The Herd Is Growing: Rodeo Goat Brings Its Burger Magic to Arlington This Summer

This June, the recently expanded Urban Union District near downtown Arlington is set to open Rodeo Goat's newest location at 333 East Division Street. Which means a new stop for burgers and brews is less than a mile away from AT&T Stadium.

Rodeo Goat is a Texas-born burger concept known for its house-ground patties, cold beers and cocktails. The concept has 10 locations across North Texas and Houston; Arlington will be the eleventh. The new digs will have over 6,400 square feet of indoor dining, and a 2,400 square foot shaded patio that features a koi pond.

It will offer the same Rodeo Goat menu we all know and love, with a dozen different burgers to order as-is or customize with your choice of beef patty from the much lauded 44 Farms, ground chicken, ground turkey, or a veg-friendly option.

In addition to burgers, there are a few salads, sides like cheese fries, and a whole page of drinks dedicated to wine, craft beer on draft, mostly from Texas and other bottled and canned beers. For a little something sweet, they have classic milkshakes made with Blue Bell ice cream, Texas sheet cake that they call a cow patty, and goat balls, which are deep-fried brie balls topped with powdered sugar and blackberry compote.

During Rodeo Time (aka happy hour), which runs Monday through Friday from 3-6 p.m., they offer $2 off drafts, $4 off wine and $6 off ritas and rattlesnakes. Pop in on a Wednesday and you can get all those deals plus half off cheese fries. Mondays are for $3 Moontangs, which is a cocktail with Firefly moonshine blended into Tang "and other things," per the menu.

Keith Richardson, the Dallas native behind Rodeo Goat, got the name for his restaurant by swindling 4H kids into making bets on which goat at the North Texas Fair and Rodeo would get roped first.

The swindling went a little like this: he would start by hustling a Busch Bavarian beer from his nana's cooler, then he would go to the goat pen and pick out the same spotted Billy goat to nurse the beer, like it was milk, through a rubber calf nipple.

After that, Richardson went around to the other 4H kids and took bets on which one would be roped first. They would fire the gun, the gates flew open, and sure enough, the tipsy spotted goat would be roped first. He said that he'd clear $25 a day (in the '60s, mind you) just by punking other kids, and they never figured out how he could pick out the slowest one.

The spotted goat that gave the restaurant its name is now stuffed and hanging from the rafters inside the Denton Rodeo Goat location. While you won't find a goat hanging in the new Arlington location, you can ponder how a beer-loving goat helped create a burger empire during your next pregame.