DOSSIER
H O S P I TA L I T Y
story by
KELSEY J. VANDERSCHOOT
022
OCTOBER 2021
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celebrity chef tim love, who competed on the “THE REALITY hit show Iron Chef and later hosted CNBC’s Restaurant OF IT IS, I CAN Startup, knew he wanted to expand when he opened his BUILD A HOTEL first concept, Lonesome Dove Western Bistro, in Fort FOR MUCH Worth’s Historic Stockyards in 2000. “I felt like two CHEAPER restaurants cost money, three restaurants make monTHAN ANYBODY ey,” he says. Ever filled with ideas, Love’s empire now includes more than 14 venues in Fort Worth, Denton, ELSE.” and Knoxville, Tennessee, ranging from Mule Alley newcomer Ático, a Spanish tapas concept, to Stockyards staple Elephant Saloon. His latest addition? A riverside micro resort called Hotel Otto, with rooms made of shipping containers. Love launched Gemelle, an Italian restaurant named for his twin daughters, along the west fork of the Trinity River in 2019. Excess riverfront land provided an opportunity to test out an idea he’d been stewing on. “I’ve had this in my head to do something with shipping containers for a long time,” he says. “And the reality of it is, I can build a hotel for much cheaper than anybody else because I can start with the restaurants.” Thus, Hotel Otto, which means eight in Italian and reflects the number of shipping container resort rooms, was born. The property opened in July. It features an Aperol bar also open to restaurant guests, a pool made from a shipping container, and a 10,000-square-foot garden, from which many of Gemelle’s ingredients and cocktail garnishes are grown. Each room is decked out with Hermès linens, a full bath, and a bar. A winding outdoor staircase takes guests to the top of each unit, where Love has created space to enjoy a late-night cocktail or morning coffee with river views. When I visited, Love was toying with the idea of turning a ninth container into a small café for resort guests. The entrepreneur’s immediate plans are to open three new restaurants at Mule Alley in the Fort Worth Stockyards—a Mexican concept called Paloma Suerte, a small (50-seat) American Italian restaurant, and another large concept whose details are still under wraps—in late 2021 TINY HOTEL and early 2022. But he’s also eyeing an exLove’s shipping pansion of his resorts. container hotel units include roof“I can take this footprint, and I can get a top lounge areas where guests can piece of land, and I can build it in literally 12 relax and enjoy weeks,” Love says. river views.
P H OTO G R A P H Y C O U R T E S Y O F H O T E L O T T O
Celebrity chef Tim Love has concocted a new recipe for a micro resort in Fort Worth.
DCEOMAGAZINE.COM
9/7/21 11:13 AM
