Fort Worth burger restaurant Tommy’s on Camp Bowie was heavily damaged in a May 9 fire. Photo vis Facebook
JAMES RUSSELL | Contributing Writer
james.journo@gmail.com
An early morning fire earlier this month has forced lauded Fort Worth burger joint Tommy’s Hamburger Grill on Camp Bowie Boulevard to close until further notice. The restaurant’s two other locations remain open.
Fort Worth Fire Department officials said crews arrived to find light smoke and fire coming from a vent on the roof of the building at around 5 a.m. on Friday, May 9. Firefighters got the blaze under control shortly after. Other businesses in the strip shopping center were also damaged but no one was injured.
It is unclear when the location will reopen, but owner Kelly Smith assured the restaurant’s fans that it will reopen. Smith urged patrons to visit their other locations: Tommy’s Burgers and Brews at 1736 Mall Circle, and Tommy’s Hamburger Grill and Patio at 2455 Forest Park Blvd.
Meanwhile, neighboring businesses are also stepping up to help out. Dive bar Sarah’s Place, across the street at 5223 Camp Bowie Blvd., is taking donations, according to its Facebook page, by cash, credit cards or Venmo (@Sarahs_Place).
Tommy’s Hamburger Grill is one of three locations of the award-winning restaurant, which opened in 1983 in a Texaco convenience store in Lake Worth. The Camp Bowie location opened in 2002.
Kelly Smith acquired it from her father, Tommy, and mother, Glenda, in 2007.
Smith is a longtime Fort Worth resident, LGBTQ advocate and volunteer for various causes, including the AIDS Outreach Center where she served as a past board president. Her service to AOC earned her an inaugural Visionary Award from Fairness Fort Worth’s Legacy Project. It was her first LGBT-related award.
As a couple, Kelly Smith and her wife, Holly Edwards, are both active in the Susan G. Komen Foundation’s annual Race for the Cure fundraiser, and they are active members of Tarrant County Stonewall Democrats, which meets at Tommy’s Forest Park Boulevard location.