Today we’d like to introduce you to Jon Bonnell.
Jon, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’m a Chef who’s 4th generation Ft Worth. I graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1994, then the New England Culinary Institute in 1998. I opened my first restaurant in 2001, now operating four separate locations in Ft Worth.
Has it been a smooth road?
The restaurant business is always a difficult road. There is never a single guarantee of any sales, just the hope that customers will keep walking through the door and purchase most of what you have brought in and prepped. I’ve had the great fortune to make four different restaurants work, but none have ever been what I would call “easy”.
Tell us more about the business.
I’m the Chef and Owner of the Bonnell’s Restaurant Group. Our first restaurant, my namesake Bonnell’s is a farm to table, Fine Texas Cuisine concept featuring as many local farms and ranches as possible and many wild game specialties. Waters is our seafood-focused endeavor located in the heart of Sundance Square. Our specialty is a vast raw bar, and the freshest wild, seasonal, and sustainable seafood I can procure every day. It has a bit of a New Orleans-meets Texas feel to it. Our other two concepts are in the Sports Bar realm, named Buffalo Bros, Pizza Wings & Subs. One location is right in the middle of the TCU campus, while our newest one is located in Sundance Square. We are locally owned, individually run, mom and pop restaurants. They are all chef-driven and inspired.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The trend in food is always changing, but some things remain constant. Good food and quality ingredients always win out. The super-trendy types of cuisine are just that, trendy. Trends are always subject to being on their way out. We try to focus on more sustainable flavors that will taste as good now as next year. The biggest change I keep seeing in our industry that will change how we do business are coming in the delivery of food and information. The digital age has revolutionized how we get deliveries, and how customers search for dining destinations.
Contact Info:
- Address: The Bonnell’s Restaurant Group, 4 locations
Bonnell’s, Fine Texas Cusine
Waters Restaurant
Buffalo Bros University
Buffalo Bros Sundance Square - Website: www.bonnellsrestaurantgroup.com
- Phone: 8177385489
- Email: chef@bonnellstexas.com
- Facebook: bonnells restaurant. waters restaurant. buffalo bros
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