Are you telling me you built a pub… out of a time travel movie?
By Guy Chapman – Navarro County Gazette
I have a love for movies. It runs deep.
More specifically, I have a love for movies from the 1980s and 1990s, especially the “Summer Blockbuster.”
Sure, my later film sensibilities have gone more independent, but I’ll still gladly sit for a fun classic from my youth, especially for a movie as perfect as Back to the Future is.
The 1985 movie, starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd spawned a trilogy of time-hopping adventures with humor, hoverboards, train chases, and an iconic DeLorean. In Fort Worth, however, someone has taken their love of the series, and made a neighborhood pub out of the concept.
McFly’s Pub is literally just outside a neighborhood. A small Back to the Future themed bar that opened just as COVID-19 started, forcing the bar scene to close down, and a delay in opening for the sci-fi watering hole. But open they are, and they have the drinks to prove it.
The bar itself has a 1950s theme, partly drawing authenticity from the era, and partly from the neo-retro version of Part II’s 2015 setting. There are tons of little nods to the films throughout the bar, from a bottle of “Pepsi Perfect,” to that awful Nintendo game from LJN. By luck or coincidence, the jukebox played “The Power of Love” from Huey Lewis and the News as we walked in. Whatever the reason, it secured the atmosphere.
Speaking of atmosphere, the bar has a number of hand-painted illustrations of the film’s characters throughout the bar, and they’re all eye-popping in detail. I was sold by the giant Doc Brown painting by the pool table, but the Doc and Marty McFly mural on the back patio is a must-see.
MyFly’s main Back to the Future mural on the back patio. – Photo by Guy Chapman
Sticking with social distancing, the pub has a spacious patio and offers up drinks to-go. Of course, any self-respecting bar has a signature drink, and the bartenders serve up concoctions like “The Great Scotch,” “Jiggawatts,” “The Butthead,” “The Eric Stoltz,” “The Bathtub Bellini,” and “The Lorraine.”
I tried the “Jiggawatts” cocktail, a mixture of blue curacao, tequila, Malibu, and 7 Up. It was definitely blue, and since we were there during happy hour, the prices were really good.
Service was good, the vibe was fun, and I’m sure the bar has a lot of ideas for what they want to do with the place. 2020 is a hard year to start a business, especially since it’s played out more like the trilogy’s alternate 1985, but McFly’s Pub is a fun diversion, and an enjoyable visit for fans of the movie.
While we didn’t see a DeLorean parked anywhere during our visit, online photos confirmed one shows up from time to time. One can hope Doc Brown offers rides home.
After all, the way I see it, if you’re gonna build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style?
McFly’s Pub
6104 LTjg Barnett Rd, Fort Worth, TX 76114
Sunday through Saturday – 3 p.m. to 12 a.m.
817-744-8272
Website: www.facebook.com/mcflyspub