By Shilo Urban
Photography by Crystal Wise
Fine dining in the Stockyards? Yeah right. When Lonesome Dove opened in 2000, the Stockyards were more rough-and-tumble than refined — but the naysayers didn’t stop Tim Love, whose renegade vision has become a Fort Worth icon.
“We’ve been here 25 years, and we’re the busiest we’ve ever been,” says Love, the restaurant’s owner and executive chef. “Out of all the accolades in the world, that’s the biggest one to me.”
And the accolades are many. Love has earned several “Best Chef” awards in Fort Worth, DFW, and the West; he’s received three James Beard nods, made countless TV appearances, and won high-profile cooking competitions like Food Network’s Iron Chef. American Way Magazine named Lonesome Dove “one of the world’s top 50 restaurants,” with additional praise from Zagat, The Dallas Morning News, Food & Wine, Southern Living, and D Magazine (to name a few). Like any road to success, Lonesome Dove has overcome significant obstacles — and it all started on that fateful day in March 2000 when a tornado slammed into downtown Fort Worth.
At the time, Love was the head chef at Reata Restaurant on the top floor of a 35-story skyscraper. He was in the office that stormy evening when chatter erupted on his earpiece radio: Diners were getting nervous about the building’s shuddering chandeliers and slight sway.
“But that wasn’t unusual,” Love explains. “We had that happen with any big storm. I didn’t think much of it.” He went out to talk to guests and calm their fears. “We were confident everything was fine.”
Then, a yard umbrella walloped Reata’s window — 488 feet above the ground.
“I looked to the west and could see the tornado coming. I’m like, holy shit. Everybody’s got to get the hell out of here. We started to evacuate everybody, and I was literally throwing old ladies into the stairwell.
Love ran to turn off the gas, and the tornado smashed into the building.
“I had one of those big panes of glass break on my back, then I dove onto the floor and crawled like an Army man.”
Reaching the elevator alcove, he followed the instructions every Texas schoolchild knows by heart: “Duck and cover.”
It was a narrow escape, and Love soon learned that his mother had suffered a heart attack despite living in Denton, far from the tornado’s path.
“That was a nutty day,” he recalled. “It was definitely a sign from God.” He had been dreaming of leaving Reata and opening his own restaurant — and a few months later, he did.
Today, Lonesome Dove sprawls across multiple rooms and an outdoor veranda, but it began as one little shotgun building with a dining area and bar — and a menu unlike anywhere else.
“It was a huge risk, without a doubt,” says Love.
His lease cost $1,100 a month and was a handshake deal. Back then, it was easier to find a fight in the Stockyards than a fancy meal. ‘No Cruising’ signs adorned North Main, and public trash cans were few and far between.
“We put these beautiful potted plants out front of Lonesome Dove, and they’d just get smashed every single night.”
Love gave up on the plants — but persisted with his innovative Western cuisine, and the restaurant grew to fame. Yet roadblocks continued: In 2013, Lonesome Dove almost burned to the ground after an intense fire destroyed the kitchen and caused tremendous smoke damage everywhere else.
“It got so hot that it melted the tin ceiling,” he says. The floors, walls, art, mounts, curtains, and restrooms were all ruined, causing about $750,000 in damages.
“It was very, very rough. I had to rebuild the place for a second time.” Lonesome Dove rose from the ashes and then some, celebrating its 25th birthday this May with a special 25-course menu.
Love now runs 13 restaurants, including seven in the Stockyards that are a potent force in the neighborhood’s revitalization. His latest venture is Stewart’s Croquet Club & Cocktails in Fort Worth’s River District, which opened in May. With tableside martinis and caviar hot dogs delivered in cloches — it isn’t your usual sports lounge. But Love has defied the odds before.
“I work really, really hard, and I have an expectation that anybody on my team works really, really hard,” he says. “I think the accomplishments come from that.”
Plenty of work lies ahead, with Phase 2 of the Stockyards development launching in early 2026.
“We’ve got big plans,” says Love. No matter the future, you can count on fine Texas cuisine in the little shotgun building that became a Fort Worth legend.
“I’m really looking forward to the next five, 10, 15, 20 years of Lonesome Dove.”