Awards News

Fort Worth racks up trio of nods in 2025 Texas Travel Awards

Hotel Drover

Photo courtesy of Hotel Drover

More evidence that Fort Worth and its suburbs are hot destinations: They've collectively earned 12 accolades in the 2025 Texas Travel Awards.

The awards were created by Austin Monthly and Texas Music publishers, and the winners are decided by a panel of five so-called "industry judges": Rebecca Cord, Paige DeChausse, Charles Lohrmann, Deya Palmero, and Jessica Yuan.

The DFW area seems to be on the upswing: It took home five more awards than it did in 2024.

Three attractions in Fort Worth won awards:

Hotel Drover, Fort Worth won for Best Big Market Hotel
Fort Worth Stockyards won for Best Statewide Historical Site
Fort Worth Zoo won for Best Statewide Zoo/Aquarium

In the greater Fort Worth area, Denton's annual holiday celebration "31 Days of Denton Halloween" won for Best Big Market Destination Marketing Campaign. The town of Tolar, 46 miles southwest of Fort Worth, won an award: Sledge Distillery, won for Best Statewide Distillery.

Around Dallas
Dallas proper won three awards:

Reunion Tower in downtown Dallas won two "big market" by population awards for having the best destination social media account, and its annual Lone Star New Year's Eve bash was named the best community event.
Montage, a restaurant at the JW Marriott Dallas Arts District Hotel, was ranked the best "big market" restaurant.

McKinney won two awards, while Frisco and Plano each won one award.

McKinney's longstanding Tupps Brewery earned a statewide award as the best brewery in Texas, while historic bed and breakfast The Bingham Estate was deemed the best "Big Market Unique Lodging."

Plano was crowned with the statewide honor as "Destination of the Year." The suburb is certainly a popular place for travelers that want to explore buzzy new restaurants, coffee shops, or take a stroll through one of its many well-maintained parks.

Frisco's Texas Sculpture Garden was recognized as the best "Big Market Public Art." The sculpture garden is situated in Hall Park, and is known as the "largest private collection of contemporary Texas sculpture ever assembled and made available to the public," according to Visit Frisco.

Texas Sculpture Garden Frisco Hall Park The sculpture garden is located in Frisco's Hall Park.Hall Park/Facebook

texas travel awards entertainment travel dallas fort worth frisco mckinney denton plano

Airport News

DFW Airport invites local restaurants to open locations on-site

DFW Airport

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Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) is seeking new restaurants who want to open a location on the premises. According to a release, the airport has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP), inviting local brands and flavors to apply for 14 retail and dining locations across multiple terminals.

“As we build new gates, reimagine existing spaces and construct a new Terminal F, DFW Airport is committed to showcasing our region through our shops and restaurants so that when people travel through our terminals, there’s no denying they have arrived in the heart of Dallas and Fort Worth,” says DFW Chief Revenue Officer Ken Buchanan in a statement. “DFW serves tens of millions of travelers each year, and this is a chance for local businesses to help create an incredible sense of place within our terminals.”

The RFP is open for submissions now through February 2, 2026, and includes 11 food and beverage opportunities and three specialty retail locations across Terminals A, B, E, and F.

Concepts range from fast-casual, fast-food, and grab-and-go concepts to frozen treats, popcorn, cosmetics, and specialty retail.

All proposal submissions must be made through the Bonfire Procurement Platform.

DFW welcomed approximately 87 million customers in 2024, with continued growth projected to surpass 100 million passengers per year before 2030.

The latest RFP opportunity comes as DFW continues to make progress on its $12 billion capital improvement plan, DFW Forward, which is transforming terminals, expanding gate capacity and enhancing the customer experience across the entire airport. In addition to the new Terminal F, DFW is rebuilding Terminal C and expanding gate areas in Terminals A and C – projects that will introduce modern spaces, new amenities and a stronger platform for small and local businesses to grow inside one of the world’s busiest airports.

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