{"id":277554,"date":"2026-05-03T22:41:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T22:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/277554\/"},"modified":"2026-05-03T22:41:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T22:41:11","slug":"a-popular-fort-worth-oyster-bar-will-close-after-45-years-heres-when","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/277554\/","title":{"rendered":"A popular Fort Worth oyster bar will close after 45 years. Here\u2019s when"},"content":{"rendered":"

J&J Oyster Bar, a 45-year fixture in the Cultural District as a seafood restaurant with a laid-back vibe, will close May 30, owner Jim Schusler said Sunday.<\/p>\n

The restaurant, in a former Taco Bell at 612 University Drive, has been sold along with nearby property, Schusler said.<\/p>\n

J&J is surrounded by new development in the West Seventh Street and Museum Place area.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s time,\u201d Schusler said.<\/p>\n

The 1960s building needs mechanical, kitchen and air-conditioning repairs, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had a lot of offers for the place over the years,\u201d he said. \u201cThis was the one.\u201d<\/p>\n

J&J opened in 1981, taking over a former aluminum burger diner at 929 University Drive that had been home to the city\u2019s legendary Topsy\u2019s Cafe.<\/p>\n

The restaurant promised the city\u2019s first \u201cNew Orleans experience\u201d with seafood and filet gumbo.<\/p>\n

A Star-Telegram review praised it for \u201cthe finest shrimp and oysters ever to hit Cowtown.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schusler said it was modeled after S&D Oyster in Dallas.<\/p>\n

In 1998, J&J moved three blocks north to the former Taco Bell.<\/p>\n

\"&J<\/p>\n

&J Oyster Bar has a cozy dining room and a patio lined with palm trees, as seen Jan. 15, 2023.<\/p>\n

The original historic aluminum diner eventually became the home of Salsa Limon and was later moved to 5012 White Settlement Road.<\/p>\n

Over the years, J&J became known as a relaxed hangout near the city art museums and a popular stopover for cowboys during the Stock Show and Rodeo. It picked up former customers from Fred\u2019s Cafe when that low-key beer bar and grill closed nearby and moved to the west side.<\/p>\n

It is the last remnant of Schusler\u2019s entertainment empire. J&J\u2019s eventually added J&J Hideaway, a tiny, dark bar which opened in 1983 on West Seventh Street, and J&J Blues Bar, a music club that opened in 1986 on Woodward Street near downtown.<\/p>\n

The oyster bar also briefly operated locations on Boat Club Road near Eagle Mountain Lake and also in Burleson.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"J&J Oyster Bar, a 45-year fixture in the Cultural District as a seafood restaurant with a laid-back vibe,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":277555,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[116,118,117,102597,102596,102599,22169,59868,14784,102598],"class_list":["post-277554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth","tag-fort-worth-headlines","tag-fort-worth-news","tag-jj-oyster-bar","tag-jim-schusler","tag-schusler","tag-seafood-restaurant","tag-taco-bell","tag-university-drive","tag-west-seventh-street"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=277554"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277554\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/277555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=277554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=277554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=277554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}