On May 29, compadres Grady Spears and Louis Lambert combined culinary forces once again, this time to open Dutch’s, a good ol’ neighborhood joint, at 3009 S. University Dr., in Fort Worth. The burger-and-beer café sits in a historic building next to the longtime TCU Theater, in the former Jon’s Grille space, facing the main Texas Christian University campus.

A dozen years ago, the pair first cooked together when they worked at the original Reata restaurant in Alpine and later at the Fort Worth location. Their current Cowtown reunion is a perfect fit, as Spears is a Fort Worth native and Lambert is a TCU alumnus.

Together they chose the name Dutch’s to combine plenty of Fort Worth and TCU heritage for their new college café: The restaurant namesake is Leo “Dutch” Meyer, a TCU grad who became the most successful football coach in Horned Frog history. Lou’s grandfather, Ewell McKnight, and brother, Blake Lambert, in fact, played at TCU, and Lou’s dad, Hal Lambert, played when Dutch was the school’s athletic director.

While at TCU, Lou took his first job at the then-Hyatt in downtown Fort Worth before going on to school at the Culinary Institute of America in New York. He worked at Café Pacific in Dallas and for Wolfgang Puck at Postrio in San Francisco, among other jobs, before returning to Texas and work with Grady. In Austin, where he now lives, he’s owned several restaurants, including today’s very popular places, Jo’s Hot Coffee, Good Food and Lamberts Downtown Barbecue. Grady’s work has included Reata restaurants in Texas and California and the Chisholm Club in Fort Worth, as well as writing several cookbooks and consulting on restaurants in Las Vegas and Houston.

But long before all that, the idea for a burger joint first came to the pair of pals well over a decade ago. While working in the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas, the two cooked on special catering gigs aboard train trips into Mexico’s Copper Canyon. Lou says they sat in a bar-café in Chihuahua City and talked about how much fun it would be to do an old-fashioned burger joint someday – and now, it’s finally come to pass.

“We felt like the college kids here needed a good burger-and-beer joint, and the TCU neighborhood could use a good community hangout,” Lou says. “It will be straight-up fare, putting integrity back into the hamburger. We’re not reinventing the wheel- just trying to do it better.”

Along with various burger options -- including all-natural, hand-formed beef patties, a chicken-patty burger and a veggie burger -- Dutch’s will offer a tuna melt and griddled three-cheese sandwich; buffalo chicken nuggets, nachos, chips and a special queso-bean Trinity Mud Dip; hand-cut fries, salads, gourmet hot dogs and a country club sandwich; and Grady’s signature Frito pie, tamales and chicken-fried steak fingers.

“We just want to give people simple, hand-made food that makes them feel good,” says Grady. “And just as important, we want them to have a comfortable place to hang out with friends and family and neighbors.”

In the morning hours, diners at Dutch’s can pick up breakfast tacos or pastries, as well as espressos and coffee drinks, freshly-squeezed juices and a selection of teas. Specialty bottled waters will be available, as will bottled and tap beer and wines by the glass and bottle. Students and neighborhood folks wanting to camp for a spell can take advantage of free Wi-Fi, too.

With a seating capacity of about 100, Dutch’s has a clean, country look from a bygone era. There’s a long shotgun counter/bar fronted by classic chrome barstools with cushy, wine-colored seats. The barstools also provide seating along the front window, overlooking University Drive. Light khaki-green wainscoting flows along the walls, with green-and-white detail above. The stainless-steel open kitchen is the focal point in the main dining room; ceiling fans and soft lighting hang from the vintage tin ceiling; and a big, wooden table invites community seating in the big dining area.