Success Secrets in Fort Worth

The Stockyards is a national historic district home to dozens of local restaurants and shops that are a staple attraction to anyone visiting the city. As soon as you drive onto Main Street and enter the Stockyards, you are taken back to a time that feels less hectic and crazy than the world we live in today. Cobblestone roads lead you to various attractions and restaurants, one of which is the famous Joe T. Garcia's. Family run and owned since 1935, “Joe T’s” is not only an important restaurant in Fort Worth, but crucial to the city’s culture and history as well. One of the oldest restaurants in the city, Joe T’s has continued to develop throughout the years while maintaining the same look and feel it has had from the beginning. When Joe and his wife first worked on the idea for the restaurant, it was in the late 1920s. It wasn’t until 1935 when the restaurant came to life, starting out in a small house with just eight tables. Almost 80 years later, Joe T’s has expanded not only physically, but also with its popularity in Fort Worth. The restaurant prides itself on maintaining a family atmosphere, and has remained this way because the ownership and management of the restaurant has remained in the Garcia family. After Joe passed away in the 1950s, his wife and children began to take over, which then entered in a new era of Joe T’s. While the restaurant has changed throughout the years, one thing remains the same: the food. Texas is known for its Tex-Mex food, but Joe T’s brings that to a whole different level. Elliot Lerma, great-grandson of Joe, has grown up going to the restaurant his whole life, and has his favorite dish off the menu. “The enchiladas are my favorite. Especially with a margarita on the rocks,” Lerma said. One thing that sets Joe T’s apart from other Mexican restaurants and restaurants in general is that its menu is seemingly unchanged since its origin 80 years ago. And that is one thing that keeps the customers coming back for more. Zurella Lancarte, Joe’s granddaughter and Lerma's mother, says there are people that come in anywhere from once a week to three times a week to get their “fix.” From those regulars to newcomers, Lancarte says she always tries to make sure that everyone feels at home when they enter the restaurant. One time in particular really made Lancarte cherish her family’s tradition. It was a normal day at the restaurant, and a young Asian woman was sitting by herself at a table. Lancarte went up to the woman and asked her how she was and what she would like. “I couldn’t understand what the girl was saying, but she brought out a map of Fort Worth and pointed to Joe T’s,” Lancarte said. From what she got, the woman had been travelling around the country, and upon coming to Fort Worth, she knew she had to try Joe T’s. For Lancarte, it was astounding that someone would come from the other side of the world to try her family’s restaurant, which continues to remain very special for her. One of Joe’s grandsons, and one of Zurella’s brothers, Phillip Lancarte, says he thinks the secret for Joe T’s success is great service and great food. “There have been people that have come up to me saying they ate here in the 1960s and it tastes the exact same today,” Lancarte said. The consistency in service and food is what both Zurella and Phillip Lancarte believe to be what sets Joe T’s apart from other restaurants, and why it has remained so popular to this day.