‘They’re our friends’: Celebrities still flock to Joe T. Garcia’s, a Fort Worth institution

FORT WORTH, Texas — A couple weeks ago, Joe T. Garcia’s, Fort Worth’s famed 88-year-old Tex-Mex restaurant, posted a picture on Facebook of the country music legend Tanya Tucker. She was posing with Joe T. Lancarte, whose grandparents founded the restaurant, and enjoying a spread of menu staples, including a margarita.

The restaurant’s fans got a kick out of it: More than 10,000 reactions on Facebook, and hundreds of comments, including one from Tucker herself, who declared Joe T.’s her “long time favorite place!”

It was the type of reaction most restaurants might see for a celebrity sighting. But few in North Texas are more familiar with the famous than Joe T.’s.

The family-owned institution, located on North Commerce Street near the Fort Worth Stockyards and known for its sprawling garden oasis of a patio, is still a place to see and be seen.

Maybe the place in Fort Worth.

In the last month alone, Joe T.’s has hosted — in addition to Tucker — comedian David Spade, actor Luke Wilson, country singers Lainey Wilson and Miranda Lambert, and cast members from the Fort Worth-filmed “1883.”

In September, Mark Wahlberg and the golfer Abraham Ancer were at the restaurant for a Flecha Azul Tequila event. Wahlberg handed out shots and mingled through the crowd.

And back in August, the restaurant caught wind that a special guest would be joining a rehearsal dinner there: Matt LeBlanc, the star actor who played Joey Tribbiani in the hit show “Friends.”

Yes, even Joey T. has eaten at Joe T.’s.

“It is just a really sweet response to what we’ve been doing since 1935,” Kelly Lancarte, a fourth-generation member of the restaurant’s family, said of Joe T.’s celebrity clientele. “They’re our friends. That’s how we see them.”

Lancarte said most celebrities will call ahead before visiting the restaurant. Others, like Tucker, will simply drop in on a whim, if they’re in town. 

Tucker, by the way, is said to be a fan of Joe T.’s chile relleno and margarita.

Tucker is a longtime guest, but Joe T.’s has had numerous celebrities and famous people frequent their restaurant, from Garth Brooks to Michael Jackson to Bruce Springsteen to Elton John … and the list goes on.

Joe T.’s staffers follow a simple playbook with their high-profile customers: Make them feel comfortable.

Many don’t mind sitting among the crowds, Lancarte said; Lambert, for example, likes to sit on the patio, by Joe T.’s famous pool. Others might want more privacy, perhaps renting out a private room. 

But most just want a relaxing meal with family or friends. Joe T.’s tries to make sure guests aren’t hounded for pictures or attention, and they rarely are. And if the restaurant decides to post about a famous guest, they’ll wait until a day or two later.

“Most of the time they just want to sit out on the patio and enjoy it like everyone else,” Kelly Lancarte said. “There’s just something magical when you walk in. They feel like they’re in a little bit of a paradise.”

Two of Lancarte’s favorites are actors Harrison Ford and Hugh Jackman, “both just the most kind, normal guys,” she said. Ford and Jackman like to sit on the patio, and they’ll often order the enchilada dinner, a favorite among the celebrities.

Joe T’s famous nacho plate is a hit, too, and so is the margarita. 

Of course, a few of the famous still like to live large.

Lancarte recalled when Guns ‘N Roses came to town sometime in the ’90s and rented out two private rooms.

“The party of all parties,” Lancarte said. “They kept us here until late in the night.”

Joe T. Lancarte, Kelly Lancarte’s uncle who grew up around the restaurant, has more celebrity stories than he can count. A few stand out, though.

He was waiting tables as a teenager, and still mostly a fan of country music, when a certain rock band showed up. Lancarte didn’t know them but chatted them up and learned their name: Fleetwood Mac. Then he asked another guy at the table if he also played in the band.

No, he told Lancarte. His name was Kenny Loggins.

Lancarte had another memorable encounter years ago, when the Fort Worth billionaire Sid Bass arrived with a party for lunch. Among the guests? Henry Kissinger, the former U.S. secretary of state who died this past November.

“I just dang near fell off my feet,” Lancarte said. “He was just talking away.”

And yes, Kissinger ordered the enchiladas.