The historic Stockyards building that currently houses the longtime Los Vaqueros Restaurant will become home to a concept from Kentucky-based American Freedom Distillery, producers of the award-winning Horse Soldier Bourbon. 

The owners of Horse Soldier have purchased the Los Vaqueros location at 2629 N. Main St., said President Vicki Cisneros of Cisnero Restaurants Inc. 

The two-story brick building elevated on a concrete foundation is set on a sloping site. The structure was built as a slaughterhouse, but may have originally been used as a barn, as owner D. Hart & Sons Livestock Co. never raised funds for a packinghouse operation. 

After a brief closure this summer, Los Vaqueros is still open inside the location and plans to reopen in the nearby Stockyards Exhibits Building in the next few months, said Cisneros.

“The new owners have been very gracious to us, so we’re still open here in this location,” she said. 

On April 22, Cisneros Restaurants signed a long-term lease on a new Los Vaqueros location in the 1911-era Stockyards Exhibits Building at 2515 Rodeo Plaza. 

They are currently renovating that space, she said. Neighbors in the building include the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame and the recently expanded John Wayne: An American Experience Museum.

The owners of American Freedom Distillery did not return requests for comment. 

The distillery was founded by Scott Neil, Rob Schafer, Mark Nutsch, Bob Pennington, Tyler Garner and John Koko — all of whom were Special Forces in Afghanistan just a few days following 9/11 — along with Koko’s wife, Elizabeth Pritchard-Koko. The book, Horse Soldiers by Doug Stanton, was based on some of the events in Afghanistan several of the owners were involved in. 

The book later became a 2018 film, “12 Strong,” that starred Chris Hemsworth. A monument to the Horse Soldiers can be seen at the 9/11 Memorial in New York. The company’s bourbon is sold in bottles pressed in molds made from steel salvaged from the World Trade Center site. 

American Freedom Distillery also operates two restaurants called Urban Stillhouse in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Somerset, Kentucky. The restaurants offer new and traditional American cuisine with many items featuring bourbon. 

Cisneros said she is pleased that the building they have been in since 1996 is going to be managed by owners who appreciate its history. 

“It really needs to be in the hands of people who can care for it and they can do that,” she said. 

 Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org. 

Disclosure: Sonya Cisneros Wierzowiecki is director of development for the Fort Worth Report and is the granddaughter of the founders of the restaurant. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.