Fort Worth Chef Grady Spears Arrested On Assault Charge [Updated]

Earlier this week, Fort Worth chef Grady Spears was arrested on charges of family violence after police were called to his home.

The chef stands accused of assaulting his wife, Wendy Mann-Spears, who reportedly had multiple bruises on her face and body, according to the Fort Worth Star Telegram. A publicly-available police report filed on the incident is slim on details, but does note that an investigation found that there was cause to arrest Spears on a charge of assault causing bodily injury.

In a Facebook post published shortly after the incident, Mann-Spears defended her husband, and said that Spears’ alleged violence is connected to an unnamed medication that he is taking, along with “suffering debilitating back pain.”

“What Grady and I need most is your love, support and lack of judgment (understanding),” Mann-Spears wrote on Facebook. “We are good. Our commitment has always been unwavering. We are one.” Spears has not issued a statement yet, but his attorney told the Star-Telegram that Spears is “devastated” by the allegations, and expects that he will be “exonerated of all charges.”

Though Spears does not have any currently-open restaurants in Fort Worth, the chef was planning a fried chicken restaurant for the forthcoming Food Hall at Crockett Row. In the aftermath of this arrest, a spokesperson for the food hall tells Eater that Spears is no longer affiliated with the project, and that his stall Graze will not be part of the line-up when the food hall opens later this year.

• Chef Grady Spears arrested on suspicion of assault, records show [FWST]
• Wife blames medication after celebrity chef accused of domestic assault [FWST]
• Fort Worth Is Getting a Huge New Food Hall [EDFW]

Update, 12:56 p.m: This post has been updated to reflect a statement from the Food Hall at Crockett Row announcing that Spears is no longer affiliated with project.