Do you know who Chef Coby Baumann is? Well, you’re about to find out…in a big way.
Baumann opened Thurber Mingus last year in the old Froggy’s Boat House digs at 4400 White Settlement Road. The menu he created, which consists mostly of tacos and burgers, features all-natural and strictly Texas-sourced products.
His creativity has been in over-drive ever since. He has several new concepts and venues in the works.
First on his list, is to bring a Farmer’s Market to the Rivercrest/Crestwood community. The unusual layout of Thurber Mingus includes a covered deck and even a sunken lawn area. He decided his location would be the ideal spot to host a true Farmer’s Market, and that is exactly what he plans to do. He is hoping to kick the venture off by January (and possibly even as early as December), complete with food trucks and artisans of all types.
“Farmer’s Markets around the country offer more than just fresh produce, they typically have flowers and crafts on display as well. I want to create a space that people will stay and explore for a while. Then, I thought there are so many great food trucks in town, let’s give them a spot to park as well. I wanted to bring the Farmer’s Market to the forefront and it makes sense to combine both,” Baumann says. The picnic area tables and chairs are already set-up for shoppers to relax over a leisurely meal.
He has six committed food trucks, nine farmers, eight artists, and one florist signed on already. As the Farmer’s Market takes off, I expect that line-up to grow. “We also have two restaurants that will be serving hot-food breakfast items like tamales, kolaches and donuts, for guests to snack on while they shop,” he says. “We plan to be open every other Saturday to begin with, and keep true Farmer’s Market hours from sun-up to say 1 p.m.”
“The other concept that we have coming in December is a micro concept on the grounds of Thurber Mingus in the garden. It is called Stone Grill at Thurber Mingus,” Baumann says. This will only be available to customers on Friday and Saturday night and will feature a limited menu of fully plated items that are cooked in the open elements from a hand-built masonry grill. “This is the same type of grill that my father and I cooked on every weekend growing up in West Texas,” he says.
Chef Baumann is also in the planning stages of a small format concept near the new Whole Foods Market in the Waterside development, which is nearing completion and set to open this spring. It will have a different menu from Thurber Mingus, but as of yet, that has not been finalized.
He is very passionate about another new project as well. Baumann hopes to open a true farm-to-market restaurant on Race Street. “If we get this spot the name of the restaurant will tentatively be FM 211, named after a farm to market road in Irion County where I grew up,” he says. The Belknap area is an up-and-coming revitalization effort known as Six Points Urban Village. Other notable foodie destinations in the area include the highly acclaimed Enchiladas Ole, and Vinh Binh which is praised for having the some of the best eggrolls in town (some say anywhere).
“It has been very difficult for farm-to-market formats in Fort Worth. In the past there have not been enough producers to really make that possible, and most cannot source local products exclusively…but we plan to serve only what is in season and what is available. Our menu will be constantly changing and dictated by what we can source locally,” he says. Expect this restaurant to open between August and October 2016.