Crystal Wise
For many generations of Fort Worthians, Paris Coffee Shop has been more than a coffee shop. Since opening in 1926, it has become one of the city’s cultural landmarks, especially for families, who pass it down, one generation to the next, like a family photo album.
That’s one of the reasons why Mona Owens jumped at the chance to work at the revamped Paris Coffee Shop, which is slated to reopen in late May. In spring 2020, her son, Chris Reale, announced he and his business partners, well-known restaurateur and chef Lou Lambert and developer Mark Harris, were going to buy and revamp the historic restaurant.
Like many in Fort Worth, Owens had a strong connection to Paris — so much so that she wanted to be a part of its rebirth.
“That was one of my father-in-law's favorite restaurants,” she says. “We would meet him and his family there regularly. I love that so many generations of people go there, and they pass it on to the next generation, and so on. When I heard Chris had put in a bid on it, I told him my husband and I wanted to be a part of it. I told him, ‘We’d love to run it for you guys.’”
Chris didn’t hesitate, quickly hiring his mother and stepfather Ryan Owens as general manager and front-of-house manager, respectively. Lifelong restaurant workers, Mona and Ryan have worked together, side by side, in some of Fort Worth’s most prestigious restaurants, including Grace, Waters, and Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House, where they met.
Together, they’ll help oversee the operations of the resurrected diner. Chris and his two business partners, who also purchased and remodeled Roy Pope Grocery, have redone nearly every component of the restaurant, from the plumbing to the electricity to the bathrooms and kitchen area.
“The bones didn’t need to be replaced; they were solid,” Owens says. “But there’s all new cabinetry, new stools, new booths, a new counter seating area. Everything you remember about Paris is still there. It’s just new and fresh, with a bit of a modern twist.”
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Earlier this year, the removal of the large exterior mural, painted in the early 2000s by local artist Bo Powell, that faced Hemphill caused a minor ruckus among preservationists — and those who consider themselves to be preservationists. Reale said the mural had to go due to a combination of interior leakage the wall suffered, the extent of the electrical work that ran along the wall, and the mural’s overall poor condition.
But as a result, the exterior now better resembles the restaurant’s original look. The mural has been replaced by a period-correct letter font designed by another local artist, Sarah Ayala, who also designed many of the interior fonts and logos, such as those for the pie board and restrooms, which also echo the original fonts used by the restaurant.
The iconic blue sign that hangs above the entrance has been given a makeover, too. “They were going to leave it the way it was, but it was very rusted out,” she says. “It’s from the original location and was made sometime in the 1930s. They gave it a fresh coat of paint to make it look like it did when it was made. Eventually, they’ll redo the neon, too. It was important to Chris and his team to make everything look like it did when it first opened.”
Long-timers will recognize most of the staff, including the servers, most of whom will be returning.
The menu, too, will feature most of the dishes regulars know and love, plus a handful of new additions. At breakfast, Paris’ Greek and Denver omelets are back, along with chicken-fried steak, sirloin steak or pork chops with eggs, biscuits, grits, and/or hashbrowns. Other breakfast dishes include huevos rancheros; smoked brisket breakfast tacos, buttermilk pancakes; Belgian waffles and brioche French toast; or a Dutch Baby with lemon butter and berries. Calorie-watchers can get the new power grains bowl, a fruit plate with mint and honey, or fresh granola.
At lunch, blue plate specials will rotate daily and feature fried chicken, meatloaf, pot roast, chicken and dumplings, and fried catfish. Other lunch entrees will be a mix of old favorites and new dishes: beef enchiladas, a BLT, Salisbury steak, pan-roasted redfish, and chicken-fried steak with pepper cream gravy.
Lighter options will consist of a lemon Caesar salad, shrimp cocktail, and a pesto hummus with grilled pita and fresh veggies.
And, of course, there will be pie.
New for the restaurant will be Saturday and Sunday brunch, as well as evening hours. Owens says the restaurant is hoping to launch both dinner and brunch services in early June; there will also be a bar area.
The current team of owners purchased the coffee shop from longtime owner Mike Smith in spring 2020. Smith’s father bought the restaurant from founder Vic Paris in 1929. Mike took over operations in 1965 and moved it to its current location, a former Safeway grocery store, in 1974; the diner was originally located at 614 W. Magnolia Ave.
For the past few months, leading up to Paris’ return, Mona Owens has immersed herself in the restaurant’s history, researching the many photos that once hung — and now hang once again — on Paris’ storied walls.
“I think that’s been the greatest part of this adventure — learning so much about this restaurant and its history and its place in Fort Worth’s history,” she says. “Some people don’t know about the massive flood in Fort Worth in 1949 until they see the photos of it at Paris. It really is more than a restaurant. It’s a piece of Fort Worth history.”
Paris Coffee Shop, 704 W. Magnolia Ave., facebook.com/ParisCoffeeShopftw
