Inside The Nobleman Hotel & Duchess Restaurant

The South Main Village welcomes a much-anticipated new hotel to this downtown-adjacent neighborhood. Located at 503 Bryan Avenue, the Nobleman Hotel is the first arrival of a Tapestry Collection by Hilton property in town. Fort Worth’s restored firehouse No. 5 was built in 1911, when the area was largely a warehouse district. Now, the site has blossomed into a luxury boutique hotel, complete with its Duchess restaurant.

With over 25 years in the hospitality industry, Jeff Blackman of Dallas-based hotel development company, Bedford Lodging, brought this vision to life. The estimated $26.5 million project is the first one Bedford Lodging has completed in Fort Worth, with its opening at the end of April.

The newer sections of The Nobleman Hotel wrap around the historic firehouse, adding 153 guest rooms, including 32 suites, to the Southside and its bustling Hospital District nearby. The suites include full-size refrigerators, cooktops, dishwashers, and convection microwaves ― providing everything you need for a comfortable extended stay.

Other amenities of the property include a pool, a fitness center, as well as indoor and outdoor meeting space. The pool will be a nice respite in the urban village, fitted with fireplaces, lush greenery, and lounge seating.

Historic Elements of The Nobleman Hotel

The signature element of The Nobleman Hotel is its historic Fire Station No. 5, which opened in 1911 and was decommissioned in the mid-1960s. Most recently, it housed Black Eyed Distilling. Like many other local businesses, the black-eyed pea-based vodka brand was a casualty of pandemic closures, leaving behind a timeless husk just begging for its next chapter to unfold.

The Nobleman provides 2,475 square feet of total meeting space, across three meeting rooms, with the largest event space set-up being 1,500 square feet. The exterior of the historic landmark remains untouched, though the windows were refurbished. It was one of three local fire stations designed by the famed architecture firm of Sanguinet & Staats.

The fire station now provides a landmark entry to the hotel, welcoming visitors at check-in, along with cozy seating areas, game spaces, and a striking steel-framed staircase framed with eye-catching ribbed glass that even incorporates the original fireman’s pole into its design.

On this main level is where you’ll find the hotel’s signature restaurant ― Duchess, and its inviting lobby bar where guests will be treated to 12 different specialty cocktails ― some featuring local brands like Blackland spirits and La Pulga tequilas, along with light bites.

Excitement Builds For Duchess Restaurant

Fort Worth diners will remember chef Casey Thompson from her creative menu that launched Brownstone in Artisan Circle (what was then simply known as West Seventh District). Her career began in her hometown of Dallas, working under chef Dean Fearing at Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, before becoming executive chef at  Shinsei.

Thompson most recently earned Bib Gourmand recommendations by The Michelin Guide during her tenure at Folktable in Sonoma, California, and she has been a frequent personality on many Food Network shows, including Top Chef and Season Five of Tournament of Champions (like fellow alum Tim Love, who appeared this year on its Season Six).

Two notable Fort Worth culinary figures are on the team as well. Carlos Cueva, who serves as director of food and beverage at The Nobleman, and Marcus Kopplin who steps into the role of executive sous chef. Kopplin served as executive chef of Clay Pigeon and was Preston Paine’s sous chef when Emelia’s opened in The Crescent Hotel as well.

After many years wowing California audiences, this Dallas-native is returning to North Texas to concept the New American menu at Duchess. Once it’s up and running, Thompson will next turn her attention to multiple projects in the Texas Hill Country, Kopplin says. He says breakfast service began for hotel guests on Thursday, April 24, and dinner service is to follow on May 5.

“We have an awesome burger on the menu,” Marcus Kopplin says. “I think it will be up there with local steakhouses.”

Other menu previews of Duchess include starters like beef carpaccio and oysters on ice, plus a very Fort Worth spin on a Texas beef, boar, and beer chili. Main dishes will include a one-half Koji brined roasted hen, a nduja red snapper dish, and steaks like the center cut filet. Side dishes will include familiar hand-cut French fries, spinach and black eyed peas, and a decadent baguette served with Texas butter and pan drippings.

“I came up with the dessert menu,” Kopplin says. “We’ll have a key lime pavlova with toasted coconut, a sticky toffee date cake, and a triple chocolate tart.”

The Nobleman Hotel breathes new life into a Fort Worth landmark, and the arrival of Duchess has upped the culinary appeal of South Main Village.

This story can also be found in print inside the May/June issue of 817biz which is a trusted business journal for Tarrant County. 817biz is printed bi-monthly, and its digital newsletter comes directly to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.