T&P Tavern is closing permanently in Fort Worth’s historic downtown train station

T&P Tavern, a grill and bar in the 1931-vintage restaurant inside the grand old downtown Fort Worth commuter rail station, will close July 27, owners announced Tuesday on social media.

Down a dead-end driveway on the historic station concourse, the restaurant has been one of the toughest to find since it opened in 2009.

The restaurant, 221 W. Lancaster Ave., had remained generally unchanged from the original cafe in 1931, when the station served eastbound and westbound passenger trains and welcomed celebrities including President Harry S. Truman and Elvis Presley.

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The cafe and much of the station were closed for 30 years until the T&P building was converted to loft apartments and became a Trinity Railway Express commuter rail stop.

It is still decorated with original ornate ceilings and majestic chandeliers.

“After 14 wonderful years, we are announcing the permanent closure of our treasured family business, T&P Tavern. Serving the Fort Worth community has been an honor,” the announcement began. It was signed by Nathan, Joanne and Janelle Weber, Olivia Swaner and Beverly Weber.

The tavern launched a weekend brunch last year as restaurants recovered from COVID and began to struggle with increased costs.

It served lunch patrons from the Fort Worth Convention Center before food delivery became more common and before more restaurants opened near the arena.

Other restaurants opened on South Main Street near the tavern’s best parking lot, through the passenger tunnel south of the station at 200 W. Vickery Blvd.