This Week's Hot Headlines

Fort Worth Mexican restaurant's impending closure leads week's top stories

Paco's Near Southside location will shutter January 18.

Photo courtesy of Paco's

Editor's note: The new year is here, and there is plenty of Fort Worth news to catch up on. From restaurant closures to a stylish pop-up in the Stockyards, read on for this week's most popular stories. Looking for the best things to do this weekend? That list is here.

1. Fort Worth Mexican restaurant to close location in Near Southside. A Mexican favorite in Fort Worth's Near Southside is closing: Paco’s Mexican Cuisine, known for its authentic tacos and tortas, will close its location at 1508 W. Magnolia Ave. on January 18.

2. Boisterous bar-restaurant Bottled Blonde closes in Fort Worth. A boisterous bar and restaurant in Fort Worth has closed: Bottled Blonde Pizzeria + Beer Garden shuttered its location in the West 7th entertainment district in mid-December, along with its adjacent sibling outdoor concept Backyard, which closed as well.

3. One DFW city ranks among the 10 most caring cities in America. One North Texas city has some of the kindest, most generous residents in the country. So says a new report that ranks 100 cities across the U.S.

4. Tabla Indian restaurant from Florida to make Texas debut in Fort Worth. An intriguing new Indian restaurant from Florida is coming to Fort Worth: Called Tabla Indian Restaurant, it's a fast-casual concept opening in the former Spice 8 Indian Fusion Grill space in the Shops at North Tarrant shopping center in late January.

Tabla Indian restaurant is coming to town. Tabla

5. Celeb hat designer brings Rodeo-time pop-up to Fort Worth Stockyards. The 2025 Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo season, and its Western-chic fashion scene, will take over the city beginning January 17. Just in time for wardrobe planning, a fashion-forward pop-up featuring hats by acclaimed designer Teressa Foglia is debuting in the Fort Worth Stockyards.

This week's hot headlines

Cliburn winners triumph in this week's 5 hottest Fort Worth headlines

2025 Cliburn Competition medalists: Aristo Sham, Vitaly Starikov, Evren Ozel

Photo by Ralph Lauer

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Editor's note: A lot happened this week, so let's all catch up. The eyes of the classical music world were on Fort Worth as a new winner of the Van Cliburn International Competition - the "Olympics of piano" - was named. A beloved Near Southside restaurant said a sad farewell, and the Botanic Garden unfurled a little entrance switcheroo. Read on for this week's hottest headlines, and get a little help planning your weekend here.

1. Pianist from Hong Kong wins 2025 Cliburn Competition in Fort Worth. Aristo Sham, a 29-year-old pianist from Hong Kong, China, won the Seventeenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth. Second place went to Vitaly Starikov, 30, of Israel/Russia; and third place went toEvren Ozel, 26, of the United States. The winners were named June 7 at Bass Hall and then celebrated with a fireworks display in Sundance Square.

2. Old Neighborhood Grill closing in Fort Worth's Near Southside. Venerable Fort Worth restaurant Old Neighborhood Grill, located at 1633 Park Place Ave., is closing after 27 years in the Park Place Village strip. According to a note from owners Brenda and Wallis Lester, the restaurant will close on June 15.

Breakfast at Old Neighborhood Grill.Photo courtesy of Old Neighborhood Grill

3. Peach Cobbler Factory to debut at DFW Airport with 2 locations. Cobbler is coming to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW): The Peach Cobbler Factory, a chain based in North Carolina, will open not one but two locations at the airport. The first DFW location will open in Terminal D in late 2025; a second location will open in the new Terminal C Pier in 2026.

4. Fun colorful boba shop from Oregon makes Texas debut in Fort Worth. A new boba tea concept has debuted in Fort Worth: Called TeaCupFuls, it’s an Oregon-based chain that has opened its first location in Texas in north Fort Worth, in a former nutrition shop at 5800 N. Tarrant Pkwy. #106, where it opened on May 31.

TeaCupFuls drink One of the colorful beverages at TeaCupFuls.Photo courtesy of TeaCupFuls

5. Fort Worth Botanic Garden entrance will be temporarily detoured. The Fort Worth Botanic Garden has a situation going on with its entrance but rest assured, the living museum located at 3220 Botanic Garden Blvd is still very much open. The situation is that its main entrance is temporarily closed due to construction on University Drive.

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