Magnolia Avenue in Fort Worth, usually a lively strip of restaurants and shops, was quiet on Saturday afternoon.
Many of the storefronts were closed — chairs flipped upside down on the tables inside Gus’s Fried Chicken, potted plants buttoned up tight against the cold outside Maggie’s R&R and a coating of ice on the patio furniture outside Neighborhood Wine.
Magnolia Avenue, usually a lively strip of restaurants and shops in Fort Worth, was quiet Saturday in the midst of the winter storm.
Emily Brindley / Emily Brindley
A few places, though, managed to open.
D-FW Weather Wise
It was cozy inside Gustos Burger Bar, busier than you’d expect for a snow day, with a bartender pouring beer and the kitchen staff lining up burgers on the grill.
Owner Jonny Arguello was tracking the winter weather hour-by-hour into Saturday morning. He wasn’t sure if staff would be able to make it in to the restaurant. But he was pretty determined to open if at all possible.
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He lives close enough that he could walk — about an hour-long trek, Arguello said — and at the very least, he thought he and his brother would be able to open the doors for beer and cheeseburgers.
“No matter what, I was planning on opening because me and my brother live so close,” Arguello said.
In the end, staff were able to make it in, too, so Gustos was fully open on Saturday.
Gustos Burger Bar on Fort Worth’s Magnolia Avenue was open on Saturday, serving beer and burgers through the winter weather.
Emily Brindley / Emily Brindley
Arguello sees the storm — and other restaurants’ closures — as a chance for Gustos to show the neighborhood what it’s about. That’s extra important to him, he said, since the burger bar has only been open as a full brick-and-mortar restaurant since 2023.
“I think it sends a huge message,” Arguello said. “We’re going to fight the weather to get here to open up for all of you guys, just to keep proving ourselves.”
Arguello said he’s keeping locals updated through Instagram. He posted a video to the restaurant’s Instagram account on Saturday, showing a black pickup truck with a spray-painted “OPEN” sign propped up in the back. The truck vroomed through the snow on Magnolia Avenue in front of the burger bar. Within a few hours, the post racked up nearly a thousand favorites and dozens of comments.
“I want everyone to know that we’re going to have fun with it,” Arguello said.
Arguello was hoping to open the restaurant on Sunday, too, again with the backup plan of him and his brother running a smaller operation if other staff couldn’t make it in.
“It really is really cool being … open and having people in and at our bar and hanging out,” he said.
Magnolia Avenue, usually a lively strip of restaurants and shops in Fort Worth, was quiet Saturday in the midst of the winter storm.
Emily Brindley / Emily Brindley
On Magnolia Avenue, a few other places were also open on Saturday afternoon, including Benito’s Restaurant. Pie Tap was also open, with an early closure at 5 p.m., and Chat Room Pub was scheduled to stay open until 7 p.m.