A burger grill that has been a west Fort Worth landmark since 1980 will reopen this week, polished and new again after repairs from a fire.
Tommy’s Hamburgers, the flagship of the Smith family’s burgers-and-catfish cafes, will reopen at 5228 Camp Bowie Blvd., just off Interstate 30 near Merrick Street.
The restaurant has been completely remodeled and has added several new menu items since a May 9, 2025, roof fire.
The new look includes tan vinyl booths and a slightly more Western look. There’s a counter in the front dining room with a choice of 10 tap beers.
New on the menu: the half-pound kimchi burger with Gouda and a house-made Thai chili sauce, the “best of” burger at the 2023 Fort Worth Food + Wine Festival.
This is also the Camp Bowie Boulevard location’s first time to serve a Gouda patty melt, collard greens as a side, or the soy-based Impossible Burger as an option along with turkey and garden burgers. (Tommy’s has offered those alternatives for more than 25 years.)
Also new at the flagship Tommy’s: wine margaritas.
The location on Camp Bowie Boulevard opened in 1980 as the Under the Tower Sandwich Shoppe, named for an old city water tower that loomed until 1986 behind the building.
The front room at the remodeled Tommy’s Hamburgers flagship location now has a service counter.
Tommy’s founder Tommy Smith opened his first burger grill in 1983 in the old Tommy’s Mini Mart gas station on Northwest Loop 820. In 2002, Tommy’s took over the old Under the Tower space after it operated briefly as an ice cream and coffee shop.
“We think Dad would be very proud of what we’ve done,” co-owner Kelly Smith wrote in an online message. “We hope to honor him.”
Tommy’s other locations are at 2455 Forest Park Blvd. near the Fort Worth Zoo, and at 1736 Mall Circle north of Ridgmar Mall off Texas 183 in west Fort Worth.
All three Tommy’s locations are open for lunch and dinner daily; tommyshamburgergrill.net.
A new neon in the remodeled Tommy’s Hamburgers was added 24 years ago by co-founder Tommy Smith.
The newly redecorated dining room at the flagship Tommy’s Hamburgers location in Fort Worth.
Tommy’s Hamburger Grill at 5228 Camp Bowie Blvd. in Fort Worth was damaged by a fire Friday morning, May 9.
Tommy’s Hamburger Grill at 5228 Camp Bowie Blvd. in Fort Worth was damaged by a fire Friday morning, May 9.