Popular Fort Worth Burger Joint Reopens After Storm Damage

Six weeks after strong winds damaged a popular burger joint in West Fort Worth and shut it down, the restaurant reopens Thursday night.

"It was not until the next morning when I was like, 'Holy cow! This is way worse than I thought it was going to be,'" said Gigi Howell, owner and operator of JD's Hamburgers.

Howell and business partner Bourke Harvey opened the restaurant in September 2022. Customers and food critics raved about the specialty burgers, and the restaurant named after her granddad was sizzling.

Just five months later on March 2, strong wind gusts from a storm blew the roof and the sign on top right off. Rain poured through the ceiling and into the restaurant.

It was one of Howell's few nights off but she quickly got to the restaurant when the calls from her staff started coming.

"Guests and everybody was moved into the restrooms," she said. "We have containers (shipping containers) all over our backyard. Our kitchen is a container. We have several storage containers back here. And as Texas weather goes, you would think that that wind would have come right for those. But no, it came for the brick restaurant and peeled the roof off. We had several staff members and a couple of guests inside the restrooms. And luckily where the restrooms are, is the only place that the roof did not peel back."

The ceiling and walls came down. The floor came up. Howell had no choice but to close the restaurant she'd long dreamed of opening in the neighborhood her family had called home decades ago.

"My great grandparents, grandparents, great aunts and uncles all settled here in Westland back in the 40s when they moved here from Greenville, Texas," Howell said.

Westland is a subdivision in far West Fort Worth. Howell says it's not documented, "but Google Westland, Texas, and it'll pinpoint you right here."

And, her spot at 9901 Camp Bowie West Boulevard needed to get back in business.

"I'm just not even myself the past month and a half without being able to be out here and visit with everybody. That's what I love most about this industry and this restaurant is that we're building a community here. We're learning everybody's names. We're learning their kids' names. We've all become friends and I really miss everybody since we, since we've been closed," said the veteran restaurateur.

Howell, her staff, her business partner and her family all jumped in to help in any way they could.

"The morning after this happened, they (staff) all showed up," she said. "They were here with gloves. They were ready to work."

Almost two weeks after the storm, the inside had been gutted. Howell was unsure about a reopening date, only saying she hoped it would be sooner rather than later.

In the meantime, she and her business partner bought an Italian restaurant a few steps away for their next project. Margie's Original Italian Kitchen, a beloved restaurant founded by Italian immigrants Tina Lozzi and daughter Margie in 1953, will get some freshened decor, and a few new items while "preserving the spirit of Margie's, which has always been about great food, warm hospitality, and a sense of belonging," Howell said.

JD's Hamburgers won Fan Favorite Burger and the Fort Worth Food and Wine Festival Burgers, Brews + Blues.

All the while, though, Howell was counting the days until she could reopen and keeping customers updated with clever posts and the humor she's known for.

"This is so much a part of me now. The restaurant industry has always been a part of me but to have my own place. It's just home, and it makes me who I am," she said. "So there was never ever a question of getting back out here and just getting it up and going."

The dining room was gutted and repairs inside would take time, but outside the patio started looking like the perfect spot to welcome back customers.

More tables were added. Howell's uncle built a bar on wheels. And this week, Howell posted a video on the restaurant's Facebook page telling followers, "It's this week. It rhymes with Mursday. Nights only. No Sundays."

More than 40 days since storm damage forced a temporary closure, JD's reopened on Thursday, April 13 for patio service.

"We just can't think of everybody that's jumped in to help staff. Number one, our guests have come through and the restaurant industry itself has been very supportive. The first few days of us being here, we had lunch every day from another restaurant that came out here to help support us. And most of the people coming out here wanting to help also. So it's been amazing," Howell said.

She and her 30-member staff are asking customers for patience while everyone adjusts to al fresco dining for a while.

"But I guarantee you that we're all going to be here working very hard and doing whatever we can to make sure you have a great time," Howell said.