On West Magnolia Ave., where Fort Worth’s modern barbecue scene first staked its claim, Heim Barbecue is closing its original brick-and-mortar. The restaurant that helped spark the city’s craft ’cue boom will serve its final plate on Feb. 1; a decision rooted less in declining appetite than in some costly upgrades.
“We cooked so much barbecue there that we kind of wore out the smokers,” Will Churchill, co-owner of Heim Barbecue, said over the phone. “And when we started looking at replacing them, we realized we’d have to tear down the smokehouse entirely.”
Replacing the smokehouse would have required bringing the structure up to current code, a costly and complex project. By the time Churchill and his sister, Corrie Fletcher, evaluated the scope — demolition, rebuilding, and a full restaurant refresh — it became clear the Magnolia location was no longer the most practical place to invest. Sales at the site had also begun to soften amid a Fort Worth barbecue scene that looks very different from what it did when Heim first opened in 2017.
“When Heim opened on Magnolia, we kind of started the craft barbecue world in Fort Worth,” Churchill said. “But now there’s a lot of saturation, and most cities can realistically support only one high-end barbecue restaurant.”…