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Hottest headlines of 2021

These are the 10 hottest stories that had Fort Worth talking in 2021

Stephanie Allmon Merry
Jan 3, 2022 | 12:01 pm

Editor's note: What was Fort Worth reading in 2021? We are so glad you asked. In another year dominated by "bad news" headlines around the world, CultureMap readers clamored for stories about intriguing people (Alice Walton, in particular), fun things to do (drink on rooftop bars!), and aspirational living (own a fairytale castle!). Here's a look back at the 10 most-read CultureMap stories from the past year. By the way, you can also look back at the top dining, travel, arts, and entertainment stories; most memorable theater experiences; and best and worst movies of the year. Onward to 2022!

1. Fort Worth billionaire loses crown as wealthiest person in Texas, Forbes says. Eclectic entrepreneur Elon Musk, now of Austin, officially knocked Walmart heiress Alice Walton of Fort Worth off her longtime perch as the richest person in Texas. On April 6, Forbes released its 2021 list of the world’s billionaires. Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, landed at No. 2 globally with a net worth of $151 billion. He sat at No. 31 in last year’s ranking. But don't cry for Walton because ...

2. Fort Worth billionaire and family reign as the world’s richest clan. In September, it was hardly a surprise that America’s Walton family, including Fort Worth billionaire Alice Walton, was named the world’s richest family. What’s truly stunning is how much their wealth had grown in the past year — by more than $23 billion. In once again crowning the Waltons the world’s richest family, the Bloomberg news service reported that their collective fortune had risen by $23 billion in the past year due to the climbing stock price of the Walmart retail chain.

3. New chain with crazy discounts opens first Texas store in Arlington. Discounts were going down in Arlington with the arrival of Crazy Cazboy's, a buzzy discount superstore that opened in a former Tom Thumb at 5425 S. Cooper St. on March 26. Crazy Cazboy's is a membership-only store that sells just about everything including electronics, food, health & beauty, pet, baby, and sporting goods.

4. Where to drink in Fort Worth right now: 8 rooftop bars with breathtaking views. It’s hard not to have fun on a rooftop, especially when cocktails are involved. Look up and feel free as a bird. Look out and witness breathtaking cityscape views. In May, we rounded up eight of Fort Worth’s best rooftop bars — a mix of new hot spots and old favorites — to enjoy a drink in the breeze while surveying the horizon. (The No. 1 rooftop restaurant in the world is headed to Fort Worth soon, too.)

5. H-E-B reverses mask decision for customers throughout Texas after backlash. In early March, H-E-B, the largest grocery chain in Texas, reversed course and began requiring — rather than recommending — that customers wear masks inside its stores, including Central Markets. Amid backlash from loyal customers, H-E-B issued a statement March 5 saying customers, employees, and vendors would still have to put on masks even after the statewide mask mandate ended on March 10. Previously, it had said only employees and vendors would be required to do so, not shoppers.

6.Rooftop bubble bars with igloos return to Dallas-Fort Worth for Christmas holiday. Dallas-Fort Worth's coolest bar phenomenon of winter 2020 came back: Rooftop "bubble bars" featuring cozy igloos returned around Thanksgiving, with installations at three area hotels. Also referred to as garden igloos, these "bubbles" are like plastic caves, like a geodesic dome, where you can hang out and imbibe under the winter sky, protected by your bubble from the elements.

7. Rule this fairytale castle south of Fort Worth for a princely $6.5 million. A five-story fairytale castle on Lake Whitney that easily could be a fixture at Disney World or along the Las Vegas Strip hit the market for $6.5 million in March. The 10-bedroom, 15-bathroom Parsons Castle — complete with a drawbridge and moat — is in the Lake Whitney town of Laguna Park, promoted as the Getaway Capital of Texas.

8. Where to see the most spectacular Christmas lights around Fort Worth in 2021. The magic came back. After a dimmer holiday celebration in 2020, the Fort Worth area lit up, merry and bright, for the Christmas season once again — from towering trees that twinkle and shine to dazzling drive-thru displays and immersive walk-thru experiences. This was our 2021 guide to the biggest, brightest, most spectacular Christmas light displays in the area.

9. Affluent Fort Worth neighbor cashes in among country’s richest communities. The quiet, mansion-dotted enclave of Westover Hills was one of the most well-to-do towns in the country, an April study confirmed. The affluent Fort Worth neighbor ranked No. 5 among the wealthiest suburbs in the United States. RenoFi, a marketplace for home renovation loans, studied data for more than 600 suburbs of 50 major U.S. cities to come up with its list.

10. Babe's steakhouse cousin Sweetie Pie's Ribeyes opens in North Richland Hills. It was more than five years in the making, but Sweetie Pie's Ribeyes, a new steakhouse that's a sibling to the beloved Babe's Chicken chain, finally opened its doors in North Richland Hills in April. The concept specializes in ribeye steaks, obviously, but also fantastic baked potatoes and pot pies, as well as the usual conscientious cooking for which Babe's is known.

The rooftop bar atop the 17-story Sinclair Fort Worth hotel downtown.

Sinclair hotel rooftop bar
Photo courtesy of Sinclair
The rooftop bar atop the 17-story Sinclair Fort Worth hotel downtown.
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This week's hot headlines

Magnolia Avenue restaurant closure leads this week's 5 most-read Fort Worth stories

Stephanie Allmon Merry
Nov 12, 2022 | 10:15 am
Salmon, Fixture
Photo courtesy of Farrar Food Photography [http://www.farrarfoodphotography.com]

Fixture's menu showed creativity, like this salmon.

Editor's note: A lot happened this week, so here's your chance to get caught up. Read on for the week's most popular headlines. Looking for the best things to do this weekend? Find that list here.

1. Fort Worth chef reluctantly closes Near Southside brunch favorite. A neighborhood restaurant from an acclaimed Fort Worth chef has closed: Fixture, which served comfort food and craft cocktails in Fort Worth's trendy Near Southside, closed on November 7, after eight years. Chef-owner Ben Merritt says he was sad to have to shutter the restaurant, but that circumstances that have emerged since the pandemic forced the closure.

2. All the Veterans Day 2022 deals in Dallas-Fort Worth that honor military service members. Ahead of Veterans Day on Friday, November 11, we unearthed some of the best deals around Dallas-Fort Worth to ease the strain on the bank accounts of all military veterans and current service members. While most special deals were for one day only, some businesses offer discounts for veterans year-round.

3. Texas will host CMT Music Awards for the first time ever in 2023. Big news for country music fans: the CMT Music Awards are coming to Texas. During Carrie Underwood's sold-out show in Austin on November 2, CMT Music Awards co-host Kelsea Ballerini came on stage to announce that country music's grandest night would come to the city's new Moody Center. Airing Sunday, April 2, 2023, the fan-voted awards ceremony will be hosted in Texas for the first time ever.

4. Pop rock powerhouse Paramore heads to Fort Worth on new North American arena tour. Fort Worth fans of alterna-emo-pop group Paramore and their radio-ready hooks can catch the trio next year during a just-announced stadium tour. The act famous for anthemic singles such as "Ain't It Fun," "Misery Business," and "Still Into You" will hit Dickies Arena on July 8, 2023, with Foals and The Linda Lindas as openers.

5. Where to see the most spectacular Christmas lights dazzling Dallas-Fort Worth in 2022. Tis barely the season for Dallas-Fort Worth to light up, merry and bright, for the 2022 holidays — from towering trees that twinkle and shine to dazzling drive-thru displays and immersive walk-thru experiences. Here's our 2022 guide to the biggest, brightest, most spectacular Christmas light displays in the area.

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Expert Fort Worth Christmas lights family plugs in sweet new drive-thru Sugar Lane Lights

Best Fort Worth restaurants for Thanksgiving 2022 dining-in or to-go

These are the 12 best things to do in Fort Worth this weekend

Markets to Watch

Dallas-Fort Worth named the No. 2 real estate market to watch in 2023

Arden Ward
Nov 11, 2022 | 2:10 pm
Fort Worth skyline
Photo by benedek Getty Images
Fort Worth's a shining star in more ways than one.

The real estate market may be changing, but Dallas is still one of the hottest in the U.S. as we head into 2023.

The Urban Land Institute (ULI)'s annual Emerging Trends in Real Estate report, released October 27, names Dallas-Fort Worth the No. 2 U.S. market to watch in 2023, behind only Nashville.

The report, a joint project between ULI and PricewaterhouseCoopers, "provides an outlook on real estate investment and development trends, real estate finance and capital markets, property sectors, metropolitan areas, and other real estate issues throughout the United States and Canada."

It is based on surveys and interviews with real estate industry professionals.

After an in-depth analysis, the report identifies the top U.S. markets to watch, based on overall real estate prospects. Austin, San Antonio, and Houston join DFW in the top 15, at at Nos. 4, 12, and 14, respectively.

A top trend heading into 2023 is the continued "normalization" of markets following the post-COVID boom. Notes the report: "Almost every market in the country received lower ratings for both investment and development prospects this year, illustrating that outlooks are darkening just about everywhere following the brief post-COVID exuberance shown in last year’s survey across a variety of metrics."

However, it continues, "the pandemic seems to have reinforced some trends, notably the dominance of what we called the 'Magnet' markets — many of which are in warmer Sun Belt regions — at the top of the Emerging Trends 'Markets to Watch' standings."

Those "Magnet" markets include Dallas-Fort Worth, as well as Austin, San Antonio, Houston, and others. The report further categorizes markets into subgroups, with DFW, along with San Antonio and Houston, falling into the "Super Sun Belt" group.

"These markets are large and diverse but still affordable, forming powerhouse economies that attract a wide range of businesses. Despite their large population bases, most are among the fastest-growing markets in the United States. Moreover, their economic performance has been solid through thick and thin," the report states.

"Though every market lost jobs during the pandemic recession, recovery has been much quicker and more complete in the Super Sun Belt markets. These metro areas collectively have the highest average rating of any subgroup, as it did last year."

Austin is classified as a real estate "Supernova," defined as a smaller metro area (1 to 2 million residents) that has "exploded into prominence over the past decade or so."

According to the report, Austin has the highest investor demand of any market, with DFW just two spots below. DFW, meanwhile, tops the list for development/redevelopment opportunities, with Austin at No. 6. Both metros boast the strongest local economies among the markets studied, with Austin at No. 1 and DFW at No. 2.

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Season Announcement

Familiar names fill Circle Theatre's inspiring 2023 season in Fort Worth

Lindsey Wilson
Nov 10, 2022 | 2:29 pm
Dallas Theater Center presents The Mountaintop
Photo by Karen Almond

"The Mountaintop" at Dallas Theater Center in 2015.

Blind Lemon Jefferson, Martin Luther King, Jr., Dear Sugar, the real Josh Cohen, and Mr. Rogers. These are all lead characters in Circle Theatre's 2023 season, which features a true-to-life protagonist in each show that exemplifies the theater’s values of innovation, integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, and service.

"These delightful and inspiring stories will spark curiosity, empathy, and joy in our patrons," says executive director Tim Long. "In a time where we crave authenticity, Circle Theatre is keeping it real for 2023.”

The theater, located in Sundance Square, begins its season with Lonesome Blues, which was recently produced at Dallas' Undermain Theatre.

Born blind but ultimately able to express his deepest emotions through music, Blind Lemon Jefferson was discovered on a street corner in the Deep Ellum section of Dallas in 1925. He made more than 80 records over the next four years — becoming one the most prolific and influential performers of his generation and propelling the growth of rhythm and blues, soul, doo-wop, rap, and hip-hop. Written by Alan Govenar and Akin Babatunde, and directed by Babatunde, it runs February 2-11, 2023.

Katori Hall's The Mountaintop is next, directed by D. Wambui Richardson.

On April 3, 1968, after delivering one of his most memorable speeches, an exhausted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. retires to his room at the Lorraine Motel while a storm rages outside. When a mysterious stranger arrives with some surprising news, King is forced to confront his destiny and his legacy to his people. It runs March 30-April 15, 2023.

Tiny Beautiful Things, based on the book by Cheryl Strayed and adapted for the stage by Nia Vardalos, is a celebration of the simple beauty of being human.

Based on Cheryl Strayed’s journey as the beloved anonymous advice columnist for “Dear Sugar," where thousands of people turned to her for words of wisdom, compassion, and hope. Reluctant to claim that she has all the answers, Sugar looks to her own past and draws on her life experiences to bring light, laughter, and humanity to others. Directed by Susan Sargeant, it runs June 1-17, 2023.

The regional premiere of The Other Josh Cohenhas book, music, and lyrics by Steve Rosen and David Rossmer, and is directed by Joel Ferrell with music direction by Cody Dry.

Josh Cohen just can’t get a break. He’s single, broke, and to top it all off, his apartment’s been robbed of everything but a Neil Diamond CD. Soon though, his luck takes a turn when a mysterious envelope arrives that changes his life forever. Thus begins the hilarious and quirky romantic comedy about a good guy caught in a lifelong battle with bad luck. It runs August 24-September 16, 2023.

Closing out the season is I’m Proud of You, adapted for the stage by Tim Madigan and Harry Parker and based on Madigan's book I’m Proud of You, My Friendship with Fred Rogers.

Former Fort Worth Star-Telegram writer Tim Madigan recalls how an interview with the icon of kindness and everyone’s neighbor, Mr. Fred Rogers, led to a wondrous and life-changing friendship. Throughout this friendship, Fred helped Tim mend his relationships and become a better husband, father, and brother. This world premiere is directed by Parker and runs November 2-18, 2023.

Individual ticket prices are $40-$50, with preview performance tickets $20-$25. Call 817-877-3040 for further information and reservations, or visit CircleTheatre.com to buy tickets online.

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