Meddlesome Moth Redux

Bird Cafe in Sundance Square Plaza draws beer snobs to Fort Worth

Bird Cafe has a wall of taps similar to the one at Meddlesome Moth.
Photo courtesy of Bird Cafe
Bird Cafe's Monte Cristo sandwich will be much like the Monte Cristo served atMeddlesome Moth.
Photo courtesy of Meddlesome Moth
Bird Cafe's theme can be seen in the bird artwork.
Photo courtesy of Bird Cafe

Craft beer fans have a new reason to drive to Fort Worth. Bird Cafe, the newest restaurant from the very busy Shannon Wynne, who partnered with Keith Schlabs and Larry Richardson, opens December 18.

Going into the newly redeveloped Sundance Square Plaza, Bird Cafe is like a Fort Worth version of Wynne's Meddlesome Moth. It has lots of beer and an identical menu created by chef David McMillan.

Signature items include the Monte Cristo sandwich special, "Moth balls," pot pie and mussels. The night menu will include dishes suitable for sharing, such as deviled eggs and chicken-skin chips.

The restaurant, a looming space with 6,400 square feet indoors and 1,300 square feet of patio, is split between two levels in the renovated 1889 Land Title Building and newly built Commerce Building. In a release, Wynne called the Land Title Building, "one of the very last of a building style that used to dominate downtown Fort Worth, representing the lavish and detailed Victorian architecture that Americans at the time emulated from Europe."

The restaurant's bird theme is evident in the art by Fort Worth artists Scott and Stuart Gentling. They created a 47-pound boxed collection of watercolors, called Of Birds and Texas, which features portraits of more than 50 species of birds found in the state.

"This may be one of the only places that all of the birds can be seen hanging in one place,” said Wynne. The Gentlings also painted the domed ceiling of Bass Performance Hall.

Bird Cafe is open daily for dinner only starting at 5 pm; lunch service will be added at a later date.

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Candy News

Retro candy shop Grandpa Joe's makes Texas debut in Flower Mound

Grandpa Joe's

Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop

A sweet new shop is coming to Dallas-Fort Worth: Called Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop, it's an old-timey candy store with rare and nostalgic sweets, and it will make its Texas debut with a store in Flower Mound, in a former medical office at 650 Parker Square.

According to a release, it will open on Thursday, January 22 at the whimsical hour of 4:05 pm.

Grandpa Joe's was founded in Pittsburgh in 2012 by Christopher Beers, a former F&B professional, and currently has 22 locations across Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, West Virginia, Minnesota — and now Texas.

Each store features a massive selection of candy: From caramels to chocolates to freeze-dried to fudge to bubblegum to hard candy to gummies to jelly beans to licorice, you get the idea. Much candy.

Beyond the usual M&Ms and candy bars, their unique niche is a category called "Nostalgic and Retro Candy," with items dating back a century, catalogued by decade. For example:

1920s has Charleston Chews
1940s has Turkish Taffy and York Peppermint Patty
1970s has Bottlecaps
1990s has Twix bars

Their other trademark is their $5 "candy buffet," in which you take an empty box and fill it with candy from rows and rows of bins on the wall.

In addition to nostalgic candy, they also feature new treats trending on TikTok, bulk candy, and gourmet chocolates, as well as non-candy items such as toys, games, and old fashioned glass-bottled sodas in more than 350 varieties.

According to VP of marketing & brand development Kate Speer, the Flower Mound shop will be a 4,340-square-foot space which will also offer ice cream, milkshakes, and floats — not something that all of their locations offer. Art on the walls will reference Flower Mound and Texas.

It's pitched as a family-friendly destination where customers can explore thousands of treats, gifts, and curiosities: from socks to mugs to magnets to gag gifts.

“We’re incredibly proud to bring Grandpa Joe’s Candy Shop to Texas,” says founder Christopher Beers in a statement. “Opening our first store in Texas and our furthest west location yet is a big milestone for us. Flower Mound is a great community, and we’re excited to build something special here that families and visitors can enjoy for years to come.”

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Candy News

Retro candy shop Grandpa Joe's makes Texas debut in Flower Mound