Al Biernat’s, a popular Dallas fine dining institution, is expanding its brand westward with the opening of a downtown Fort Worth location that could open as soon as the end of next year
The Fort Worth restaurant will be the third location for Al Biernat’s, which was founded in 1998 in Dallas’ Oak Lawn area and then opened a second location in North Dallas. The Fort Worth restaurant will be located at 913 Houston Street in a building that was constructed in 1959 for Farm & Home Savings.
The restaurant will lease the building from Dallas-based Eagle Equity Inc., an investment and development company, which purchased the property from FTW Blu Hotels in 2025. Oliver Steinberg and Jaxx Hatton, brokers with The Retail Connection, represented the landlord in the transaction. Steinberg is also the owner of the building, which he purchased in April 2025 through Eagle Equity Inc.
The midcentury modern glass-and-brick building debuted in 1959. Its facilities include a basement, main floor and mezzanine. Other features include large open interior spaces and floor-to-ceiling glass, along with a curved staircase, which snakes through the interior. A stone marker outside the building is a reminder of its history: “federal deposit insurance up to $100,000.”
“When I purchased the building, I knew it was something special,” Steinberg stated. “The interior architecture and floor-to-ceiling windows are spectacular. I felt from the beginning that a high-end hospitality group would be a perfect fit for the space.” Steinberg also said owning the Fort Worth building has personal significance because of a family’s connection with the city.
Steinberg’s father grew up in Fort Worth, where his family operated a garment factory downtown next to the courthouse, he said. “He spent a lot of weekends running around downtown Fort Worth with his brother while their father worked.” Years later, his father built a real estate business by acquiring distressed properties, he said. “There is a full-circle element to me now owning and redeveloping a former Fort Worth savings and loan building.”
Since the building had been vacant since the 1990s, it will require an estimated investment of at least $9 million to meet current occupancy standards as well as to establish the restaurant environment, according to Steinberg.
Before Steinberg put the building under contract, it was owned by a hotel group, which had acquired it several years earlier with a plan of re-developing it as a hotel.
But the hotel project never moved forward, so Steinberg had been eyeing the building as a personal investment. Although it was under contract by another buyer, the deal fell through and he was able to purchase the property, which is across from the Fort Worth Convention Center, and undergoing a $701 million expansion and renovation.
“I am extremely bullish on downtown Fort Worth. At full buildout, the Texas A&M Fort Worth campus is expected to bring approximately 27,000 students, faculty, staff and other occupants into its buildings,” he stated. “Combine that with the transformation of the Fort Worth Convention Center and everything else happening downtown, and I think the pedestrian activity in this area is going to be incredible.”
A Dallas native, who has a long history of dining at Al Biernat’s for special family occasions, said that restaurant brand is the perfect fit for downtown Fort Worth. “It is high end and sophisticated but the hospitality is what really separates them,” he stated. “Fort Worth is a relationship-driven city and Al Biernat’s is a relationship driven restaurant.”
Following the death of Al Biernat in 2024, his nephew, Brad Fuller, who had worked alongside his uncle, now manages the restaurant operations. Al Biernat’s is best known for its exceptional steaks and outstanding selection of globally-sourced seafood.
