Downtown restaurant goes dark, but only ‘temporarily’

November 12,2018

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Star-Telegram article by Bud Kennedy

The downtown Fort Worth location of Dallas-based Meso Maya has closed, but a representative commenting on social media said it’s only dark “temporarily.”

The company’s other Fort Worth location, Meso Maya Tanglewood, remains open in the Trinity Commons shopping center.

The downtown location was named Meso Maya Kress for its home in the 82-year-old Kress Building at 604 Main St.

It opened a year ago but struggled without convenient parking or a free garage nearby. The restaurant had recently added valet parking.

Meso Maya’s parent, Firebird Restaurant Group, also owns El Fenix, with 21 regional locations, and Snuffer’s, with 11 locations. The company also closed a newer concept in the West 7th shops, TorTaco. An Arlington Snuffer’s closed last summer.

Meso Maya Kress was one of two prominent restaurants that closed Monday. It was also the final day for Bravo! Italian restaurant in Trinity Commons, with diners being referred to corporate cousin Brio Italian in Southlake Town Square.

Bravo! had suffered lately along with other chain restaurants, and the outlook changed significantly when that Ohio-based chain was bought up this year by a Swiss private equity firm affiliated with a Bermuda investment firm.

The Fort Worth location opened in 2013. The building was originally built in 1998 as a Fresh Choice buffet and then became The Covey brewpub.

The Meso maya and Bravo! closings follow other prominent shutdowns including the Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers location in Southlake and a Luby’s Cafeteria in south Arlington.

Cafe 1187 near Benbrook and Mariposa’s Latin Kitchen in west Fort Worth are converting to catering-only. The Smoke Pit BBQ near downtown Fort Worth moved a few blocks east and merged with Sammies.