WATAUGA
Beacon Cafe moves fast.
Less than two weeks after closing the location where it gained TikTok fame, the Beacon has found a new home for its contest-winning burgers and weekend brunch buffet.
Beacon Cafe is already open again for breakfast and lunch daily except Monday at 7432 Denton Highway (U.S. 377), 4 miles north of Loop 820.
It’s sharing a kitchen with Fresco’s Cocina Mexicana, which continues to serve a full Tex-Mex menu at lunch alongside Beacon and also at dinner.
Plus, Fresco’s has a Nepalese menu at dinner.
A made-to-order pancake at the Beacon Cafe weekend breakfast and brunch buffet in shared space with Fresco’s Cocina in Watauga, Texas, Feb. 7, 2026. Bud Kennedy bud@star-telegram.com
Beacon Cafe’s hard-working owner, Christie Bingham, is now on her sixth location in north Tarrant County. She has built a strong following for pineapple upside-down pancakes and thick Akaushi burgers.
She’s been coming to Fresco’s a long time, she said. When she lost the lease on the last Beacon space north of Saginaw, she asked Fresco’s new owner, Ben “just D.C.,” about the space.
“We can do something really unique here — you can get Tex-Mex or omelets,” she said.
Ben D.C. said he was already planning to expand Fresco’s offerings and add a second menu along with the small list of Nepalese specials like chicken sekuwa.
“This way we can share expenses and support small businesses,” he said.
Beacon Cafe commandeered the former Fresco’s enclosed patio for the omelet station and breakfast buffet.
Beacon Cafe’s contest-winning breakfast buffet lines a wall in the enclosed patio at Fresco’s in Watauga, Texas, seen Feb. 7, 2026. Bud Kennedy bud@star-telegram.com
Combining the restaurants means that the Beacon now can offer mimosas for the first time, and Fresco’s can offer chai and lattes.
On its very first day, the Beacon’s breakfast and brunch buffet was on top of its game.
A made-to-order pancake was thick, fluffy and exceptional. Diners were ordering the pineapple pancakes or a choice of six other toppings.
The omelet station was fully stocked with at least 30 items. Hot buffet items included Beacon’s signature bechamel hash-brown potatoes or mac-and-cheese, plus jalapeño-cheddar smoked sausage or green chicken enchiladas.
Biscuits were the size of a man’s wallet. The buffet also offered fruit, cinnamon rolls and bread pudding.
This is the same buffet that drew traffic to the old locations on U.S. 287 north before neighborhoods replaced the surrounding ranches.
The lunch menu offers a choice of big burgers, salads and sandwiches including a popular Reuben.
On the Fresco’s side, Ben D.C. said he is working to bring back the quality the restaurant had when it opened two owners ago.
The restaurant is no longer related to a Fresco’s in Burleson.
The dual restaurant is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily except Monday, with the Beacon menu served 7 a.m.-2 p.m. and the Fresco’s menu served 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
Fresco’s is also open at 4 p.m. Mondays; 817-697-2019; https://frescostexmex.com/page/contact-us.
Beacon’s phone is 817-809-8606; https://www.thebeaconcafe.com/contact-locations.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Bud Kennedy is celebrating his 40th year writing about restaurants in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He has written the “Eats Beat” dining column in print since 1985 and online since 1992 — that’s more than 3,000 columns about Texas cafes, barbecue, burgers and where to eat.
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