Fort Worth chef Grady Spears has faced two publicly reported criminal charges in recent years. In June 2024, Grand Prairie police arrested him on a soliciting prostitution charge, a state jail felony under Texas law. Six years earlier, in July 2018, he was arrested on a misdemeanor domestic assault charge involving his then-wife; that case was later dismissed after he completed a court-ordered intervention program.
The 2024 Soliciting Prostitution Charge
Spears, then 55, was arrested on June 5, 2024, at a Hyatt Place hotel by Grand Prairie police. Officers alleged he had agreed to pay money for a sex act. The Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office charged him with soliciting prostitution. His bond was set at $1,500, and he posted it.1Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Fort Worth Chef Grady Spears Charged With Soliciting Prostitution
Under Texas Penal Code Section 43.021, knowingly offering or agreeing to pay a fee for sexual conduct is a state jail felony as the base offense.2FindLaw. Texas Penal Code Section 43.021 A state jail felony in Texas carries 180 days to two years of confinement and a fine of up to $10,000. The charge rises to a third-degree felony if the defendant has a prior solicitation conviction, and to a second-degree felony if the person solicited is under 18.
When the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported the charge in July 2024, it said Spears could not be reached for comment, and a Grand Prairie police spokesperson declined to provide additional details about the arrest.1Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Fort Worth Chef Grady Spears Charged With Soliciting Prostitution No public statement from Spears or a defense attorney has been reported, and the disposition of the case is not publicly known from available records.
The 2018 Domestic Assault Arrest
On July 2, 2018, Fort Worth police responded to an assault call at the home Spears shared with his wife, Wendy Mann-Spears, on Meadowbrook Drive. Officers reported bruises on her face and body, and she told police Spears had hit her multiple times.3Dallas Morning News. Food Hall Cuts Ties With Fort Worth Chef Grady Spears After His Wife Accuses Him of Hitting Her He was arrested the next day and booked into the Tarrant County jail on a charge of assault causing bodily injury of a family member, a Class A misdemeanor. He was released after posting bail.
In September 2018, Mann-Spears obtained a temporary protective order. In an affidavit, she said Spears told her during an argument that “there will be a funeral,” which she took as a threat on her life. She filed for divorce, and the couple divorced later that year.4Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Fort Worth Restaurateur Grady Spears Charged With Soliciting Prostitution
Prosecutors and Spears’ attorney reached an agreement to resolve the criminal charge. Spears was ordered to complete a 27-week partner abuse intervention program in Denton County. Successful completion would result in dismissal; failure would expose him to up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine. A progress review hearing was set for July 2020.4Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Fort Worth Restaurateur Grady Spears Charged With Soliciting Prostitution Spears completed the program, and the charge was dismissed.1Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Fort Worth Chef Grady Spears Charged With Soliciting Prostitution
Professional Fallout From the 2018 Arrest
The 2018 arrest cost Spears at least one deal. Crockett Row Food Hall in Fort Worth cut ties with him and canceled plans for him to open a chicken-and-biscuits restaurant called Graze at the venue.3Dallas Morning News. Food Hall Cuts Ties With Fort Worth Chef Grady Spears After His Wife Accuses Him of Hitting Her His Horseshoe Hill Cafe in the Fort Worth Stockyards continued operating; business partner Chuck Bush told the Fort Worth Weekly that sales remained strong after the incident.5Fort Worth Weekly. Grady Speared
Who Grady Spears Is
Spears is a Texas chef and cookbook author best known for helping launch Reata, a Fort Worth and Alpine restaurant that popularized what he called “cowboy cuisine.” He co-founded Reata with rancher Al Micallef in 1995 and left the group around 2000.6Texas Monthly. Grady Spears7Fort Worth Weekly. Grady Spears’ Last Shot He later ran a series of Fort Worth ventures, including the Chisholm Club, Dutch’s Burgers and Beer, and Horseshoe Hill Cafe, and appeared on national programs including Good Morning America, Today, and Food Network shows.8NBC DFW. Grady Spears Is Back3Dallas Morning News. Food Hall Cuts Ties With Fort Worth Chef Grady Spears After His Wife Accuses Him of Hitting Her In June 2023 he was reportedly finalizing deals for new restaurants in Round Top and Bellville.9PaperCity Magazine. Chef Grady Spears Opening New Restaurants in Round Top and Bellville