Fred’s Texas Cafe Brings Its Famous Burgers to Crowley, Opening First Spot Outside Fort Worth

In the quest for the next Fred’s Texas Café would open, Crowley won the prize. The Fred’s crew seems to be very pleased with the site for the local chain’s newest restaurant.

“Crowley’s got a real small-town community feel to it,” said Fred’s Texas Cafe President Quincy Wallace about the suburb chosen for the expansion. “I wanted to go South, and I wanted to move out of our market but stay close enough to our market that the team could still have a finger on it.”

The Crowley location at 101 N Magnolia St. now holds the distinction of becoming the first location outside of Fort Worth in Fred’s Texas Café’s 48-year history. A ribbon cutting, delayed one week because of the North Texas winter storm, was held Tuesday at the Crowley site.

Deep Local History

Fred’s newest location occupies a building with deep local history and a tale of historic preservation. The original brick structure, now home to the bar, dates to 1887, when it opened as the Hays Brothers General Store and Post Office. In 1919, the property became the Clover Farm Store, and the original wooden building was replaced with brick in 1925. From 1957 to 1976, the site housed Legg’s Super Saver. Then Fred’s added the remainder of the dining room, expanding the restaurant while still preserving the historic structure’s character.

The new restaurant also preserves the food that Fred’s Texas’ Café has served for nearly 50 years. It’s the same burgers and onion rings that drew the show “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” to Fred’s. Guy Fieri and his Food Network TV actually visited the laid-back casual spot not once, but twice. It’s that same Texas style that Fred’s fans like that Wallace has brought to Crowley.

“The only thing that changed is we added another address on the menu,” Wallace said.

Thoughts Behind Expansion

Crowley, a town of about 20,000, is located mostly within Tarrant County, with a small portion extending into Johnson County. Easy access to the downtown site and a willing workforce were important to Wallace in his decision to open his third restaurant. The location and the people were appealing when Wallace was looking for where to expand his business.

“There are a small number of restaurants with a large number of rooftops,” he said of the growing suburb.

The city’s leadership has rolled out the welcome mat, too. Even though the ribbon-cutting was just this week, the restaurant opened its doors without fanfare already. Wallace said the people couldn’t have been nicer.

“So far so good,” Wallace said. “We couldn’t be more pleased. It’s the best opening we’ve had.

“We want to be a part of the community. We want to be involved by feeding and helping the community grow.”

Fred’s Texas Café in Crowley will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. daily.