Beer News
Deep Ellum Brewing opens a funky restaurant-brewery in Fort Worth
A Dallas brewery is bringing its craft beer to Fort Worth with a new brewery-retsaurant called Deep Ellum Funkytown Fermatorium. Located in a former print shop at 611 University Dr., it's from Deep Ellum Brewing Co., and it opens March 1.
Founder John Reardon wanted to expand, and thought Fort Worth was the most logical first step. He found the location in Fort Worth's Linwood district in 2017, not far from the hip West 7th district.
Funkyown Fermatorium will feature five brewing barrels, but compared to the original location in Deep Ellum, it's more food-centric, with a kitchen and a bar. The original location started out merely as a brewery, before eventually adding food trucks and outside vendors to provide snacks.
The beer lineup will be the same as what's served at the Dallas location, such as Dallas Blonde and Deep Ellum IPA. But they'll also do occasional small batches of other brews.
The food will be American with Italian influences, including items such as spinach artichoke dip, shared plates, and wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizza, with a menu crafted by consulting chef Dino Santonicola, formerly of Cane Rosso.
All systems were go until January 22, when Reardon and company learned that their opening would be delayed due to the federal government shutdown, since they're unable to hire employees or sell beer until the government reopens.
Undaunted, they announced that, if their permitting application were not approved by March 1, they'd move forward with their opening and serve beer for free. Lucky for them, it all worked out.
The opening menu includes brisket arancini, described as risotto stuffed with brisket, rolled into a ball and fried; wings; and fried goat cheese. There are six pizzas including a vegetarian option and one called "Texas AF" with salami, bacon jam, pepperoni, brisket, and BBQ sauce.