This Week's Hot Headlines

New Southwest route takes off in this week's 5 most-read Fort Worth stories

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.

1. Southwest Airlines takes off from Dallas with new Texas route for $29. Dallas-based Southwest Airlines has wheeled out a new way to get to Houston — cheap. Beginning April 12, 2021, Southwest customers can fly between Love Field and Houston's George Bush Intercontinental, nonstop, for $29 one way.

2. Bold new Mexican restaurant-bar from San Diego debuts in Fort Worth. A bawdy new Mexican concept from San Diego is making its Texas debut in Fort Worth: El Chingon, a restaurant, bar, and nightlife hot spot will open December 18, at 2800 Bledsoe St., Ste. 100, in the former Trophy Ranch Bar space.

3. Drive-thru dinosaurs descend on Arlington for socially distanced holiday fun. A dinosaur attraction you can enjoy from your car has arrived in Arlington, courtesy of Dinosaur Drive-Thru, taking place in the parking lot of Six Flags Hurricane Harbor from December 17 to January 10.

4. Where to eat in Fort Worth right now: 6 restaurants to take holiday guests. This year, the holidays are going to look vastly different, especially to those who traditionally welcome out-of-town friends and loved ones. This month’s Where to Eat is dedicated to a half-dozen restaurants that can accommodate a small group, satisfy various diets and, in some way or another, offer a dining experience that is purely Fort Worth. (Click here for a complete list of restaurants offering Christmas fare.)

5. Fort Worth music venue Tulips debuts Jewish deli with stacked sandwiches. The coronavirus has been mostly a scourge upon the face of the earth, but it has resulted in one tasty benefit for Fort Worth. Namely, a new Jewish deli from Tulips FTW, the music venue that opened in the Near Southside neighborhood in November.

Fly for as little as $29 one-way.

Southwest Airlines

Fly for as little as $29 one-way.

Animal News

Seaquest declares bankruptcy following closure of Fort Worth aquarium

Courtesy photo

One of the many unfortunate critters at SeaQuest Fort Worth.

SeaQuest Holdings, LLC, owner of Seaquest aquariums at shopping malls such as Ridgmar Mall in Fort Worth, has filed for Chapter 11 banrkuptcy protection, following a series of investigations into animal cruelty.

The bankruptcy follows the October 2024 closure of the Fort Worth location at Ridgmar Mall, which had been the target of numerous reports of animal abuse and an undercover investigation by the Humane Society of the United States.

The Boise, Idaho-based company claimed less than $1 million in assets, but between $10 million and $50 million in liabilities.

According to court records, Vince Covino is still listed as a CEO and consultant and was paid more than $128,000 between December 2023 and November 2024, despite announcing in August that he was stepping down from his role.

PETA Associate Director of Captive Wildlife Rebecca Smudzinski said in a statement that "SeaQuest’s financial failure offers yet more proof that animal exploitation is a losing business model, as compassionate consumers don’t want to fork over their dollars to look at fish, otters, and birds suffering in cramped, filthy enclosures and forced into stressful public encounters."

Smudzinski said that PETA was calling on SeaQuest "to shut down its remaining locations and surrender the surviving animals to reputable, financially responsible facilities that can finally get them the care they desperately need."

PETA’s ongoing campaign against SeaQuest included numerous complaints filed with federal and state authorities regarding injuries to customers and animal welfare issues, including animals who drowned, were burned, were intentionally deprived of food, or were stomped or crushed to death by customers.

According to an ABC News investigation, SeaQuest was cited more than 80 times in the past five years for issues including human injuries, disease hazards, animal neglect, and animal deaths.

In addition to the Fort Worth location, SeaQuest has closed three other locations in the last two years in Littleton, Colorado; Trumbull, Connecticut; and Stonecrest, Georgia. There are five locations still open in Las Vegas, Layton, Utah; Folsom, California; Roseville, Minnesota; and Woodbridge, New Jersey.

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