As the co-owner of the new Hotel Dryce, the owner of the Fort Worth Barber Shop, and the host of the Magnolia Network’s Self Employed, 37-year-old Jonathan Morris is one of the biggest cheerleaders for creative small businesses in Cowtown, or has he prefers to call it, Funky Town. With its current hotel boom as well as the $500 million overhaul of the historic Stockyards, including Mule Alley, the city’s tourism industry is undergoing a major transformation—and Morris is a big part of that. Here are a few of his preferred haunts in Fort Worth.

Cherry Coffee Shop

Morris has a daily ritual of recording himself sipping espresso at local cafes for Instagram; this one appears regularly for obvious reasons: his wife, Katherine, is the owner. 1121 W. Magnolia Ave, 817-796-6001

The Holly

“It’s a natural-wine bar that our friends Liz and Stephen Mears just opened,” he says. It’s one of the only such shops in the city. 305 W. Daggett Ave, 817-420-6446

The Modern

“This is my personal favorite museum but architecturally my favorite space in Fort Worth. The building itself was designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando. I love eating at Café Modern—they’ve got a new chef there, Jett Mora, who is doing really fun, interesting things.” 3200 Darnell, 817-738-9215

Smoke-A-Holics BBQ 

“It’s right down the street from my grandma’s place. They were on the Texas Monthly Top 50 list for the first time last year. It’s a game-changer for them.” 1417 Evans Ave, 817-386-5658

Tokyo Cafe

Owned by Mary and Jarry Ho, “the space is really cool—a little touch of Japan on the west side of Fort Worth.” 5121 Pershing Ave, 817-737-8568 

This article originally appeared in the March 2022 issue of Texas Monthly with the headline “Checking in to Funky Town.” Subscribe today.