Croquet might seem like a summertime leisure sport that characters would play on Bridgerton or in The Great Gatsby, but there was a time when it was a popular game for everyone. Popular enough, in fact, to be an Olympic sport in 1900. Although its heyday has long since passed, it could be making a comeback today thanks to a new spot in Fort Worth.
Stewart’s Croquet & Cocktail Club
4424 White Settlement Rd., Fort Worth.
817-214-4500;
stewartscocktailclub.com
In May, celebrity chef Tim Love—known for his appearances on shows like Top Chef Masters and The Next Iron Chef, and as the owner of Lonesome Dove Western Bistro, White Elephant Saloon, and Hotel Otto, among other hospitality spots in Texas—opened Stewart’s, a croquet and cocktails bar along Fort Worth’s Trinity Trail. It has everything you’d expect from Love: style, elegance, and great eats.
Cozy at just 28 seats, the bar features a sophisticated interior décor with plush velvet seating; shelves filled with books, croquet balls, and other odds and ends; and a glitzy bar with custom glassware. The menu leans toward elevated bites including caviar, Texas Blue crab cakes, lobster rolls, and zucchini carpaccio.
Outside is where the real action takes place. The 15,000-square-foot lawn offers two croquet courts that allow up to 12 players per court. Stewart’s follows a first-come, first-served policy, and players only need to wait for those ahead of them to finish their game.
Inspiration to open Stewart’s came from childhood memories. “Croquet is a game I grew up playing with my dad at his farm in Tennessee, and it just always felt like a cool, under-the-radar game that’s easy to play with a drink in hand,” Love says. But, he adds, there’s also a practical need: “In Texas summers, we want to be outdoors but not running marathons.”
A high-end cocktail bar with a croquet lawn may give off country club vibes, but Stewart’s is far from pretentious. Games are congenial and casual—and entirely free. People can spend a day playing an old-fashioned game while sipping signature cocktails like the Croquet Cup, a combination of rosé, Lillet, raspberry coulis, lemon, and mint, or a vodka or gin martini from the bar’s Martini Cart.
Even though Stewart’s is the only croquet bar in Texas so far, you’d be mistaken if you thought Texans and croquet were an odd mix. There’s a history of the game played here. Legend has it that in 1900, members of Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch were playing a game of croquet in Concho County at Ben Kilpatrick’s parent’s place when a cowboy named Oliver Thornton arrived from a nearby ranch. Why he showed up is unclear, but the Wild Bunch’s croquet game ended when one (or more) members shot Thornton dead.
A search on The Portal to Texas History results in black-and-white photographs of University of North Texas students playing the game in 1942 and firefighters enjoying it in the 1970s. There’s even a photo provided by the Danish Heritage Preservation Society of men and women in suits, dresses, and jackets braving the heat to play games of croquet in what looks like the late 1800s.
Croquet has a more recent presence in Texas, too. In October 1991, the International Croquet Association hosted its third annual Masters of Croquet tournament on the accredited croquet lawn of the Loews Anatole Hotel in Dallas (today the Hilton Anatole). Twenty-four professionals from Australia, New Zealand, Bermuda, Ireland, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States competed for a $30,000 cash purse and prizes.
Four years later, the eXtreme Croquet Society formed in East Texas when charter members were on a retreat in the Piney Woods. They created an extreme version of the sport by placing wickets in difficult spots in the woods resulting in more challenging courses. Tournaments for the eXtreme Croquet Society fizzled out around 2007, but there are still some players in East Texas who gather for sporadic games.
Today, you can find croquet played at Austin’s Commodore Perry Estate, which hosts Croquet and Rosé on its lower lawn every Saturday in the spring and summer for overnight guests and members. Both Houston and Dallas have their own croquet associations, and there is a Facebook page for Croquet Texas.
According to John Brown, president of the Houston Croquet Association and first vice president of the United States Croquet Association, there are over 100 members in the Houston association and over 130 players statewide that are part of the USCA.
“Texas does boast a number of very accomplished players in competitive croquet that have won national and international titles,” he says. In fact, Brown was USCA Rookie of the Year in 2012.
Brown finds people are drawn to the sport because they’re not limited by age, it’s “fairly easy” to play against players at other levels, and, depending on players’ skills and strategies, games can build in complexity. Others, he adds, enjoy the camaraderie of the games or find interest in new trends in the sport, like Golf Croquet. Brown picked up croquet after a knee injury from college lacrosse made him unable to play sports like tennis, lacrosse, or soccer competitively. “Striking a croquet ball with precision and accuracy mimicked games like golf and tennis, and I wanted to improve as I enjoyed the lawns and the game so much,” he says.
As for croquet being a great summertime sport, Brown says, “Croquet is a game that everyone can play together. There are few sports that offer this type of lowkey pleasure.”
It’s still too soon to know if Love is onto something, but he believes Stewart’s, with its modern makeover of croquet, will attract folks looking for summertime fun with sport, food, and drinks in Fort Worth. “Croquet’s an old-school game, but we’re serving it up with custom martinis and caviar bumps. That mix of grit and luxury, of fun and finesse—that’s Fort Worth in a nutshell,” Love says.
It’s already attracted the attention of croquet aficionados like Brown, who saw an advertisement for Stewart’s and has plans to drive up with friends for rounds of croquet and cocktails.
