Denver-based Punch Bowl Social, which has a Dallas location scheduled to open later this year, has its fun-loving sights on Fort Worth, though in a slightly different format. Punch Bowl Social, which focuses on “eatertainment,” announced June 14 that it will open a 12,500-square-foot restaurant, bar and entertainment concept at 1100 Foch St. in Fort Worth’s West Seventh entertainment corridor in December. That’s the former site of Times Ten Cellars, which closed this year.
Punch Bowl Social was recently named as a Fast Company 2018 Most Innovative Company for its eat, drink, play or “eatertainment” concept, pairing made-from-scratch dishes and craft beverages with social gaming.
The Fort Worth location will be the first of a new, more compact model. In the past, its properties have encompassed about 25,000 square feet, but the Fort Worth location will be half that size.
Punch Bowl Social Fort Worth will feature a menu that melds the best of the American diner with a modern take on Mexican cuisine, designed and curated by James Beard Award-winning chef Hugh Acheson; an innovative craft beverage program; and a selection of social activities including duck pin bowling, ping-pong, Skeeball, darts, board games and classic video games. The brand’s design combines mountain lodge with Victorian, industrial, and mid-century modern themes.
“We’re continually fielding requests from developers and other interested parties to bring Punch Bowl Socials into their cities,” said founder and CEO Robert Thompson. “We’re known for bringing jobs, tax dollars and, often, other businesses that move in around us when we serve as an anchor tenant. It was important that we take our time to conceptualize what a smaller sized Punch Bowl Social might look like to ensure it would still feel and operate like the larger models, providing a full experience, just in a smaller space.”
Thompson credits the opportunity on West Seventh with mobilizing the company to find the right design schematic. “Fort Worth was too good of an opportunity for us to pass up,” he said. “It’s a fantastic city with a well-known cultural scene. Add in everything that’s happening along the West Seventh corridor and we knew we had to be here. I can’t think of a better place to launch this newest iteration of Punch Bowl Social.”
Punch Bowl Social began in Denver in 2012 and is found today in 14 cities including Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Sacramento and San Diego. Fort Worth marks the company’s fourth planned Texas property. Punch Bowl Social Austin opened in 2014 and a second is set to open there early next year, and one in Dallas is slated to open in November.
“We started working in Texas three, maybe four years ago and now we’re building out our third location in Austin,” Thompson said.
He said the company is a “design focus brand” so the company has a department that focuses on architecture and design.
“We’re already best in class and we’re looking to become dominant in class,” he said.
For its real estate deals, the company uses Dan Nesson of True North Realty in Denver. In North Texas, it has used Perren Gasc, principal at Dallas’ DBA Real Estate.