How TCU Alumnus Chris Reale is Leading Paris Coffee Shop Into its Next Century

WHEN CHRIS REALE ’17 NEEDS SPACE TO RECHARGE, he visits his rustic property in rural Whitney, Texas, camping in his Airstream travel trailer. At 35, the chef, gym owner and now operating partner of the nearly century-old Paris Coffee Shop in Fort Worth admits he’s never liked sitting still. Decompressing, for him, consists of hunting deer — which he’ll process, cook and eat — with a compound bow while harnessed high in a tree.

Tough pursuits, whether by choice or by necessity, have defined Reale’s entire life, so it’s no surprise he thrives on them.

Reale described a somewhat unstable upbringing in Haltom City, Texas, where he said he “grew up super poor.” He shared a tiny three-bedroom, one-bathroom home with two older siblings, a volatile father who was in and out of prison, his mother and whichever “random aunt or troubled teen” she would take in.

“At one point we had nine people living in the house,” he said.

Fast-forward to Reale’s time at TCU. He enrolled in his mid-20s after earning an associate’s degree from Tarrant County College and while busy working directly with one of Texas’ most notable and sought-after chefs, Lou Lambert.

While Reale’s fellow nutrition students were just learning the ins and outs of the food industry, he had already racked up nearly 10 years of restaurant experience in upscale kitchen management and operations. That included high-profile catering for millionaire ranchers, musicians and even the Bush family. (Lambert and Reale provided the cuisine for Jenna Bush Hager’s 2008 nuptials in Crawford, Texas.)

Anne VanBeber, professor of nutritional sciences, called Reale one of her most impressive students.

“His skill set in the kitchen was so advanced,” she said. “When working with other undergraduate students in the kitchen lab setting, he was a leader and role model. He understood that he possessed a lot of street smarts, but he valued what he was gaining in his education at TCU.”

For Reale, it was the ultimate pursuit: completing a college degree while working upward of 60 hours a week.

“I could have been a doctor for how long I was in school,” Reale joked. “It wasn’t from lack of good grades, but some years I could only take six hours. But not once did I think, ‘This isn’t going to work’ or ‘This is going to be too hard.’ This is just what it has to be.”

FEEDING HIS CREATIVITY

“I’m a restaurant guy,” Reale says. “I just love the idea of feeding someone.”

At 8 years old, Reale proclaimed his desire to become a chef. He described his mother as a phenomenal cook who would prepare authentic Italian dishes ideal for feeding a crowd. Standing on a chair helping her stir marinara or Bolognese sauce fed his hunger for serving others.

“Communion, family time and eating together was a huge aspect of my upbringing,” he said.

Reale was 15 when he got a job working nights in the kitchen at Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse downtown, where his mother worked as a server. The hottest fine dining establishment in town at the time, with a regular customer base of Fort Worth elite, it’s where he learned the importance of systems in the kitchen.

At Del Frisco’s, Reale was a high school student working alongside Fort Worth restaurant royalty: Adam Jones, who now owns Grace, 61 Osteria and Little Red Wasp; Anthony Felli, now executive chef at Jon Bonnell’s Waters Restaurant; and Martin Thompson, who owned and operated Cat City Grill for 15 years. Reale credits each for industry insights and life lessons learned while on the job.

“All three of those men have been so crucial to my success,” he said.

Reale was also moonlighting as a drummer in metal bands, playing gigs in Dallas and at the Ridglea Theater in Fort Worth.

“I got my first drum set at 9 years old and mowed lawns to save $350 to get it,” he said.

Eventually, Reale craved a more creative kitchen than offered at Del Frisco’s, a chain that adhered to corporate recipes. He found that outlet at Zambrano Wine Cellar one block away.

“I started making pizza by hand, prime rib and experimenting with fancy plating for dishes like caprese salad with beefsteak tomatoes,” he said. “Del Frisco’s was such a machine, and you’re doing the same thing every day. Now I was creating features, wine dinners and expanding a little more.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Things changed quickly for Reale when he applied for a line cook position at Lambert’s Steak, Seafood & Whiskey, opened by seventh-generation Texan Lou Lambert in 2008. Buzz surrounded the new establishment during a time when Texas-inspired cuisine was trending.

“As we got to know him, he showed the tenacity of wanting to learn and being willing to work,” Lambert said. “He asked questions, kept his head down and started exhibiting characteristics of creativity but also understanding the business. Over the years, I became more invested in him in business and personally. He became part of the family.”

Lambert said it’s rare to find an employee who can showcase innovation in the kitchen while knowing how to control important operational factors such as labor, food costs and inventory.

Reale credits Lambert for pushing him out of his comfort zone and expanding his culinary vision beyond “banging pots and pans” forever.

“He asked, ‘Have you ever thought about being a manager or opening your own restaurant?’ I said no,” Reale said. “My bar was set pretty low. The thought of ‘big picture’ didn’t correlate in my head.”

Lambert soon entrusted Reale with some of his biggest business endeavors. Reale took on leadership positions in both the front and back of the house at Lambert’s. When the restaurant closed in 2012, Lambert made Reale the point person for his ongoing catering business and included him in his Campo Smokehouse food truck, among other projects.

After a stint at Grace, where Reale led the bar program while still assisting Lambert with big events, the duo reunited to reincarnate Roy Pope Grocery after its pandemic-induced closing in 2020. The landmark grocer, butcher shop and café on Fort Worth’s West Side had been open since 1943. At the time, Reale was rediscovering his love for music, drumming for an alternative metal band, My Perfect End. But he put down his drumsticks for what he calls the hardest project he’s ever encountered.

“It was the height of Covid. There were construction delays, we couldn’t get any purveyors. I was drowning,” he said. “I was sleeping in the booths, working over 100 hours a week. I put every last hour in this thing.” It reopened in 2021.

When Paris Coffee Shop came up for sale in 2020, Reale and his mentor, chef Lou Lambert, stepped in to keep the diner from being converted into apartments.

That same year, Paris Coffee Shop came up for sale, and Lambert and his partners wanted to save the iconic diner from being converted into apartments.

“I said, ‘No way,’ ” Reale said. “But Fort Worth is full of heritage and culture, and that was the driving force that we had to do it.”

Reale said gutting Paris Coffee Shop, which he described as being held together by “grease and memories,” was necessary to continue its legacy for more generations in Fort Worth. He and Lambert wanted to showcase a refreshed, bright and airy version of the historic eatery while keeping as much of the original equipment, fixtures and decor as possible. Reale admitted that restaurant regulars weren’t initially happy with the changes.

“But they quickly gave us grace,” he said.

SETTING A NEW PACE

Reale and Lambert eventually stepped away from the day-to-day operation of Roy Pope Grocery and are now fully dedicated to seeing Paris Coffee Shop through its 100th anniversary this year and for years to come, Reale said.

The 2:30 p.m. closing time is well-suited for Reale’s newest role as a father to his 2-year-old son and for a somewhat slower pace that includes regular visits to Westfork Fitness, a full-service gym he opened with Lambert in Fort Worth’s River District. Reale has used his hospitality background to instill high-end customer service principles at Westfork and even creates healthy retail meals labeled with protein, macronutrient and carb contents, using concepts from his education in nutrition.

Reale also now serves on TCU’s Nutritional Sciences Advisory Board. He’s visited campus as a Green Honors Chair to speak to nutrition students on food and beverage topics, such as the origin and types of tequila, the butchering process and cuts of beef, and the ins and outs of the restaurant business.

“Chris knew the importance of networking and giving back to the community,” VanBeber said. “You always remember the students who have initiative, perseverance and positive attitudes. Chris created a life for himself and his family that he was not given as a young person.”

Finding more time to bow hunt or practice drumming is a challenge, but Reale has maintained his boyhood desire to serve others.

“I’m a restaurant guy,” he said. “I just love the idea of feeding someone. I have a heart for service. I want to make people happy with whatever works I can do.”