs are hitting the flat top under a ceiling that’s heard decades of last calls. There’s no brunch branding, no ironic morning cocktail menu, just a neighborhood pub choosing to wake up early.
That bar is Our Taphouse, tucked into a historic building at 1001 Bryan Ave., and seven months into new ownership, it’s quietly rewriting the rules of what a local watering hole can be. Open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., the former Pouring Glory now serves breakfast alongside craft beer and live music without pretending it’s anything other than what it is.
“I’m not trying to turn this into a breakfast place,” says co-owner Maria Castillo. “We’re still a pub. We just happen to make breakfast.”
For years, Castillo imagined a different path into food. Long before she held the keys to a brick-and-mortar bar, she wanted a food truck, something mobile, hands-on, and rooted in simple, satisfying cooking. That instinct never disappeared. It just took a detour.
Castillo and her husband, Charles, became regulars at Pouring Glory after moving back from California, drawn in by craft beer and the kind of bar where you belly up, watch a game, and end up talking to strangers. Over time, Castillo started helping out, organizing pop-up markets, bringing live music back into the room, and quietly learning the rhythms of the place. When Pouring Glory closed in January of last year, she was already part of the fabric.
Instead of launching a food truck, Castillo found herself stepping into co-ownership of an established neighborhood pub. “My husband says I manifested this. I wanted a food truck, and I wanted beer, and I got both, just under one roof,” she says.
Since taking over, the changes have been deliberate but restrained. A refreshed patio. A revamped tap wall curated by Castillo’s beer-focused partner. The bones of the place remain intact, including the old ceiling tiles that give the room its natural resonance. “It’s a neighborhood pub,” Castillo says. “That’s always what it felt like. You walk in, and you’re part of it.”
The kitchen is where Castillo’s long-simmering food-truck vision finally took shape, but the day-to-day execution belongs to Adriana Martinez. As head of the kitchen, Martinez runs the line and sharpens her craft service by service, bringing discipline and intention to what could have easily stayed bar food. Nearly everything coming out of the kitchen is made in-house, with only a few exceptions.
“I do a few seasonings, simple ones like garlic, then flour and breadcrumbs,” Martinez says of the chicken tenders — a standout on Our Taphouse’s menu. “Too much breadcrumb gives it that panko style. The flour makes it feel more home-breaded.”The secret weapon is a yogurt marinade. “We let the tenders sit in the yogurt and then go straight into the flour,” Martinez says. “That’s what makes it stick.”
Breakfast grew naturally out of Castillo’s long-standing food-truck vision and Martinez’s kitchen logic. Instead of building a separate menu, they folded eggs into dishes people already loved. Tacos and burritos are ready for breakfast, served with chorizo, sausage, machacado-style shredded beef, or grilled chicken with green sauce. Breakfast nachos layer refried beans, cheese, protein, and eggs into something indulgent without feeling forced.
Even the chorizo is getting special treatment. “Right now it’s custom-made,” Martinez says. “We want it to be different.”
Live music remains the other heartbeat of Our Taphouse. Castillo books the acts herself, keeping things intentionally eclectic, from country and rock to acoustic sets and full bands. The room’s acoustics, shaped by decades-old ceiling tiles and brick, keep musicians longing to come back. Seven months in, the response has been steady. New faces show up weekly. Regulars bring friends. Castillo, who left her full-time job to commit fully to the bar, admits the nerves never really disappear, but neither does the momentum.
Her goal isn’t reinvention. Its reliability. A place people can count on, whether they’re stopping in for a beer, a burger, live music, or eggs at an hour when most bars are still asleep.
As Castillo reflects on the pub’s legacy, she says, “Every time someone comes in, I want them to feel at home.”