Graham Elliot Is Opening His Own Restaurant on Fort Worth’s Magnolia Avenue

Graham Elliot has spent the last four years helping shape other people’s restaurants in Fort Worth. Now he’s opening one of his own.

Commodore Tavern & Terrace is headed for 1101 W. Magnolia Ave. in the Fairmont District on the Near Southside, in the space that was home to The Magnolia wine bar. Elliot’s partner on the project is chef Charlie Rushton, the former corporate chef at Far Out Hospitality. Commodore is the first restaurant from Longshot Hospitality Group, the independent company the two are starting together.

Rushton is the less familiar name in Dallas-Fort Worth, and he brings serious miles. He was born and raised in England and cooked in Michelin-starred kitchens in London before working restaurants and resorts across Australia and the United States. He has called Texas home for years.

Elliot describes it as their take on the neighborhood restaurant, built on warm American classics and warm hospitality. He has also made it clear this one is personal. After four years of calling Fort Worth home, he says, he wants to keep putting down roots here, and he’s doing it with a friend.

Plenty of people know Elliot from television. He spent years as a judge on MasterChef and MasterChef Junior, competed on Top Chef Masters and later judged Top Chef. The résumé underneath all that is the reason chefs take him seriously. Food & Wine named him one of its Best New Chefs in 2004, and he became the youngest chef in the country to earn four stars from a major newspaper. In 2008 he opened his namesake restaurant in Chicago, Graham Elliot, which earned two Michelin stars. You can read more of his background in his PBS chef profile.

He came to Fort Worth from Chicago to join Felipe Armenta at Far Out Hospitality. Together they created Le Margot, the French bistro on South Hulen. Elliot also reworked the menus at The Tavern, Press Café and Pacific Table and helped launch Cowboy Prime in Midland. CraveDFW wrote in July about Pacific Table’s push into Dallas. Commodore is a different chapter. This one belongs to Elliot and Rushton.

The address puts Commodore in good company. Magnolia Avenue has stayed busy, with recent arrivals including Salt & Straw, Yoichi Omakase & Handroll and the Sweet Stacks soufflé pancake café, and Beren Meze & Grill House a few blocks away. CraveDFW recently put together a night out on Magnolia that shows how much the street has to offer. A chef-driven neighborhood tavern with a terrace fits right in.

The menu leans on modern American classics run through seasonality and technique. The team is talking about whole roasted chicken, steaks, fresh fish, seasonal pastas, salads, sandwiches and the occasional Sunday roast, which sounds a lot like the English half of the partnership. Plans call for lunch, dinner and weekend brunch, and the team has pointed toward a December opening.

Anyone who can’t wait has another option. Before the doors open, the partners are taking Commodore on the road with what they call the Roadshow, offering private dinners, cocktail parties, cook-alongs and cooking classes in homes or private venues. Details are on the restaurant’s website, and the team is posting progress on Instagram.

CraveDFW will be there when the doors open.

Commodore Tavern & Terrace will be at 1101 W. Magnolia Ave., Fort Worth. Opening date to be announced.