III Forks has shuttered its big, brash North Dallas steakhouse palace

III Forks, the tall, three-story beacon of prime beef along the Dallas North Tollway, has locked its golden doors, loaded up the trucks and moved north. Often cited as one of the top steakhouses in Dallas, the 800-seat restaurant decamped last week to Frisco, where it replaces Silver Fox at 1303 Legacy Drive. Exec chef and co-owner Chris Vogeli also made the move. The seven-unit chain was founded in Dallas 20 years ago by Dale Wamsted, who with Dee Lincoln co-founded Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse.

Both Silver Fox and III Forks are owned by Dallas-based Consolidated Restaurant Operations, whose holding also include El Chico, Cantina Laredo, Lucky’s and Good Eats brands. The company shuttered its Cool River in Las Colinas and III Forks steakhouse in Houston earlier this year.

“Visitors come to III Forks expecting a big steak,” Vogeli told me for this story in USA Today. “It’s how we do business here. All of Dallas knows us for big steaks and incredible service. We don’t mess with where the beef comes from, how we season it or how we cook it. We think we know how to do beef, so we haven’t changed how we do it in 20 years.”

But now they’ll be doing it in a smaller location.