This Week's Hot Headlines

Chef's long-awaited burger grill fires up this week's 5 most-read Fort Worth stories

Sliders are the centerpiece, great with a martini on the side

Anderson Distillery and Grill

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. Anticipated burger joint debuts and more Fort Worth restaurant news. This roundup of Fort Worth dining news includes some cool openings that have been in the works for a while, plus a few tasty new dishes and an enticing new beer. Here's what's happening in Fort Worth restaurant news.

2. Girl Scouts unveil radical new flavor for 2023 cookie season in Fort Worth. The Girl Scouts are up to something radical: They're adding a new flavor for the 2023 season that's a spinoff of their trademark Thin Mints cookie. Called the Raspberry Rally, it's a thin, crispy cookie that looks and acts like a Thin Mint, with the same chocolaty coating. But instead of a minty center, it's infused with raspberry flavor.

3. Kimbell Art Museum celebrates 50th anniversary with a week of free events for Fort Worth. Fort Worth's Kimbell Art Museum is celebrating its milestone 50th birthday this fall, and everyone's invited to the party — even the kids. On October 4, 1972, the Kimbell opened the Louis I. Kahn building to great acclaim. Accordingly, the week of October 4-9 will be prime celebration week for the city's premier art museum, with the biggest event happening Saturday, October 8.

4. Where to drink in Fort Worth right now: 8 best bars for '90s-cool espresso martinis. Call it a comeback. The espresso martini, the hottest drink in the current world of cocktails originated in the 1980s and picked up steam in the '90s, and its recent resurgence has bar owners scrambling to stock coupe glasses and coffee beans. Here are eight of the best hot spots to sip them in Fort Worth.

5. Distillery and grill in Roanoke fulfills all your eating and drinking needs. The city of Roanoke is home to an ambitious new spot that's a restaurant and distillery in one. Called Anderson Distillery and Grill, it just opened at 400 S. Oak St., right by Roanoke City Hall, where it's serving a roster of spirits made in-house, along with cocktails and a menu of bites.

There's a new burger in town.

Jon's Grille

There's a new burger in town.

Party Is Over

Party City chain to close all stores including 9 in Fort Worth

Party City

A chain of stores where the party is always going on is closing down: Party City will close all of its stores and has initiated layoffs, effective immediately. According to CNN, CEO Barry Litwin told corporate employees that Party City has to “commence a winddown process immediately,” and that Friday would be their last day of work for the company.

However, the actual store locations, including those around North Texas, will be open until February 28.

Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, Party City is largest party goods retailer in the U.S. — the go-to destination for every type of celebration, with more than 700 company-owned and franchise store locations across North America selling home decor, candles, balloons, wrapping paper, tableware, bulk candy, baking supplies, and more.

A typical Party City store ranges in size from 10,000 to 12,000 square feet and carries approximately 30,000 items. Halloween accounts for as much as one-quarter of yearly sales, but they celebrate all seasonal holidays, from New Year's Eve to the Fourth of July to Father's Day to Super Bowl Sunday, and offer a wide array of merchandise for birthday parties, bar mitzvahs, wedding and bridal showers, and baby showers.

Party and costume merchandise has become more competitive in recent years, with companies like the budget-focused Spirit Halloween expanding beyond its Halloween pop-ups into “Spirit Christmas” stores, as well as competition from Amazon and other online retailers.

In 2023, the chain filed for bankruptcy, then emerged with a plan that included transitioning into a privately held company and canceling nearly $1 billion in debt. At that time, there were approximately 800 U.S. stores.

There are 64 stores in Texas, with 9 in the Fort Worth area, as follows:

Arlington
Burleson
Denton
Euless
Fort Worth
Hurst
Lake Worth
Mansfield
Watauga

Dallas-Fort Worth stores have already started sales between 5 and 50 percent off.

holidays closings