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Better work environments make for better — well, work. Between generous benefits, amenitystocked office spaces, and bonus perks is a focus on culture that makes these 40 companies among the city’s best to work for.
58 Turning the Heat Down The owners of Near Southside restaurant Chadra Mezza take us through their hilly, 7.5acre oasis, all within Loop 820.
Bizz Buzz: This new multifamily investment company run by two Fort Worth real estate veterans is growing fast.
12 Face Time: Carlo Capua ventures into virtual meetings.
28 Wine and Dine: Behind the partnership that’s bringing one of Mexico’s most acclaimed restaurants to Fort Worth.
32 Distinctive Style: Sparkyard’s Marco Johnson talks workplace fashion and being yourself.
34 Off the Clock: Fort Worth-born Broadway actor Jay Armstrong Johnson tours us through his favorite spots in New York City.
64 Analyze This/Real Estate: Commercial real estate in Fort Worth is booming, our columnist writes.
66 Analyze This/FW Chamber Report: Family-friendly business practices are now more important than ever.
68 Analyze This/Wealth: Untapped financial opportunities are emerging from COVID-19. Here’s how to take advantage.
17 Office Space: Contemporary meets cowboy at Simpli.fi’s new Mule Alley headquarters.
24 Health and Fitness: A doctor’s tips for better mental health management at work.
62 EO Spotlight: Entrepreneurs’ Organization has a new president, and she’s someone you know.
70 Analyze This/Legal and Tax: What Texas’ new firearm carry act means for your business.
72 Day in the Life: Meet the man behind Fort Worth’s newest coworking space and creative studio.
This is a quote from Jim Collins’ book Good to Great.
Collins’ lesson is that successful leaders who build great companies first concentrate on the “Who” and then on the “What.” The “Who” represents great employees, and the “What” is a company’s vision, its strategy — where it intends to go.
Collins’ research concluded that to run a great organization, an employer must ensure they have the right people on the bus and the right people in the right seats before they figure out where to drive the bus.
Over the last five years, I have spoken with several owners of businesses we have honored as a Best Company to Work For about their secret sauce for building and running a company for which employees enjoy working. One of my most important takeaways from those conversations is that they all say they have great employees.
What? Our cover story is about great companies to work for, not having great employees who work for you. In Good to Great, Collins points out that you can’t build a great company if you have too many employees who don’t fit your culture or are not in the right seats.
While compensation, culture, and benefits matter, if you don’t get the “Who” right, you will likely never become a Best Company to Work For. Why? Because the employees who shouldn’t be on the bus, or who are in the wrong seats, will never be satisfied with their jobs or with the company for which they work. And worse, misery loves company, and these
unsatisfied employees will likely take some satisfied, productive employees down with them. So, if you want to build a great company to work for, you must first start with the “Who.”
The Best Companies Group, the global leader in such rankings, again conducted our fifth annual Best Companies to Work For program. Forty companies scored high enough to make this year’s list, and the honorees are broken into two groups; 33 are small- to medium-sized companies, and seven are large companies.
Having reviewed the detailed results of this year’s surveys, it’s clear that most, if not all, of the companies that made the list have the right employees on their bus, and those employees are in the right seats. Moreover, the results show that the employers of these winning companies go above and beyond to put their employees first. That’s because they know if they have the “Who” right, these employees will be happy and engaged on the job and will, in turn, take ownership of their work and protect the brand — and bottom line.
Hal A. Brown owner/publisher
where every customer has access to the president’s cell number.
The entire CapTex Bank team has been a pleasure to work with — particularly Mike Thomas, George Lea, Richard Barajas, and Cade Carpenter. I’ve worked with almost everyone at the bank during the last three years. They take such good care of their customers and do what they say they’re going to do. The personal relationships and proactive advice make it easy to work with them. More than just a company, CapTex Bank takes their relationships beyond the bank walls and into the community. I would recommend CapTex to any small business looking for a personal relationship. — Chris Miner, co-owner of HF Custom Solutions
We know entrepreneurs because as a locally owned Fort Worth bank we are entrepreneurs, which makes a difference in the way we look at opportunities and solutions. When you bank with CapTex your relationship matters.
Real estate vets form new Fort Worth company.
BY SCOTT NISHIMURA
Fort Worth has a new fast-growing multifamily investment company: Bellrock Real Estate Partners, formed last year by former Olympus Real Estate executives Anthony Wonderly and Jarrad Principe.
Since Sept. 3, Bellrock has closed on three large multifamily properties and rebranded them: Bellrock Upper North in Haltom City, Bellrock Bishop Arts in Dallas, and Bellrock Market Station in Katy. The company has a fourth property under contract, a $90 million property in Houston. Once they close on that purchase, Bellrock will own more than 1,200 units.
Wonderly and Principe started Bellrock up early in 2020, but the market slowed immediately when COVID-19 hit. They put the infrastructure in place to allow them to begin tracking opportunities. And by July, the two began making offers.
“I would probably say, in my opinion, that the only regret is that we didn’t buy every single piece of property that we looked at,” Wonderly said in an interview.
For Wonderly and Principe, the startup “allows us to get back to really enjoying the business again,” Wonderly says.
For the first three deals, the two raised more than $40 million in equity. They raised about $27 million for the one under contract, they say.
Bellrock typically is financing the purchases on 70% debt, with 30% equity paid in. “We’re investing a significant amount of cash alongside of our other equity partners,” Principe says of the investment he and Wonderly are making.
Once they close on the Houston property that’s under contract, they estimated Bellrock will have about $250 million in assets under management.
Wonderly and Principe named their company after a lighthouse in Scotland. “It’s one of the oldest standing ocean lighthouses in the world,” Wonderly says. “We loved the theme of a lighthouse because a lighthouse is a guiding light.”
Wonderly’s career has been on the oper-
ations side, and Principe’s on the financial side. “Our strengths and weaknesses complement each other,” Principe says.
Bellrock will have almost 30 employees when it closes on this next multifamily property, Wonderly and Principe say. Investor demand for quality multifamily is strong today, Wonderly and Principe say.
“It’s extremely hot right now,” Principe says. “The demand we’ve seen in DallasFort Worth is just at an all-time high, which is why we started looking down in
Houston” earlier this year. “We’re proud we’re continuing to find good opportunities because there’s a lot of competition out there.”
“It’s one of the safest asset classes in real estate,” Wonderly says. “And more and more equity and institutional capital continue to be infused into multifamily, and especially DFW and Texas in general. We’re extremely bullish on multifamily for years to come in DFW.”
He adds, “All the opportunities we passed on last year because we thought they were a little bit overpriced now look like they would have been steals last year.”
Cap rates — the estimated rate of return on investment — continue to move down on multifamily properties. “In December, if we saw something at a 5[%], we were ecstatic,” Principe says. “And nowadays, almost every Class A deal is trading below a 4[%] cap, some in the low threes” in DFW.
“And it continues,” Wonderly says. “We made an offer on an asset; we felt we made a very aggressive offer. And it’s highly competitive. And that cap rate keeps getting closer and closer to a three. Not above a three. A three.”
Continued corporate relocations to Texas “show what a great investment our state is,” Wonderly says. “Historically, [multifamily] has been very resilient. Even during the housing crisis years ago, multifamily was very resilient and came out of it extremely well.”
As Bellrock continues to look for new deals, it’s tied up properties under contract before it’s sought to raise equity, Wonderly and Principe say.
“Investors love that,” Wonderly says. “The projects we’ve already closed on, we put up all the earnest money. We put up the hard money. We put all the money for the due diligence. We had the project 100% under contract and already in due diligence before we even went out to investors.”
When you think of health, you think of wellness. But research and innovation are a big part of how we achieve it. The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth is more than a graduate medical school. We believe in the bigger picture of health. And we're investing in ideas that advance health care and improve outcomes for all people in North Texas.
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COVID-19 forced the closure of his Z’s Café, so Carlo Capua started a new business.
BY MAGGIE FRASER / PHOTO BY OLAF GROWALD
Carlo Capua is about a year into The Meeting Squad, the business he started with a partner after closing his popular Z’s Café amid COVID-19.
“Hybrid events are here to stay,” he says, of combination in-person and virtual events that have surfaced since the peak of COVID-19 infections. “That’s one thing we know for sure. I think large-scale events will continue hybrid. If you have a national conference or international convention, you can have a virtual part and still go to some of the main sessions at a reduced rate.”
What’s less clear is how medium-sized groups with lesser audio and video will do in the hybrid environment. “If you don’t have good audio and good video, the people on the virtual side of those events are going to feel like they’re getting a second-class experience, and it’s not going to work.”
Capua founded Z’s Café in 2009 in Fort Worth as a social enterprise, creating jobs for residents of the Samaritan House nonprofit. The idea for The Meeting Squad surfaced as Capua — about to become president of The Rotary Club of Fort Worth — turned himself into a Zoom expert so he could run Rotary’s popular weekly luncheon meetings virtually.
“I’m not going to be the guy that this 108-year-old organization fails when I’m president. I don’t want to be that guy.”
Capua fleshed the idea for a startup out as he saw nonprofits canceling fundraisers during COVID-19. “If we can do [virtual] for a membership-based
organization that meets every week, why couldn’t we work with a nonprofit that wants to do a big gala or annual luncheon?”
Capua connected with a friend, Bill Alexy, a web design and engineering entrepreneur whom he’d met in volunteer work. Alexy proposed partnering up in forming what became The Meeting Squad. The two started it in August last year with some tenets: meaningful interaction, no straight lectures, and no food. “People hate to be seen eating on camera,” Capua says. “Now, people don’t mind drinking on camera.”
The Meeting Squad has put on numerous events, including for elected officials, the executive producer of Masterpiece Theater’s “Downton Abbey” for the Fort Worth Lecture Foundation, Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, United Way of Tarrant County, Read Fort Worth literacy initiative, and even a hybrid wedding ceremony.
“It’s been fun, and had we not been abruptly forced to do this, we would not be having this interview right now,” Capua says.
Capua’s Locavore kitchen incubator on Fort Worth’s Near Southside, slow during the pandemic, has started to pick up steam again. “Our kitchen renters didn’t have as many clients, and few people booked events,” Capua, in Locavore with partner Cortney Gumbleton, says. “But we’re starting to see a dramatic increase in booking baby showers, weddings, and other events as people are pushing unpause.”
Space / Tech / Distinctive Style / Wine & Dine / Off the Clock / Health & Fitness
Decked out with enviable amenities and a modernmeets-Western design, Simpli.fi’s Mule Alley office is just waiting to welcome back employees this fall.
BY SAMANTHA CALIMBAHIN / PHOTOS BY OLAF GROWALD
It was a momentous day when Fort Worth digital advertising company Simpli.fi moved out of its vinestrewn office on Summit Avenue to the burgeoning Mule Alley development in the Stockyards — a sleek, 80,000-square-foot space decked out with enviable amenities and a design that seamlessly combines modern minimalism with cowboy character. But there was one thing that didn’t move with the furniture when Simpli.fi came to Mule Alley — the people.
That’s because Simpli.fi was scheduled to move in March 2020, right when the world was shutting down amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was definitely disappointing to not be able to move in, but there were certainly things going on in the world that were more important than that,” says Ryan Horn, senior vice president of marketing. “We were glad that we had the ability to transition to work-from-home, keep the business going, keep supporting our customers — but it was, of course, disappointing to have a brand-new, beautiful building like this and not be able to move into it right away.”
But now, with precautions lifting and vaccines becoming more readily available, employees are slowly beginning to trickle back into the office, with plans to fully return in September.
That means, at last, the workers of
Simpli.fi can finally partake in all the bells and whistles the office has to offer.
Simpli.fi occupies four spaces in Mule Alley, which historically served as horse and mule barns during the Stockyards’ heyday. Each barn’s exterior facade still retains its respective letter of the alphabet used for identification; Simpli.fi takes up barns A, B, and C on one side of the street, as well as barn G on the other.
The space’s interior is the handiwork of design firm HKS. It’s a curious combination of seemingly contrasting styles — think modern/contemporary meets historic Western. Modular furniture sits amid concrete pillars with exposed, rusted metal. Bright colors pop against brick still marked with nondescript messaging like “A12,” hearkening back to its past life as a barn.
But somehow, it works. After all, it’s a
digitally-minded company in the most unabashedly Western part of the city.
“We think we’ve pretty much hit the nail on the head with how it looks,” Horn says. “You definitely know that you’re in an old building, but there’s nothing really old in the building. You’re getting all the modern conveniences but keeping that historic style.”
The office of Simpli.fi — frequently honored as a best place to work by institutions including the national publication, Inc. magazine — isn’t short on extras. The main kitchen is almost like a mini convenience store, stocked with fresh fruit, snacks, and drinks — all free to employees. What you likely won’t find at a 7-Eleven, however, is Simpli.fi’s espresso machine or the Bevi water dispenser that produces customized sparkling water.
There are plenty of places to play, too. One of the game rooms — that’s right, one of them — features everything from
shuffleboard and skee-ball to air hockey and pingpong. Horn says the company is getting a tournament going.
“We had fun at the last office, we tried to make our work-from-home experience as fun as possible, and now, back in the office here, people are excited to see each other and take advantage of the amenities,” he says. “It’s more of an effort to continue a great culture rather than start and build a new one.”
More practical, work-friendly elements include standing desks, phone booths, high-backed chairs intended to provide soundproofing, and a training room with a retractable glass door. Employees can work at their desks or collaborate in common areas, including the upstairs haylofts transformed into modern conference rooms.
Perhaps the swanky office is a wellearned perk for the company that’s built
its business on workflow and ad-buying software. Each month, Simpli.fi’s advertising platform powers over 120,000 campaigns for 30,000 active advertisers.
In July, investment management company Blackstone valued Simpli.fi at approximately $1.5 billion.
Naturally, growth in sales has led to growth in personnel. Horn says the company currently has about 350 employees — not including sales folk across the country — and is “hiring like crazy.”
What he hopes never changes, however, is Simpli.fi’s focus on culture.
“We pride ourselves on taking the best care we can of our employees. The happier your employees are, the better work they’ll do, the happier the clients are,” Horn says. “Happy employees, happy customers. You should be able to run a better business if you’re doing the right thing and taking care of your people.”
We are proud to again be named one of the best places to work because to us, places are defined by their people
schaeferadvertising.com/ best
BY DR. MADHUKAR TRIVEDI
Depression and anxiety can lead to dysfunction at work, but these symptoms subside quickly when an individual recovers. Employees with mental health problems have the same capacity as mentally healthy individuals for good attendance, punctuality, motivation, and productivity — that’s why it’s crucial for employers to understand that an employee who is struggling with their mental health is not simply evading responsibilities. Instead, they may need to establish a new working plan with their supervisor.
If you feel you are slipping up at work, speak up to your bosses or an HR administrator if you can and are comfortable doing so. Sometimes, just opening up about it and making your supervisor aware of the problem can help lift the mental load of navigating it alone.
If an employer is facing this situation, they should make time to have a real, human conversation with their employee. It should not feel rushed, so allot a certain amount of time and listen actively. Provide the employee with a list of available company resources and schedule another meeting to discuss
an action plan once you’ve both had time to think it through.
The burden is on the employers to establish a boundary against stigmas and assumptions. Do not blame all performance on an admission of a mental health problem. Depression is really like any other medical disease — the misperception that it is some kind of weakness is not at all the case, and employers need to give their employees permission to talk about it, and give them grace when they do, just as they would if they were sick with another illness.
Here are a few ways employees and employers can better manage mental health issues in the workplace.
1. Engage with coworkers and colleagues in ways that go beyond work. Share who you are and connect on deeper levels about your personal lives and personal experiences. Forming bonds and connections around your “real” personality rather than the “work you” protects you from feeling isolated. Plus, it provides a support network when you are struggling. It is a likely guarantee that you are not the only person in your office who may struggle with mental health — especially after the year we’ve had.
2. Celebrate wins and acknowledge challenges. Suggest your team or small group send end-of-week updates with challenges you are facing or things you’ve accomplished, in or out of work. Open the door to nurture each other through hard times and celebrate each other’s wins. If you’re not comfortable sharing publicly, set 30 minutes at the end of the workweek to make a personal list of your accomplishments that week, big or small, personal or at work. As the list grows, so too will your confidence.
3. Be conscious of your coworkers’ needs. Maybe you’re comfortable sharing, but they aren’t. Don’t pressure personal conversations in a group setting or try to have them standing outside of busy cubicles. Instead, let them know that you are available to talk to if and when they’d like to.
4. Actively engage with kindness. Assisting others, giving positive feedback, and doing small acts of kindness to others
actually can improve your own mental health. People who help others report less loneliness. Making others feel valued is a great boost on both ends.
5. Have someone to talk to. You also need to have someone outside of work who can listen to you vent or with whom you can openly and honestly discuss your experiences at your job. If you feel like you dump your concerns on your partner or friends too much, seek out a therapist. Having an unbiased, third-party professional to sort out your feelings with is a great resource.
6. Self-monitor your mental health. There are signals when our mental health is slipping, but we aren’t apt at noticing them with our day-to-day busy schedules. Take time each week to record your mood, functioning at work, and any other signs that point to your mental health. This allows you to tackle a potential problem as soon as you notice a change in your feelings or behavior. Create a login at centerfordepression.org for the Evexia Self-Monitoring App to help you track this.
7. Ask about employee benefits. Ask if there are any employee assistance programs at your company that offer counseling services or other things. These benefits are already paid for and are meant to be used. If this isn’t available at your company, ask if you can create a mental wellness program for employees once a month.
8. Prevent stress.
• Learn to listen to your stress levels.
• Delegate tasks if you cannot handle them. Are you always saying “yes” to assignments that you realistically don’t have time for? Be honest and find another solution upfront rather than at the last minute when the deadline is near.
• Schedule time to organize. Set 30 minutes on Wednesday morning and Friday afternoon to organize your workspace. Is your desk cluttered or your computer’s home screen overwhelmed with files? It’s important to regularly take the time to clean this up because it can become a cyclical situation where the clutter stresses you,
and because you are stressed, you become discouraged to keep it organized. Be intentional and schedule this time — it will help you later on. Clean workspaces provide a sense of calm rather than pressure.
• Peel your eyes away from the computer. Set a meeting on your calendar each afternoon and treat it as any other appointment that you cannot miss. Establish a routine where you step away from your desk and stick to it. Having time to clear your head with a change of scenery will help prevent burnout.
9. Establish work/life balance.
10. Exercise. Take time before or after work to go for a walk. Or, better yet, use half of your lunch break to walk around your neighborhood or campus. Exercise is a legitimate antidote for depression.
11. Eat lunch. If you get so focused on work that you forget to eat, you need to be proactive. Set an alarm and step away when it goes off. You are allotted time to eat, and you need to do so. Treat it like a bathroom break and don’t avoid it.
12. Sleep. If you are not getting enough sleep — or are sleeping too much — this can be a sign of depression. Look out for obvious changes in your sleep cycle, and seek help if needed. However, if you have the ability to sleep normally but consistently go to bed too late, quit that now. Sleep is essential to overall well-being, mood, and function. You’re more likely to wake up unhappy if you are running on less than six hours of sleep.
13. Establish business/personal boundaries with criticism. Try not to internalize criticism from your boss and bring it home with you. Your performance on a task is not a reflection on your value as a person. Remember that you are human and remind yourself of the many ways that you succeed.
14. Finally, if distress or other mental health issues persist, seek help.
Dr. Madhukar H. Trivedi is a professor of psychiatry and center director of the Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care, a division of UT Southwestern Medical Center.
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How an acclaimed Mexican restaurant found its way to Fort Worth’s Cultural District, thanks to the work of one dynamic duo.
BY JILLIAN VERZWYVELT
When former Café Modern general manager Adrian Burciaga called on awardwinning restaurateur Juan Ramón Cárdenas to be the first of many guest chefs at Café Modern in 2013, neither knew that this was just the beginning of what would later become a longtime partnership.
Eight years later, Burciaga and Cárdenas have teamed up to bring the acclaimed Mexican restaurant Don Artemio to the U.S., and the two have selected Fort Worth’s Museum Place to be the second home of this fine dining experience.
But their story begins before they became business partners. Burciaga was studying restaurant management at La Universidad
Autónoma del Noreste in Saltillo — the capital of Coahuila in Northeastern Mexico — when, halfway through his curriculum, he was assigned a project that required the input of an expert. Cárdenas was managing his family’s restaurant at the time. When Burciaga called and asked to speak with somebody who could help, it was by sheer coincidence he was put in contact with Cárdenas. Later that same year, Burciaga invited Cárdenas to help him with another project. From that point forward, Cárdenas and his family became mentors for Burciaga, who was just entering into the industry.
While Cárdenas continued to pursue gastronomy in Saltillo, Burciaga moved to the U.S. in 2004 to manage restaurants. Conversation dwindled between the duo since going their separate ways, but it sparked again in 2008 when Burciaga became the manager for Ruth’s Chris Steak House.
“When I started managing a steak house, I thought that I should call Juan Ramón and tell him what I was doing because it was similar to what he had done,” Burciaga says. “I wanted to tell him I was making progress with my career.”
Burciaga and Cárdenas stayed connected over the years, and it seemed only fitting that when Burciaga began inviting international guests to share the kitchen with the culinary team at Café Modern, he should start with somebody he knew.
“We saw each other after so many years, but when I picked him up at the airport, it felt so natural, like we hadn’t really been apart,” Burciaga says.
Together, the team worked to showcase the Saltillo cuisine to a new crowd. The evening wasn’t without its challenges, but their eventual success set them up for their current partnership.
“After Juan Ramón came back to guest chef in 2016, we kind of looked at each other and said, ‘Let’s keep this communication alive, and maybe one day we could do something together,’” Burciaga says.
Cárdenas is a third-generation restaurateur. His father lived in the U.S. for 14 years with the dream of one day opening a restaurant here. As sometimes happens, that dream was passed along to his son.
Cárdenas set out to search for the second location of his signature restaurant last year, and his sights were set on Texas. Bordering
Coahuila, settling the restaurant in the state would give Cárdenas more opportunity to travel between businesses. Beyond that, Texas leverages a sweeping lead in beef production across the U.S and will enable the incoming steakhouse to source one of its key ingredients from local producers.
Between Burciaga’s familiarity with the food scene and the similarities between Saltillo and Fort Worth in both cuisine and culture, it seemed like a simple decision to locate here. The next step was narrowing their scope. With the Cultural District anticipating Crescent Real Estate’s $250 million mixed-use project, which includes a 200-room luxury hotel, the duo recognized that the area was rapidly developing as an economic and social focal point. When the opportunity to take over the former Mr. Gatti’s Pizza shop at 3268 W. Seventh St.
came about, Cárdenas and Burciaga claimed it and signed a lease in mid-May.
Named for the late Mexican author Artemio de Valle Arizpe, Don Artemio will serve authentic dishes, including cabrito, steaks, homemade tortillas, and a selection of Mexican wines, mezcal, and tequila. Though their menu may differ from the traditional Tex-Mex that many are accustomed to, Burciaga and Cárdenas are confident that the local palate for beef and supporting standalone businesses will ensure their restaurant’s success.
Aside from the menu, the team says that it’s important that the ambiance also embody the Northeastern Mexican culture, including everything from architecture to quality of service.
Construction is currently underway on the 5,300-square-foot site. The architecture will incorporate three building materials common in Saltillo — barro (Mexican clay), concrete, and wood.
“The contractor and architect have been to Mexico two times so that they can feel what we would like to transmit to our customers in Texas,” Cárdenas says.
Cárdenas will continue to act as the culinary director upon returning to Saltillo to continue to oversee the original Don Artemio and tend to his burgeoning catering business. To ensure the restaurant remains true to the Northeastern Mexican culture, the local chef who is soon to be named will
de Queso Queso
Don Artemio’s No. 1 selling dish is its authentic enchiladas, dubbed Enchiladas de Queso Queso. This famous dish is topped with queso fresco (fresh cheese) and served with a signature mole sauce.
Another specialty is Don Artemio’s deep-fried nopalitos (cactus). Though not widely used in Texas, cactus is a popular addition to tacos, soups, and salads in Mexico. Cactus has a unique flavor that can be a bit sour for some. The way Don Artemio deep-fries its cactus offers an interesting texture with a little crunch.
Another of Cárdenas’ signature offerings is cabrito, or roast goat kid. Cabrito is known to have a sweet, somewhat gamey flavor with a tender texture.
Cárdenas has leaned in on its versatility to include it in many of Don Artemio’s menu items, including its torta de cabrito con chorizo and stuffed smoked peppers.
be sent to Saltillo to train under Cárdenas. Currently, the team is hoping to open in November.
“It’s been challenging times, but we’re really excited about how far we’ve come,” Burciaga says. “Juan Ramón and I are both passionate about gastronomy and hospitality. Even with our experience, we know we have a lot to learn. We’re looking forward to exploring and sharing our Mexican heritage in the Fort Worth community.”
Johnson is big on sustainably minded brands. His shoes, for example, are from Allbirds, a company that utilizes recycled materials.
Sparkyard’s Marco Johnson talks fashion, confidence, and being yourself in the workplace.
BY SAMANTHA CALIMBAHIN / PHOTOS BY OLAF GROWALD
The look of a business person is generally stereotyped to include a few basic pieces : a blazer, a tie, a pencil skirt, dress shoes, or pumps.
Marco Johnson likes to think outside the box when it comes to office attire. As the ecosystem network builder at Sparkyard, the University of North Texas Health Science Center’s online resource center for entrepreneurs, Johnson’s job is to connect people starting businesses with the tools they need for success — that means meeting with entrepreneurs and presenting himself as someone approachable, not intimidating.
He sat down with Fort Worth Inc. to chat about his personal style and how it plays into his everyday work.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Fort Worth Inc.: How did you find your personal style? Were you always dressing the way you do now, or was it something you had to discover?
MJ: I grew up in the ’80s. We all just wore jeans and T-shirts. There was no big production about picking the clothes out for the next day or any of that stuff, not in my house anyway, and not most people’s houses that I knew.
I think by the time I got into junior
high, when I was around 12, I was looking for some way to express myself and make myself maybe a little bit different from what all the rest of the popular kids are doing, so I got into skateboarding. I dressed like a little skater kid until high school. That was my first, I guess, branching out.
From then on, I think it’s just been anything that’s a little bit out of the ordinary, a little bit off kilter, catchy. I’ve never been afraid to express myself in that way, maybe because I’m so boring on the inside that I have to compensate by being interesting on the outside. [ laughs ]
Inc.: Nowadays, how would you describe the way you dress to work?
MJ: The approach that I take with this is meeting the entrepreneurs where they are. Most entrepreneurs or business owners are busy. They’re hustling. They’re hoofing it. They’re out there getting stuff done. They don’t necessarily have time to wear a suit or the ability to wear a suit or be really fancy, so it’s pretty casual.
Since I deal with entrepreneurs most days, I want to meet them where they are, be on the same level as them. So, it’s a lot of jeans, usually button-down shirts, but sometimes I wear a T-shirt. Yesterday, one of the things I wore was a David Bowie T-shirt. I love wearing T-shirts of bands and musicians or artists that I’m really into.
I don't want to be this suited-up guy that comes to meet them and tell them about what they need to do with their company, or whom they need to meet, or anything like that. I want to be very approachable and put them at ease.
Inc.: Tell us about the custom piece you wore for this photo shoot.
MJ: My wife is a fashion designer. She graduated from FIT [Fashion Institute of Technology] in New York. In order to qualify for FIT, you have to submit different pieces, so she made me one really
cool shirt that I totally love and covet. It’s got snaps because I'm all about pearl snaps. It’s short-sleeved. It’s this really funky pattern. Then, once she got into FIT, she never made me anything again.
Inc.: People always talk about letting your employees bring their full selves into the office because it helps them be more productive. Would you say allowing your employees to dress a little bit more freely would have any effect on how they work?
MJ: Absolutely, yeah. Not to mention just when you’re comfortable, when you can be who you feel you are, I think that affects everything and your relationships in the workplace, all of that stuff. I lived in D.C. twice over the course of seven years. I had to wear a suit and tie every day. It was really stuffy. It was nice to dress up sometimes, but ultimately, it's not me.
Inc.: What advice do you have for anyone who wants to expand their style?
MJ: Don't be afraid to wear the stuff that you think is cool. Dress the way that you want to. Grow your hair, style it, color it. Do your nails, facial hair, whatever.
We’re a society now that embraces individuality. I think that’s always been a pretty American trait. We see people with tattoos and piercings come into the office. It’s really not anything unusual. I think that’s really cool.
Anybody who’s feeling like they’re trapped or that they’re unable to express themselves, I would say just be courageous and take that step. You’re going to feel better. You’re going to feel more confident. People are going to pick up on that vibe.
the folks back home who want to come up and experience the Big Apple like a local. Here are his top spots to eat, drink, and hang out.
The Fort Worth native and Broadway actor tours us through his favorite spots to eat, drink, and hang out in the Big Apple.
BY JAY ARMSTRONG JOHNSON / INTRODUCTION BY SAMANTHA CALIMBAHIN
Jay Armstrong Johnson is a Fort Worth kid who cut his teeth performing at Kids Who Care, Inc.; Dian Clough West Dance Studio; and Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts before launching his professional career in theater. Like many young actors, he found himself in New York City, chasing the Broadway dream. Safe to say, he’s made it — with a
Playbill bio that lists starring roles in shows like “The Phantom of the Opera,” “On the Town,” and “Catch Me If You Can,” alongside TV appearances and an album, Jay Armstrong Johnson LIVE at Feinstein’s/54
Below.
With Broadway expected to reopen in September — barring unsolicited variants and spikes in virus cases, of course — Johnson’s created a nifty guide to NYC for
Saggio, Washington Heights saggionyc.com
This is my go-to Italian joint in my neighborhood. (“Get off at 181st and take the escalator. I hope you’re writing this down; I’m gonna test ya later” — that was for any of my “In The Heights” fans out there.)
Make sure you order the white bean crostini. It’s delish.
Red Rooster, Harlem redroosterharlem.com
Check out this Harlem staple for its weekend brunch. The cornbread and gravy are to die for.
Elmo, Chelsea elmorestaurant.com
This queer-owned establishment has been a go-to place for a fantastic meal. I might indulge in Elmo’s famous fudge brownie for dessert.
Butter, Midtown butterrestaurant.com
For special occasions, Butter is a stylish and delicious choice. It’s a seasonal menu, but if by chance the truffle burger is on the menu, you gotta try it — but everything on the menu is wildly good.
• I stick to Ubers and Lyfts for vehicle transportation. It’s usually cheaper than a cab.
• Restaurants aren’t keen on splitting checks.
• Tip servers well — because they are probably artists.
• TodayTix is a great resource for day-of theater tickets.
• If you’re visiting over spring break, you better pack some layers.
Bar Nine, Hell’s Kitchen bar9ny.com
I used to live directly above this dive bar in my early 20s. Enjoy live music while you sip your beverage of choice. I’ve been really into whiskey sours lately.
Ft. Tryon Park, Hudson Heights
The best-kept secret of uptown Manhattan. Enjoy the lush and beautiful landscaping with a stunning view of the Hudson River.
New World Plaza, Hell’s Kitchen
The Uptown Garrison, Washington Heights theuptowngarrison.com
I love the coffee here and always order the cold brew with oat milk. They also have a great menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Hell’s Kitchen, Hell’s Kitchen hellskitchen-nyc.com
If you fancy Mexican cuisine before the theater, this is a great option. I love the spicy cucumber margarita — a little too much.
Sugar Monk, Harlem sugarmonklounge.com
I love the speakeasy vibes of this craft cocktail bar. The Monk’s Dream is my personal fave.
Beer Culture, Theater District beerculture.nyc
It’s all in the name. You might find some of your favorite Broadway performers having a post-show brew with their castmates. The menu features local NYC brews, and I like to try something new every time.
This is a perfect outdoor hangout spot to have lunch and catch up with friends. Another great place to spot your favorite Broadway performers between shows.
The Highline, West Side of Manhattan
The Highline is both a nonprofit organization and public park. Walk through gardens, view art, experience a performance, and savor delicious foods for a truly unique perspective of NYC.
Square
This historic square has been a meeting place of artists and activists for decades. If you’re there during the holidays, you have to catch the Union Square Christmas market for all your holiday gift purchases.
The Oculus
This is the World Trade Center transportation hub. Meet up with friends, shop at the mall, and marvel at the architecture on your way to see the rest of what downtown Manhattan has to offer.
Wondering what it takes to be a great place to work?
Here are 40 that made the grade in our annual Best Companies to Work For in Fort Worth.
BY SCOTT NISHIMURA
Fort Worth Inc.’s Best Companies to Work For in Fort Worth comprises 40 that, enjoying strong runs in their businesses amid the robust economy, had to manage pandemic and economic disruption on the fly, while protecting employees, clients, partners, and other stakeholders. What’s it take to make our annual honor roll, which the magazine began producing annually in 2016? First, this contest is run and judged independently of the magazine’s ownership and staff by the Best Companies Group, a Pennsylvania research firm that’s behind more than 70 Best Places to Work programs worldwide and drills deep daily on what engages people in the workplace. Companies and other organizations that enter our contest submit answers to Best Companies on questions ranging from employee benefits, to work from home and vacation policies, communication from the top, wellness initiatives, opportunities for advancement, training and mentorship, diversity, and fun stuff like office happy hours. Entering companies also agree to allow their employees to be surveyed anonymously by the Best Companies Group to drill down on how they perceive their employer. Best Companies analyzes this information and produces our annual Best Companies to Work For in Fort Worth. Best Companies ranked employers in the small/ medium and large company categories, with large companies having 251 employees or more. In short, the magazine’s ownership and staff have no say in who wins this contest and how employers rank. The 2021 issue of the magazine and Best Companies’ rankings were released Aug. 5 during a luncheon at The Worthington Renaissance Fort Worth Hotel.
registration fees for participating employees and family.
growing company. Four of nine partners women. Stresses it staffs adequately so employees can honor family obligations and serve in the community. Numerous social events for employees, including Rangers Opening Day party and themed gifts. Company encourages deep community involvment.
moved off Airport Freeway to new
Near Southside, with neighbors like Bowlounge.
company maintains its culture around
emphasizes getting to know employees
fun, balance,
and take time off to recharge. “We do
in August 2020. Likes to promote
happy hours, and companywide volunteering events to build esprit de corps.
to meet customers with the right footwear and right fit. Partners with
on their feet by providing them with a free pair of safety shoes, socks, and gloves. Gives portion of sales to Hire Heroes, an organization that helps veterans transition from the military to the civilian workforce.
more
of employees, and ongoing gratitude.
employment with no layoffs.
70-year-old firm moved into new spacious quarters during COVID that allowed each employee their own
headquarters has no offices, gives employees run of space. Soundproof pods for private calls, video conferences, and quiet time; conference rooms for team brainstorms and presentations; outdoor patio; pingpong, skee-ball, basketball, arcade classic, and shuffleboard games; amphitheater for monthly team Habby Hours and re-HABs; four-stage production studio; full coffee and happy hour bar for “a ton of good reasons.”
Fast-growing firm seeks regular feedback from employees on how the firm can improve the employee experience. This year, VLK added paid parental leave to its employee benefits package to “underscore” VLK’s emphasis on work-life balance. The firm also gives days off between Christmas and New Year’s.
agencyBuilds culture around its motto "Make Life Better." Encourages employees to serve their families and communities. Annual retreat to Hill Country.
salaries and benefits to attract and retain people employees. The benefits include paying 100% of employees’ medical and dental insurance and participation in what it calls a “wonderful” retirement system. Flexible work schedules and the ability to work remotely.
contractorFirm's values centered on leadership, honesty, loyalty, and work ethic. To infuse a familial aspect into the culture, the firm schedules regular golf, fishing, and hunting outings; chili cookoffs and barbecues; pick-up basketball games, dodgeball, and softball; office Olympics; holiday parties and raffles; and employee recognitions. Its new riverfront offices promote use of the Trinity Trails and other nearby amenities.
conditioning and
Company early adopter of work-from-home policies, lets business office work by remote. HVAC techs schedule their shifts with priority given to those who score highest in formula that includes data from customer reviews. Company makes first payments on employees' home and car loans.
Loftwall 48 Room dividers The company is centered on core values that include "Win Together, Lose Together" and "Be Boldly You." As a growing company, Loftwall has made significant investments in employee benefits, headquarters infrastructure, and training. The company has added numerous fun perks to its workplace, including table tennis, regular celebrations, and quarterly breakfasts.
Commercial real estate
doors and
LanCarte Commercial doubled in size in the last year, going to 21 employees. Company treats every customer interaction as opportunity to build long-term relationships. “Our clients are the priority, and we treat every engagement as an opportunity to build a relationship.”
Distributor building compelling case for employees piece by piece, jokes about non-sexy nature of doors and doorknobs. Employees share in financial success. Owner wants to restart socials.
Nonprofit’s mission — helping those in need of support after a diagnosis of cancer — is the biggest piece of its
Up to 250 U.S. employees
What they do: Private equity, alternative investments, acceleration capital
Employees: 35
Fort Worth Inc. readers and followers of our annual Best Companies will doubtlessly recognize Satori Capital as a regular on the ranking and 2019 small/ medium company winner.
The firm — a multistrategy investment firm based in Fort Worth’s West Seventh district — roots its culture in the principles of Conscious Capitalism, the idea that shareholders’ interests are met when the good of all stakeholders is considered.
“Everything we do starts with the team and the culture,” Randy Eisenman, who co-founded the firm in 2008 with Sunny Vanderbeck, says.
Satori’s leaders, in moving the company to a remote work environment for months amid COVID-19, moved first to ensure employees had the right technology. It significantly bumped up the digital communication among the team and with investors and portfolio companies. “Recognizing we were physically separate, we wanted to be emotionally close,” Eisenman says.
The company boasts a panoply of perks related to employees’ well-being, including executive health screenings and annual stipends. The company retained its daily chef-prepared healthy lunches during COVID-19, having its chef prepare a week’s worth of meals and distributing them once a week to employees at their homes. The home delivery continued through June this year, Eisenman says.
Pedro Glaser Analyst
“At the core of our supportive culture is a leadership team that has thoughtfully created an inspiring set of principles and values and that clearly cares about the well-being of every employee. Most importantly, it comes across in the transparency and approachability they bring to their interactions with everyone on the team.”
FORT WORTH
What they do: Architects Employees: 29
Quorum Architects, founded in 1992, has continuously grown each year, David Lee, one of the firm’s principals says. “We had our best year ever, this year.”
Lee started his career working for a couple of big firms with formal cultures that focused on the money, he says. “That seemed upside down for us,” he says. In co-founding Quorum, the principals wanted to ensure it was doing best by its people as a way of doing the best work for its clients.
“We recognize people have lives to live,” he says. “We’ve always given ourselves the flexibility to be with our families.”
The company’s Near Southside offices encourage employees to move about. The space is open and offers numerous opportunities for employees to gather, including a full kitchen and a mezzanine. Employees work off of laptops; there are no desktops.
The company’s core values are centered on honesty and integrity, family, and treating people with respect. The company turns 30 next year, and Quorum plans to celebrate by helping organizations within the city. “We’re turning that into a yearlong thing.”
FORT
What they do: Construction management Employees: 42
Wes Reeder still recalls the first job he bid — and won — 27 years ago: a library renovation. “I put the proposal together
with a yellow legal pad and a calculator. We did not own a computer, and the only subcontractor bid I received was for the electrical work. Our bonding limit was $170,000. So, I bid the job at $169,000.”
That year, the company’s gross income was about $200,000. Last year, it was about $82 million. Reeder attributes the company’s success to partners, employees, and friends. The company invests significantly in family. Social events include golf, shooting, and axe-throwing outings, cornhole competitions, fish fries, safe job site awards, and employee appreciation events on job sites. The company offers unlimited paid time off.
What they do: Digital marketing for travel industry Employees: 152
Koddi is another denizen of Fort Worth Inc.’s Best Companies lists. The Fort Worth company’s travel technology platform has driven more than $20 billion in transactions for customers worldwide. It provides brands the opportunity to grow revenue through native sponsored placements, metasearch, and programmatic media campaigns.
The company and its larger sister PMG operate out of quarters in the West Seventh district. The company has long focused on providing its employees with the right tools and has built a robust offering of benefits. Koddi is one of the few Best Companies to provide unlimited paid time off. It added separate maternity benefits in recent years when the company recognized numerous
employees were having babies. “We believe when we take care of our people, everything else in the business does better,” Koddi says.
What they do: Digital marketing Employees: 30
Qualbe is another firm that has consistently appeared among our Best Companies to Work For in Fort Worth. CEO Randy Meinen views it part of his mission to ensure his employees are enriched by the experience of working for Qualbe.
Some of the perks of working at Qualbe: game area to play pool, pingpong, cornhole, darts, and video games; exercise room; Book Wars reading competitions; Rock Star recognitions of employees by other employees; Qual of Fame trophy wall of achievement; flexible hours for family needs; free snacks and drinks. The company sent employees restaurant gift cards after “COVID restrictions lightened a bit.”
Since 2019, Qualbe has relieved over $1.4 million dollars of veterans’ medical debt through the nonprofit organization RIP Medical Debt.
6 Wier & Associates, Inc.
ARLINGTON
What they do: Consulting engineering Employees: 35
CEO Carlo Silvestri’s Wier, which serves a range of municipal, construction, development, hospital, religious, and oil and gas clients, maintained staff during COVID-19 and reports a 41% revenue increase
in five years.
“We have hired nine new noncontract employees in 2021, and we expect continued growth.” Most staff worked from home, 2020. Wier’s offices include multiple meeting spaces for cross-team collaboration.
Emphasis on employee wellness. Firm matches up to 50% of employee 401(k) contributions, gives yearly profit-sharing. Offers broad health care benefits. Employees covered by health insurance can receive a $200 incentive each July and other prizes throughout the year. Quarterly $60 reimbursement for fitness memberships. Company participates in 5Ks throughout year, pays registration fees for participating employees and family.
7 Sutton Frost Cary LLP ARLINGTON AND FORT WORTH
What they do: Audit, tax, accounting Employees: 45
Firm has met goal of 8% annual revenue growth, including 2020, since setting it several years ago. Four of nine partners are women. Firm was able to “quickly offer new services to our clients related to federal relief options and other needs” in 2020, partner Kim Crawford says.
“We continued to focus on industries in which we have significant experience. We also continued to reward our staff with a monetary bonus for new work added to the firm…We recorded the highest revenue for 2020 for our firm ever, and we are on track to beat that for 2021.” Quick pivot to temporary work-from-home during COVID-19.
SFC emphasizes it staffs adequately as a way of addressing work-life balance. It’s adding
four employees this summer and plans on adding two more in the coming months, Crawford says.
SFC’s “fun squad” plans annual “end of busy season party” and holiday party, and firmwide Texas Rangers Opening Day party, with barbecue and Rangers-themed gifts. During COVID-19, SFC, unable to hold its annual nonprofit volunteer day, participated instead in a toiletries drive for a nonprofit serving homeless. SFC encourages and supports employees who volunteer at nonprofits. “Several of our staff members sit on the board of directors of local nonprofit organizations, and we routinely participate in fundraisers,” Crawford says.
Courtney Jones
Communications administrator
“Working for a firm that values both personal and professional growth is
something I had never experienced before. Shortly after I joined the firm, Kim Crawford nominated me to join a local organization called Leadership Arlington. Through this program, I was able to gain so much knowledge about local causes in the community and how to get involved.”
What they do: Commercial real estate brokerage Employees: 15
Trinity REIS saw investment volume in its net lease properties like dollar store locations go higher than normal during COVID-19, “due to the tenants being essential retailers,” says Kyle McCollum, a partner in the Fort Worth firm. COVID-19 drove transactions and revenue up at the same time, he says.
The company recently decided to relocate its offices to the newly redeveloped, historic PROOF building on Fort Worth’s Near Southside, from traditional quarters on Airport Freeway.
In an industry known often for its cut-throat nature, Trinity REIS has “pushed to have high-character, driven, fun, and collaborative team members that want to be successful as a group, as opposed to only caring about individual performance,” McCollum says. “That inherently builds our workplace culture.”
Anna Macedo Marketing coordinator
“While the industry as a whole is known for its ruthless nature, Trinity has fostered a hardworking and extremely supportive company.”
What they do: Commercial construction management Employees: 105
Byrne, a medium-sized regional firm, like commercial construction as a whole, has continued to enjoy steady growth over several years. “That growth has continued despite the many disruptions caused by the pandemic,” CEO Matt Avila says.
Byrne has worked over the years to maintain an employeecentric culture. “Significant attention is given to ensuring that personal and professional needs and aspirations are explored, acknowledged, and supported,” Avila says. “We treat our folks as family and we strive to take care of one another. We try to recruit highly talented, team-centered individuals and invest heavily in mentoring, training, and
building career paths for them. We value the social component of our time together and are intentional about events, activities, and facilities that help to deepen our personal as well as our professional bonds.”
When the pandemic shuttered gyms, Byrne built an on-site gym and developed health and safety protocols for it. Byrne also built an outdoor pavilion to create an open-air area for employees and families to safely gather.
Ben Robertson
Director of business development
“Byrne truly invests in the families that make up the company and the communities we live in. Many of our children have grown up together and many of our families have attended each other’s major life events over the years. When you work for a company that values its people before profit, you know that you belong to a bigger family that will always be there to help you grow and succeed.”
FORT WORTH
What they do: Facilities planning, design, logistics consulting Employees: 26
TransSolutions, founded in November 1998 through a management buyout from The Sabre Group, is a woman-owned firm headed by principals Belinda Hargrove and Gloria Bender. The staff largely comprises professionals with advanced degrees in industrial engineering, operations research, civil engineering, statistics, information systems, mathematics, and finance. The staff is diverse, representing eight nationalities.
“We form a community with different cultural backgrounds and unique perspectives. We
find this diversity brings a variety of approaches in our analyses to improve our clients’ facilities. This also provides an appreciation of cultural differences when working on projects around the world.”
Sacha Mosby Office manager
“In my 15 years here, I have experienced the ultimate holiday parties and potlucks with our family and friends that are highly anticipated and talked about for months after. Employees are encouraged to prepare and contribute dishes from their home countries. We have been enlightened with tasty Indian Jamun and samosas, Peruvian ceviche, authentic Malaysia roasted duck, and a host of native desserts and salads, an absolute unbeatable feast year after year.”
What they do: General contractor Employees: 50
The growing Tarrant Roofing, a general contractor that specializes in roofing and restoration, moved into a new headquarters in September 2020. The company moved into a 24,000-square-foot facility, with a spacious warehouse and custom fabrication facility, from 1,800 square feet of offices.
Owner Danny Leverett fosters a culture aimed at knowing his employees. Values are centered around Belong, Liked, and Purpose. “It is our goal for everyone to feel like they belong, feel liked, and have a purpose,” the company says. “We take time to know our employees.”
D’Sha’ Jones Marketing
“Our owner has an open-door policy. He makes himself available to everyone daily. No question too small or need
too big. He sets the bar high daily, and we stay on our toes meeting goals and delivering projects within the promised dates.”
What they do: Promotional products Employees: 17
The pandemic came at the right time for HF Custom Solutions, a fast-growing promotional products company with reliably businesses in education, health care, food, and beverage.
HF had seen consistent growth annually since the company was started in 2012, owner Joe Brown says. But in order to expand his team so he could reach for the next levels, HF needed to beef up its infrastructure.
“We started this process prior to the pandemic and were fortunate enough to have the ability to really focus on internal growth in 2020,” Brown says. “We were able to utilize the downturn to solidify our infrastructure and add members to our team in a preparation for a return to normal.”
The company moved into new offices in August 2020. Year to date in 2021, HF was at about 70% revenue growth compared to the same time last year. HF likes to promote team lunches, happy hours, and companywide volunteering events to build esprit de corps. During COVID-19, HF adjusted, bringing lunches into the office, using the office bar to host mini happy hours, and organizing employees to pack boxes for nonprofit events.
The company maintains its culture around values such as supportive, honesty, teamwork, fun, balance, family, hardwork-
ing, creative. HF encourages employees to disconnect and take time off to recharge. “We do not set a number of days on this,” Brown says. “Instead, we leave it up to employees to make sure they do what is best for themselves.”
Siera Holleman
Director of account management
“Leadership has made fostering a positive culture top priority by providing a work environment that encourages out-of-the-box thinking, collaboration, fresh ideas, and trust. Because we are a nimble team, each person knows they play a huge part in successfully working through solutions for our customers.
Wins are celebrated by the entire office.”
What they do: Work boots and shoes Employees: 85
In spring 2020, when Work Wear’s revenue dropped by more than 60%, the company stayed open even as competition closed. But many of Work Wear’s customers were essential businesses, and their employees still needed access to safety footwear. Work Wear
declared “partners don’t leave partners at a time like this,” and remained open. “Customers responded with appreciation,” CEO Coleman McDonald says.
Work Wear used COVID-19 to initiate and complete cultural and training initiatives, remodel stores, implement technological initiatives that improved customers’ experience and efficiency, and managed costs and cash to be in position to make acquisitions.
“We’ve been able to make two such acquisitions since December 2020,” McDonald says. “We’re returning to our pre-pandemic sales levels and are excited about the future.”
Aaron Ayala
Mobile store manager
“From the warehouse to the corporate
community needs. In the last year and a half, many of those were emergency needs. “We strive to maintain a workplace culture allowing employees fun with teammates, a safe place to decompress, and ample time off to recharge and rejuvenate with friends and family,” CEO Leah King says.
Amid the pandemic, the United Way expedited a planned technology revamp and shifted quickly to entirely remote work processes, allowing the agency the flexibility of remote work for employees who want or need the flexibility to be away from the traditional office.
The United Way kept employees in touch with each other through virtual staff meetings and Game Times, morning coffees, and social hours. “We approach all issues involving our team from a position of trust, and the pandemic allowed us to do so on a more regular basis,” King says.
We have had situations where employees may be dealing with their personal health or the health of a child or spouse, and Worthington makes it as easy as possible for those persons to take care of themselves or their family member. We are generous with sick time and do all we can do to ensure that financial burdens do not contribute to their stress levels during their trying times.”
The bank, which has four offices, encourages employees who are parents and grandparents not to miss family events.
“Employees do not have to worry about missing events in which their children participate,” Morse says. “In fact, they are encouraged to go to all of those events: awards ceremonies, kindergarten graduations, school plays, sporting events, to name a few. This policy is also in place for grandkids too. Employees love this perk and brag about it often.”
Hector Valles
office, our employees love and enjoy giving of themselves their time, effort, and talents, making us the greatest safety shoe provider in DFW and surrounding states. Throughout the year, we partner with organizations that help people get back on their feet by providing them with a free pair of safety shoes, socks, and gloves. Also, every month a portion of our sales goes to Hire Heroes, an organization that helps veterans transition from the military to the civilian work force.”
14 United Way of Tarrant County FORT WORTH What they do: Nonprofit Employees: 66
United Way’s culture starts with the serious work the nonprofit does in meeting
Ashleigh Herron Director of donor engagement
“I am continually encouraged to grow professionally, and the organization provides endless opportunities to do just that, all while stressing the importance of work-life balance.”
15 Worthington National Bank FORT WORTH
What they do: Banking Employees: 56
Worthington Bank CEO Greg Morse is willing to back up his words when he says his banking company is about family. Many companies claim that, he notes.
“Worthington is a family, and we care about those people that make up our work-family.
Manager, IT Department
“Worthington National is unlike anywhere I have worked before or will ever work again. Coming into work, I know the people are not just my co-workers, but they are my Worthington family. The help and support that comes from every level of the bank is incredible.”
16 Steele & Freeman Inc.
FORT WORTH
What they do: Construction management services Employees: 75
Steele & Freeman has been in business for 41 years, today under Michael Freeman, son of the founder. The company, whose clients include schools, municipal, commercial, industrial, health care, nonprofit,
entertainment, and faith organizations in North Texas, gets most of its business from repeat clients, doing no bid business.
In recent years, the firm established a set of 23 Fundamentals that guide its interactions internally and with clients, partners, and vendors. The firm’s seen a substantial increase in projects in progress and revenue in recent years.
Freeman writes notes to the families of new hires, gives gift cards during staff meetings to employees who received praise, and reminds employees the company wants them to prioritize family. COVID-19 forced its regular social events for staff and family into a virtual environment. The pandemic ended up helping the company strengthen its culture, its leaders say, because it forced them to find new ways to communicate. The company added staff during the pandemic.
Dena Rowland Controller
“I have worked for Steele & Freeman for almost 23 years. One of the things I have enjoyed most is that I have gotten to watch my fellow employees grow in their careers and raise children, and then those children have followed in their parents’ footsteps to come work for the company. It is such a unique opportunity.”
17Franz Architects
FORT WORTH
What they do: Architects
Employees: 19
John Franz heads the architecture firm today that his father, William Franz, founded in 1983.
Franz encourages communication via an open office. “We have found that listening to someone’s personal struggles or
achievements outside of work helps co-workers understand their ups and downs during a work day; it also helps them adjust the way they approach each other, creating a better work environment.” The office builds camaraderie via employee get-togethers like dessert competitions and Friday social hours.
Tania Inigo
Director of architecture
“Everyone works as a team, and there is a family atmosphere. We have found that the open office concept encourages dialogue. The firm works on a diverse group of projects. We think the home-work balance is important and have started to implement options for employees to enjoy more time with family.”
18
Pacheco Koch Consulting Engineers, Inc. FORT WORTH
What they do: Civil engineering, surveying, landscape architecture Employees: 229
Pacheco Koch has continued with the sustained growth it’s experienced in recent years, “even through the pandemic,” Brian O’Neill, principal of the firm’s Fort Worth office, says. “Infrastructure and all construction activities were considered essential businesses during the pandemic. In fact, with the reduction of traffic seen during the pandemic, many roadway projects were able to be built ahead of schedule.”
One major challenge: recruiting new talent. “The industry as a whole is thriving, so the competition for talent is tough.”
Pacheco Koch has built a close-knit family culture over the years, fostering that via social activities like the daily 2 p.m. Coffee Club, egg
drop competitions, pingpong tournaments, Friday staff breakfasts, half-day Fridays, and regular happy hours coordinated by the staff.
One byproduct of the pandemic: a new remote working policy. “Although the tools to work virtually existed prior to the pandemic, they were perfected through necessity, and our employees enjoyed those opportunities. We now have a permanent remote working policy, allowing employees to work from home on a regularly scheduled basis.”
Essential Lending, Inc. FORT WORTH
What they do: Short-term loans Employees: 18
Founder Tommy Glenn’s Essential Lending is a financial services company with a big approach to workplace culture. The company’s core values espouse transparency in dealing with customers and other team members.
“If you feel good about working here, you’re doing it right.” The company preaches “making the extra mile crowded” and being “humble, attentive, clear, and empathetic.”
The company regularly rewards team members who go the extra mile. “We gave our ‘Awesomeness Award’ to a loan manager who helped a customer who was trying to end her life. The customer attempted to disconnect the call, but this employee encouraged more conversation and then spent close to an hour on the phone. After the call, our employee called the customer’s local police department and asked them to do a wellness check.”
Perks include rewards for meeting goals, bonuses, quarterly celebration, weekly gift cards, optimized overhead lighting to relieve strain, treadmill desks, standing desks, meditation/quiet room, periodic meditation and yoga at work, and health and wellness challenges. Management supports more flexible work schedules, a byproduct of COVID-19.
What they do: Chemical solutions
Employees: 41
If one element of a great workplace is work that’s on the cutting edge of innovation, BPS has it in spades. It’s developed technology that dramatically reduces the volume of chemicals used in a variety of oil and gas and agriculture applications.
BPS’ core values drive its culture: Strategic, Servant Minded, Shepherds, Stewardship, Steadfast, and Spiritual. To highlight those values, the company engages employees in programs such as quarterly all-hands meetings, time off for volunteer work, recurrent training, continuously updated road map of where the company should focus its product development, steadfast recognition of employees, and ongoing gratitude.
The company moved into a new headquarters during COVID-19 last year and found it allows greater social distancing via larger conference spaces and bigger workspaces for individuals. “Additionally, we are capable of offering flexibility to crew members who need to adopt hybrid or work-fromhome arrangements to accommodate their new normal,”
Bravis Brown, the CEO, says.
Benjamin Stevens Director of operational excellence
“BPS Technology has a family atmosphere and embodies the spirit of innovation — we’re learning more and more every day about the value our technology has for everything from oil and gas to agriculture.”
What they do: Software
Employees: 24
COVID-19 and the plunge in oil and gas prices have been a boon to client growth and retention for the fast-growing MineralWare, the Fort Worth firm whose software lets mineral owners and managers easily manage holdings. The firm expects 40% to 50% client growth from the start of 2020 through the end of the year, Pete O’Brien, executive vice president of operations, says.
Ryan Vinson founded MineralWare in 2014. The company’s cultural foundation is built on its values: S.E.R.V.E., or Service, Excellence, Relationships, Virtues, and Excellence. Employees receive quarterly feedback given their alignment with those values.
To support its employees, the company has renovated a big space at the Fort Worth Club Tower, with modern amenities like television lounges, cafe, Xbox lounge with beer on tap and a golf arcade game. MineralWare is the tower’s largest tenant.
Employees have access to substantial perks, including advanced technology. And they participate in the company’s success. MineralWare’s growth — the company triggered a bonus to employees of up to
50% of salary when it met a revenue target in 2019 — has been a robust recruiting and retention tool.
What they do: Auto leasing and sales Employees: 190
D&M Leasing has built part of its culture around one number: It gets about 70% of its business through repeat and referred customers whom the company has built longstanding relationships with. During the pandemic, D&M was able to move 90% of our workforce home and retain 100% employment with no layoffs, it reports. It’s now in the process of moving employees back into their offices, with safety protocols, but also is flexible for employees’ at-home needs. The company likes to get its employees involved in the community, supporting numerous organizations via volunteer hours and cash gifts.
What they do: Law firm Employees: 44
McDonald Sanders is a 70-year-old, full-service law firm whose attorneys’ practice areas include banking, commercial litigation, construction, education, employment, energy, estate planning and probate, real estate, and tax. In early 2020, the firm moved into newly renovated office space in 777 Main in downtown Fort Worth, providing each employee their own separate workspaces.
“Thus, our firm perhaps was
one of the first in Fort Worth to have all attorneys and staff back in person in May 2020,” George Haratsis, director and shareholder, says. “This not only helped to maintain our firm culture and connectivity, but also allowed us to readily serve our clients’ needs.”
Tamara Pullin
Attorney
“I particularly appreciate that at McDonald Sanders I work with highly skilled attorneys who are genuinely good people that care deeply about the quality of legal services and advice we provide our clients, and realize the importance of maintaining a positive and supportive work culture. McDonald Sanders allows me to practice law within a flexible work schedule so that I can also be an engaged mother in purposefully parenting, support my husband who is dean of TCU’s Neeley School of Business, serve as an adjunct professor at TCU, and even play a little tennis.”
24 Agency Habitat FORT WORTH
What they do: Branding agency Employees: 51
When Agency Habitat bought a 1950s-era building and rehabbed it for its new 30,000-square-foot headquarters, it was counting on an April 2020 move-in. But with COVID-19, the agency sent employees home, and “the staff didn’t get to enjoy the new digs until April of this year,” Neil Foster, the CEO, says.
With no cubicles, offices or assigned seats, every team member has “full run” of the agency and its spaces. “We took inspiration from bars, restaurants, coffee houses, and other places where people naturally meet in order to break away from the rigid monotony of a corporate office,” Foster says.
“It’s a wide-open concept with no offices and no egos.”
The space includes soundproof pods for private calls, video conferences, and quiet time; conference rooms for team brainstorms and presentations; outdoor patio; pingpong, skeeball, basketball, arcade classic, and shuffleboard games; amphitheater for monthly team Habby Hours and re-HABs; fourstage production studio; full coffee and happy hour bar for “a ton of good reasons.”
Jade Fails
Associate social media manager
“I love that competition here means to be a better version of ourselves — because we’re a team first and foremost. It’s nice to know that the whole agency is rooting for you to be successful.”
25 VLK Architects, Inc.
FORT WORTH
What they do: Architects Employees: 213
VLK has long strived to be what CEO Sloan Harris calls “a vibrant and well-managed cooperative of ingenuity and efficiency.” COVID-19 challenged the company to maintain that in a remote environment, but “I believe the experience strengthened the roots of our teams. We understand and trust each other more than ever.”
The fast-growing firm has doubled its number of employees since 2015. COVID-19 “decelerated our rate of hiring,” Harris says, “but our need to grow resumed in earnest in 2021.”
VLK seeks feedback from employees several times per year. “It’s great to read comments about what employees love most about the firm,” Harris says. “But the higher purpose
of engagement is to understand what we can do to make the VLK experience even better.”
This year, VLK added paid parental leave to its employee benefits package to “underscore” VLK’s emphasis on worklife balance, Harris says. The firm also gives days off between Christmas and New Year’s.
Cassady Fredriksen
Emerging professional
“The company comprises a team of extremely talented individuals representing a broad array of different roles and experience levels, who are enthusiastic about their work and its impact on our society.”
What they do: Marketing agency Employees: 30
Ken Schaefer’s Schaefer Advertising Co. is another denizen among our Best Companies to Work For. The company lives by the motto “Make Life Better.” “It is a simple statement that focuses our efforts to improve the lives of those around us and guides how we foster relationships with each other, our community and our clients.”
For work anniversaries, the agency gathers around the celebrated employee at the end of the day, and co-workers share what they admire about that person. The company travels to Gruene in the Hill Country annually for the agency’s Boonedoggle retreat. The agency distributes 10% of profits to employees each year. Schaefer encourages employees to be active in their communities and gives them flexibility to volunteer and spend time with their families.
What they do: Tax appraisal Employees: 198
The Tarrant Appraisal District is the organization that determines the market value of property that local tax units use to apply tax rates. “This work, that happens in a compressed time period, can create a stress-filled workday for staff,” TAD acknowledges.
TAD provides competitive salaries and benefits to attract and retain people employees. The benefits include paying 100% of employees’ medical and dental insurance and participation in what it calls a “wonderful” retirement system. “Flexible work schedules and the ability to work remotely are other ways that TAD manages the workload,” the agency says.
FORT WORTH
What they do: Commercial contractor Employees: 51
Muckleroy & Falls, a respected Fort Worth commercial contractor founded in the late 1970s, has made the transition to new owners, including Zach Muckleroy, son of co-founder Harold Muckleroy, who recently retired along with longtime partner Max Falls.
The firm, which recently moved to a new headquarters fronting the Trinity River off of University Drive, has retained its cultural values centered on leadership, honesty, loyalty, and work ethic. “When we focus on these values, the cultural spirit of the company flows almost organically,” Grant Tedford, senior project manager, says.
To infuse a familial aspect into the culture, the firm schedules regular golf, fishing, and hunting outings; chili cookoffs and barbecues; pick-up basketball games, dodgeball, and softball; office Olympics; holiday parties and raffles; and employee recognitions. Its new riverfront offices promote use of the Trinity Trails and other nearby amenities.
29 Comfort Experts, Inc.
FORT WORTH
What they do: Air conditioning and heating Employees: 74
Comfort Experts is another returnee to our Best Companies to Work For. The company is an early adopter of work-fromhome policies years ago, finding people in its business office could do their work on flexible schedules and by remote. HVAC techs can’t work from home, but the company’s scheduling system gives preference to techs who score highest in formulas that use data such as customer feedback. President Brett Hobson made the change after requests by employees. Comfort Experts makes the first payment for employees on purchases of homes and cars and distributes the checks at regular celebratory staff meetings.
30Loftwall
GRAND PRAIRIE
What they do: Room dividers Employees: 48
Loftwall manufactures room dividers and privacy partitions for commercial and residential spaces. The company is centered on core values
that include “Win Together, Lose Together” and “Be Boldly You.” As a growing company, Loftwall has made significant investments in employee benefits, headquarters infrastructure, and training. The company has added numerous fun perks to its workplace, including table tennis, regular celebrations, and quarterly breakfasts.
Commercial FORT WORTH
What they do: Commercial real estate agency
Employees: 21
LanCarte Commercial, the fast-growing agency headed by broker Sarah LanCarte, has doubled in size in the last year, going to 21 employees. It focuses on brokerage, property management, and investments. “Our clients are the priority, and we treat every engagement as an opportunity to build a relationship. By combining streamlined processes with transparent communication, we are reintroducing integrity in our industry.”
Lori Loftis Operations manager
“We truly are a family and are reminded of how every person on the team no matter the role is an essential part of what makes our company work.”
University Building Specialties
HALTOM CITY
What they do: Distributor of architectural door and hardware
Employees: 35
Transparency from the owner is a big part of Willie Dubuis’ game plan at University
Building Specialties, a distributor of architectural doors and windows whose work can be found at Texas Motor Speedway, TCU, Kimbell Art Museum’s Piano Pavilion, Tarrant County College downtown, Dickies Arena, and the new Hotel Drover.
Last year was shaping up to be another strong one until COVID-19 hit, forcing the cancellation of two large jobs, Dubuis says. This year will likely be break-even at best, Dubuis says, but “2022 is looking to be a very good year, maybe our best ever. Inflation is the really tough unknown at this point.”
When the company faced its first COVID-19 scare with an employee in mid-March last year, Dubuis found himself on the phone with every employee, first to let them know he was closing the office for two days, then a second time to let them know he’d had the facility cleaned and was able to reopen it. Dubuis assured employees they would continue to be paid, their vacation was unaffected, and they could work by remote if appropriate.
Dubuis hopes to restart the company’s popular social outings to places like Topgolf soon. He pays monthly bonuses for meeting sales goals and holds monthly ice cream and cake and cookie socials.
Ashley Nombraña
Project manager, sales
“What I appreciate most about UBS is its desire to grow. On a day-to-day basis, there is a sense that we are working toward an achievable vision.”
What they do: Free cancer support services
Employees: 33
Cancer Care Services FORT WORTH
Cancer Care Services, which has provided free cancer support in Tarrant County since it was founded in 1946, recently added a Spanish-speaking community health worker and is hunting resources to expand further. Studies show an 80% to 90% decline in cancer screening for breast, colorectal, and
cervical cancers in 2020, CEO Melanie Wilson says. Cancer Care Services also created an unbudgeted COVID Emergency Fund to help its clients meet life-sustaining needs, like paying rent and keeping food. Many of Cancer Care’s employees are cancer survivors or cared for loved ones with cancer. Wilson is a survivor and lost her daughter to cancer at 21 years old.
251 and more U.S. employees
USI Insurance
VALHALLA, NEW YORK
What they do: Insurance and employee benefits Employees: 8,000 (35 in Fort Worth)
USI is a newcomer to our Best Companies to Work For. It opened an office in 2019 in Fort Worth and substantially increased its footprint here last year when it acquired Forte Benefits, an employee benefits company that had been a regular on our annual rankings.
USI is one of the largest U.S. insurance brokerages (Hub, which bought Best Companies denizen Gus Bates last year, is another). For the third year in a row, USI was named as a “Best of the Best” employer for multicultural women in the insurance industry by Professional Woman’s Magazine.
USI is on the hunt in Fort Worth for a larger office space, having outgrown Forte’s quarters at the former Mallick Tower. Post-COVID, the company will likely function in a hybrid model of work from the office and at home, Brandon Robinson, vice president and USI’s Fort Worth practice leader, said in an interview.
“You’re not wasting time coming back and forth to the office,” Robinson says.
Brandon Robinson Vice president and USI’s Fort Worth practice leader
HUB Fort Worth|Gus Bates Insurance & Investments
CHICAGO
What they do: Insurance and investments
Employees: 13,000 (70 in Fort Worth)
Gus Bates was purchased by Hub International — one of the country’s largest insurance brokerages — in July 2020, midpandemic, after the company’s owners and leaders went on the hunt for a buyer that could carry on the Bates’ familial and community culture. HUB continues to search for small agencies to buy. “I believe we will continue to grow the Texas Market for quite some time,” says Tara Daniels, service team lead in the Employee Benefits Division in Fort Worth.
Gus Bates served as a “lifeline to companies during the pandemic,” Daniel says. “Our clients were probably faced with the biggest challenge of their lifetime. How to navigate all the [Department of Labor] requirements? The Families First Coronavirus Response Act, The SBA Loan Program, the Paycheck Protection Program, The CARES Act, [Texas Department of Insurance] making emergency rulings, The American Rescue Plan Act.”
Gus Bates hosted several webinars to help clients navigate the changes and requirements. “And because several of our clients have become like family, it was also heartbreaking to see the challenges they faced. Trying to keep their businesses open. Trying to keep jobs available for their employees. So many things were out of
their control, but we knew we could provide support.”
Tara Daniels Service team lead, Employee Benefits Division
“Our culture is what makes our company so different. It truly is a family. We maintain it by having mutual respect for everyone and a core belief that every role is so important in reaching our team goals. I think hiring the right people helps us maintain our culture and trusting that each member will do the best they can do every day.”
What they do: Commercial construction and architecture Employees: 698
The Beck Group, large company winner on our 2020 Best Companies to Work For in Fort Worth ranking, is back again. The company likes to say its employees are the reason the company ranks on many best workplaces lists. “When it comes to being a great place to work, we … think about how our decisions affect our people, give them the opportunity to design their careers around their strengths so they can build a future with Beck.”
Beck invests in its employees’ wellness with quarterly workout, step, and hydration challenges, and offers of rewards. Beck provides employment and reemployment benefits to veterans and eligible members of Reserve and National Guard.
The company offers its employees opportunities to give back through volunteering and the Beck Community Development Foundation.
Beck employees regularly engage in company-sponsored activities, such as Canstruction, leadership training, internal
kickball tournaments, trike races, chili cook-offs, doughnut socials, popsicle deliveries to job sites, team-sponsored 5Ks, “Pancakes with Santa Claus,” company picnic, Habitat for Humanity, and hosting job site tours and happy hours.
“Our employees also … can take pride in the fact that learning, healing, and working spaces that they design and build are making a positive contribution to communities,” Beck says. “Over the years our work has been groundbreaking, trendsetting, and awardwinning.”
In 2018, Beck rolled out a new family leave benefit to employees, which offers paid maternity leave for mothers, paid family bonding time for fathers, and paid leave for our families that adopt. In 2021, Beck rolled out a program to help cover costs of mental health visits.
During the pandemic, Beck adjusted in-person work schedules, moving to A/B weekly schedules with social distancing in place.
What they do: Financial services for trucking companies Employees: 310
Apex Capital’s response to COVID-19 sums up its approach to its people. On Friday, March 13, last year, CEO David Baker was traveling when he got the call from his senior leadership team. The company moved quickly to send its employees home with the necessary technological tools to work by remote.
“Our IT and Operations managers already had a truckload of laptops on their way with a plan to get them all operational
and in the hands of our folks,” Baker recalls. “By Monday, 90% of our staff was working from home and fully operational. We went from about 300 people in our office down to about 30 in one weekend. By the following Monday, we were down to only 12 of us in the office. Everyone at Apex did an incredible job with the transition, and our ability to pivot quickly demonstrated how much we care about each other, our clients, and this place called Apex.”
Apex buys freight bills from small- to medium-sized trucking companies nationwide at a discount and operates a fuel discount card company that offers our clients savings on diesel fuel and service.
From COVID’s onset, “we made sure our clients had the cash flow and fuel they needed to operate their businesses, and that we had plenty of toilet paper,” Baker says. One client sent the company a photo of a 53-foot flatbed with one package of toilet paper strapped to it.
Apex began allowing employees to return to the office at year’s end, based on its needs and employees’ comfort.
“Working from home has proven to be beneficial for our organization,” Baker says. “We have been more productive, people have a better work-life balance, and they have saved time and money by eliminating their commutes. We’ve also found that adopting new technologies for meetings and video conferencing have been wise investments that helped people stay connected, and in some cases, brought them closer together.”
Employees, however, miss the company’s numerous spontaneous office celebrations. “There is nothing that replaces face-to-face interaction. People
miss that part … As we move forward, our challenge is to find the balance between working remotely and being together in the office.”
What they do: Engineering, architecture, construction, environmental, consulting solutions
Employees: 7,600
Burns & McDonnell is the only employee-owned company among our 2021 Best Companies to Work For in Fort Worth.
Being 100% employee-owned is what “drives our success, guides our decisions, and inspires our powerful and unique culture,” the company says.
Employee ownership is automatic and free to all employee-owners. “Our team knows employee ownership means opportunity: to work on meaningful projects, to have ideas heard, to achieve a higher level of financial security,” the company says. “Plus, our clients tell us that our employee ownership translates into enhanced effort and extraordinary work.”
Burns & McDonnell cel-
ebrates employee ownership with fun activities and events throughout Employee Ownership Month in October. Activities include an annual pancake breakfast, a treat week, family trick-or-treating and a lunchbox trivia competition.
The company has numerous recognition awards throughout the year. Diversity Month “celebrates the differences that strengthen our firm,” with activities include inspirational speakers, training, and networking opportunities.
In 2020, Burns & McDonnell raised over $4 million for United Way chapters nationwide. In Fort Worth, Burns & McDonnell donated over $45,000 to the United Way of Tarrant County. Burns & McDonnell also has programs that connect its employee-owners with opportunities to give back through STEM outreach, giving, and volunteering.
6Tokai Carbon CB Ltd. FORT WORTH
What they do: Producer, furnacegrade carbon blacks Employees: 388
Tokai Carbon CB Ltd. has been a leader in producing highquality, furnace-grade carbon black in the U.S. since 1961. The corporate headquarters and state-of-the-art research and development center is in Fort Worth, in the City Center downtown and on the North Freeway, respectively. Carbon black is used in tires, rubber and plastic products, printing inks, and coatings.
Tokai Carbon’s vision is to produce carbon black efficiently and sustainably, while protecting the environment, maintaining a safe and clean workspace, and prioritizing the needs of
employees and their families.
Management practices an open-door approach. “It is common to see employees in the president’s office offering new business perspectives.”
Tokai Carbon offers robust benefits, with immediate eligibility to new hires. Benefits include generous sick leave, half of the membership costs for performances of resident companies at Bass Hall and Broadway at the Bass, and paid parking in the City Center garage.
“We understand that the foundation of a great workplace lies in a culture of trust and engagement unifying all employees,” the company says.
At the onset of COVID, Tokai sent employees to work from home — “if the positioned allowed” — and gave them tools such as monitors and printers to work from home. The Fort Worth Research Center has immovable equipment, and an employee must be on-site to conduct research, the company noted.
What they do: Defense, homeland security, and commercial technology Employees: 2,299 (700 in Fort Worth)
Elbit Systems’ appeal as a workplace starts with its mission: homeland security. One machine the company developed is being used in COVID testing.
“We have a very compelling mission, creating innovative solutions and saving lives,” Raanan Horowitz, president and CEO, said in an interview. “That compelling mission is important to our workforce. So that’s No. 1.”
Second, “when you come work for us, you’re part of the family. It’s not just a place to work,” Horowitz says. “We expect and give people an opportunity to make a difference. The large companies, you’re very siloed and encouraged to stay within your lane.”
The company also emphasizes “doing the right thing” and has found its way onto a listing of the world’s most ethical companies. “Doing the right thing from our legal perspective. Doing the right thing from our ethical perspective.”
Another focus is inclusivity. “We want a place where people know they’re expected to be bold, to take some risks, to learn lessons and move forward. I think we’ve created a culture that people are aligned with. You see a very open, friendly — all the way from the front line to the warehouse — environment. It’s a very cohesive, very unassuming environment.”
On family, the company did away with reserved parking spots. “Small thing” but significant symbolically, Horowitz says. The company’s looked to boost its benefits and social activities. “When we started doing virtual” during COVID-19, “we started adding spouses” to the socials.
Lobby screens help celebrate marriages, births, and graduations. The company also has offered opportunities for employees to create and join tribes, such as bicycling, soccer, women in defense, and reading. The company has started offering college scholarships to the children of employees. This year, the company awarded 102, $1,000 scholarships. “It’s not a huge amount, but it’s very popular, and it connects us to the next generation.”
During the peak of CO-
VID-19, Horowitz recorded periodic messages containing business updates, encouragement, and sometimes even a recognition of national events, like the death of George Floyd in police custody. Horowitz distributed the messages via email and text. “It allowed people connect with me.”
In late summer last year, “we realized this [COVID] thing is not finishing, it’s continuing. We wanted to recognize people for working hard. We gave every employee an opportunity to select a gift. Most popular gift was an air fryer. After that was something associated with Alexa.
It was not an inexpensive thing but hugely welcomed by employees. Really paid in spades with people’s commitment and willingness to go the extra step.”
Chadra Mezza restaurateurs Christina and Nehme Elbitar buy an 8-acre spread in southeast Fort Worth — and decide to dial down.
BY SCOTT NISHIMURA
In an hour or so, Nehme Elbitar needs to tend to a catering job at the Chadra Mezza restaurant he and wife Christina run on Fort Worth’s Near Southside. Then, he’ll become chef Nehme again. Right now, it’s farmer Nehme and dogcatcher Nehme, Christina teases. Their dog, a friendly German shepherd with a pleading face, named Timber, has wandered outside the gate of the couple’s farm. That’s right, farm. The couple earlier this year bought a hilly 7.5-acre spread inside Loop 820 in southeast Fort Worth, with a turnkey 2,800-square-foot farmhouse, that sports views of a lush valley and downtown Fort Worth. They sold their home in Fort Worth’s Ryan Place and moved in — just in time for farmer Nehme to plant the olive trees that were then killed by the big winter freeze.
“It was meant to be, Scott,” Christina says, resting on the living room couch that the couple kept in their garage at Ryan Place for two years because it wouldn’t fit through the door. “There is no other reason. Sometimes, I feel just so transported here. We still can’t come up with a name for our little hideaway. We’re trying to come up with a good name.”
It was just before Christmas when Christina, who’d been fantasizing about land in Fort Worth for two years, sat down and trolled real estate listings online when she found this one:
Built 1948. 7.5 acres. Three bedrooms, three baths. 2,800 square feet. Big living areas. Guest house. Barn. Pond. Lots of trees. Lots of area to build gardens. Plenty of space for Chadra Mezza’s catering vehicles. Deck facing downtown and sunrises. Deck facing the other direction and sunsets. Metal roof, impenetrable by Texas hail.
Short drive to the restaurant. Even shorter drive to the Mexican grocery market Christina loves to shop. Plenty of room for a pool, except that Nehme keeps plopping down a new garden on top of all those spots. (For the Elbitars’ privacy, the magazine isn’t identifying the neighborhood or street.)
A call to the couple’s Realtor followed, and another to their banker, who verified the Elbitars were preapproved. The Elbitars got in to tour the home just after Christmas. Beating one other offer, they went under contract around New Year’s.
“I knew something like this could possibly exist,” Christina says. “I just never thought that we would find it, and in our price range.”
Nehme’s mother, who lives with the couple, moved to the U.S. from the family’s
homeland of Lebanon and often foraged in the mountains near her old home, quickly made use of a small chain saw, cleared the overgrowth of trees on the property’s perimeter, and dragged the limbs into a pile.
Nehme put his gardens in, and they’ve thrown off corn, garbanzo beans, tomatoes, squash, fava beans, okra, berries, and more. So far, none of the produce has made its way into the restaurant’s cooking. Nehme plans to replant olive trees and wants to produce an olive oil.
“I don’t know if you eat tomatoes like we do,” Nehme says, producing a bowl of cherry tomatoes, pushing one into his mouth, and offering the bowl to his guest.
The property represents more than just a place to grow produce, park the restaurant’s vehicles, and have a dog. It’s an opportunity the Elbitars are taking to force themselves to dial it down.
Chadra Mezza has been in business for almost 20 years, first across from John Peter Smith Hospital. Then in January 2008, amid the severe economic downturn, the couple moved it to Park Place and Eighth avenues, nestled at the center of some of the Southside’s most mature neighborhoods. The couple’s catering business grew. They were able to make an offer on their building and buy it.
But after nearly 20 years of restaurants, the last year and a half framed by COVID19, the Elbitars were tired.
Business before COVID-19 was robust. “We were going to start saying no to things,” Christina says. “We had two bouts of sleeping three days straight because we were so exhausted.”
Then COVID-19 hit. After closing the dining room during part of last year for remodeling, the Elbitars reopened to indoor seating just four days a week, closed Sunday – Tuesday and leaving more time for catering and downtime.
The couple before COVID-19 employed 27. Today, it’s 11, plus the Elbitars. Sales this year were 30% of 2019s. “That’s crazy,” Nehme says.
With dining rebounding after COVID’s peak, the Elbitars could justify hiring more people right now — but only if they opened more than four days per week, “which we’re not doing,” Nehme says, wagging his finger, no. They’re also having trouble finding labor, he says, attributing that to government unemployment benefits creating a disincentive.
The couple’s enjoying their new life’s balance, Nehme says. They’ve got more time to spend on a side business, flipping houses. And they’re fostering two young children, possibly to adopt.
“We’re enjoying this,” Nehme says. “It’s giving us time to concentrate on the other business, the houses, and here, and us, and the babies. So COVID was a good thing for us. COVID made us realize that, hey, slow down.”
The owner of The Velvet Box, the five-store chain of luxury adult boutiques in the Fort Worth-Dallas area, is EO Fort Worth’s new president.
BY SCOTT NISHIMURA / PHOTOGRAPHY BY OLAF GROWALD
Marcelle LeBlanc was still searching for direction as an entrepreneur when she responded to an invitation to attend an Entrepreneurs’ Organization meeting several years ago. “What resonated was how lonely I was as a business owner,” says LeBlanc, owner of The Velvet Box, today a chain of five upscale boutiques in the Fort Worth-Dallas area. “I felt like I was on an island all alone; when I went to that meeting and met a couple of people, I was hooked.” She joined the organization six years ago and this spring took over as the Fort Worth Chapter’s president. In February last year, she was on an EO trip in Vietnam and Cambodia when COVID-19 emerged in that country. “I was on one of the last flights coming out of Seoul before they shut the whole place down.” Putting EO’s tools to great use in her business, LeBlanc is able to
spend much free time on an avocation: cutting horses.
Favorite EO Tool “Conflict resolution. Bottom line, I employ anywhere from 30 to 40 women at some point in time. There’s, without a doubt, going to be conflict. I’ve learned how to communicate with people and how to successfully get through conflict and not make it a big deal and be healthier and happier. We do that through something called ‘the clearing.’ The clearing is being able to identify what the facts are, what your feelings are, what your opinion is. There’s a difference between opinion and actual facts. That’s missed on a lot of people. It helps resolve pretty much anything.”
Velvet Box Classes Gone Virtual “I think we’re going to continue with 100% virtual. We started reaching people in other countries. We’re looking at [curriculum on]
how to talk to your kids about sex, talking about sex after cancer, infidelity. Those are all things that people don’t want to show up [for]. But they’ll do it [online] with their spouse, and that helps with intimacy and connection.”
place and great people.”
ALMA MATER: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo VITALS
5 Velvet Box stores
Being EO President “First, I want to make sure that I have fun and be present. What a great opportunity. I think my No. 1 goal is experience. And how do we enhance the experience? For me, it’s really important for people that don’t travel outside the chapter to maybe get some taste of that. My EO experience really accelerated when I started to meet people outside Fort Worth.”
Being Able to Vacate “After Year 3 of being in EO, I was able to take [a vacation]. It’s not that I’m not working. It’s just that we have such good systems and processes in
Expanding the Business “I’d like 10 stores. The way North Texas is growing, there’s so much room. During COVID, we did some studies on store footprints. I think we can do smaller stores, and we can build better stores, more efficient stores.”
If not for EO… “I’d probably be grinding out in the stores with maybe three stores. I didn’t even know how to dream big enough. That was probably the most enlightening thing.”
Cutting Horses “I’ve wanted to quit almost every day. You learn to deal with disappointment. You go through spells where you’re not winning … For 2021, I have set aside four [weekends] that might not be a horse show. The rest are committed to showing.”
BY WILL NORTHERN
If you have spoken with Fort Worthbased real estate agents since emerging from the pandemic, they likely share how busy they are. That comes as no surprise. After all, Fort Worth has a lot going for it.
Our population growth topped us out as the 12th largest city in America in the recent census; interest rates remain at generational lows; our housing inventory currently sits between one to two month’s supply that’s applying upward pressure on sales prices and rental rates; and businesses continue to relocate and emerge within our dynamic city.
As a commercial real estate broker and a member of the Fort Worth Zoning Com-
mission, I can attest our commercial real estate market is also bustling, albeit with the somewhat limited inventory of what is available depending upon the sector. It has been fascinating to watch our multifamily and industrial cash-flowing investment sale opportunities, unique urban infill sites, and vacant buildings awaiting a pioneering “redeveloper” to reposition a diamond in the rough within our historic districts.
The development community is in fulltilt, as the need for more housing reaches alarming rates with housing stock shortages and distribution/logistics facilities providing for online orders, production, and storage needs of modern-day life. As developers continue to press the envelope,
several trends have emerged from our commercial market.
First is detached multifamily. 2021 has seen almost a dozen Fort Worth zoning requests for dense apartment complexes in our less populated areas. These are not the four-to-five story in-fill projects on a postage stamp that we are used to seeing in the central city. Rather, zoning cases are containing one- to two-story properties stretched out around 30 to 40 acres.
In contrast to a subdivision with individual parcels of land for each house, these developments are built on a single-platted lot, allowing the developer to fit more units on the land. It’s a unique solution for those tenants or owners wanting the independence of a free-standing home without the maintenance of a full yard.
Second is somewhat of a trend in preservation that I have identified. This is not what we know as historic preservation — which is a topic near and dear to my heart and for discussion another day. We are moving to preserve commercially zoned properties. I will not soon forget a news headline questioning if Fort Worth was becoming a suburb of Dallas as our residential tax base exceeds our commercial one.
Fort Worth’s 2017 Strategic Plan makes note that we must be mindful of preserving our commercially zoned property as our demand for residential housing grows. For Fort Worth to afford our aging infrastructure and service demands, by preserving our commercial and industrial tracts that fill our city’s coffers many more times over than residentially zoned property, the tax burden on homeowners should level out.
All in all, we continue to be blessed by living in Cowtown. It’s changing at a rapid clip, and I’m excited about what the future holds.
Will Northern is partner and
at Northern Crain
a Fort Worth luxury residential, commercial real estate, and property management firm. He also is chair of the Fort Worth Zoning Commission. He is writing this column for the Society of Commercial Realtors in Fort Worth, a regular contributor to Fort Worth Inc.
Print creates an emotional connection. Print builds relationships.
Physical material is more “real” to the brain, involves more emotional processing, is better connected to memory, with greater internalization of ads — all important for brand associations.
(FORBES)
BY BRANDOM GENGELBACH
Fort Worth is the nation’s 12th largest city — with the second highest share of families with children in the U.S. Undoubtedly, COVID-19 has had lasting impacts on our workforce, families, and child care providers. Today, investing in child care and other familyfriendly policies that enable working parents (and specifically, women, who have been disproportionately hurt by COVID) to reenter or stay in the workforce is a critical lever for our economic recovery.
A study conducted in May by The Best Place for Working Parents initiative in Fort Worth and SMU Center on Research and Evaluation found that 78%
of currently unemployed parents need child care to return to work — and 84% of current working parents need child care full time, five days per week. The need for child care is not just a desired “perk” for today’s working parents — but has emerged as a necessity that impacts employee attendance, performance, and retention.
In addition to child care assistance, working parents in the study prioritized flexibility and paid time off as two other top employer supports post-COVID. While these and other family-friendly policies have a direct impact on working parents, local and national research proves that there is also a serious business case to being family-friendly:
• 83% of millennials would leave one job for another with stronger family-friendly supports.
• Replacing an employee costs an employer six to nine months of that employee’s salary.
• Over 60% of the May survey respondents said child care issues have caused them to miss work.
• Employers lose $13 billion annually due to child care challenges faced by their workforce.
The Best Place for Working Parents is a growing network of businesses implementing research-backed policies that benefit working parents and businesses’ bottom line. In addition to lifting up the family-friendly innovations of the 400 Best Place for Working Parents-designated businesses statewide, the effort has helped motivate local organizations to change current practices to become more family-friendly: The City of Fort Worth and Girls Inc. have each passed a paid parental leave policy, while SigmaPro recently opened its own on-site child care for employees.
In his May 19 presentation to local business leaders, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas CEO Rob Kaplan said, “One of the keys to recovering from the pandemic is to encourage people to get back in the workforce — in a widespread way.” Community organizations like The Miles Foundation, The Morris Foundation, The Rainwater Charitable Foundation, and the Fort Worth Chamber have rallied around The Best Place for Working Parents because it is a valuable tool for helping business leaders pursue impactful family-friendly policies — and a timely vehicle for helping get our parents back to work and our economy back on track.
at JewelCharity.org
BY RACHEL RHEA
The abrupt economic shift due to the COVID-19 pandemic took many business owners by surprise. Difficult decisions regarding modified operations, employee reductions, and compensation issues had to be made quickly. In addition, capital acquisition, financing, and cash flow planning needed to be revisited. Things changed at a lightning pace, and these immediate adjustments were necessary.
Fortunately, the storm has passed, and recovery is unfolding, which creates opportunities for expansion, entrance into new markets, and efficiency. There are opportunities waiting to be leveraged; unfortunately, opportunities could be missed due to a lack of strategic financial leadership, guidance, and expertise. As a result, it is important to make sure your business partners with a Certified Public Accountant to provide the needed insights to position yourself.
Challenging Perceptions Most business owners have worked with a CPA for tax planning, compliance, or assistance with financial reporting. But this only scratches the surface of the value a CPA can provide. Quite often, a CPA is brought into the
boardroom to help identify and implement strategic goals, tactics, reporting tools, and programs that measure progress. The added caveat of the continuing education requirements to maintain a CPA license provides the practical education necessary to step into roles needed by clients. It is common in many CPA firms for partners to have experience in private industry roles such as vice president of finance, chief financial officer, or controller.
If the pandemic taught us one thing, it’s that conditions can change quickly. When this occurs, it’s essential to make adjustments that reflect these changing conditions, especially when it comes to cash flow planning. Developing an accurate assessment of cash flow provides management with necessary insights about the company’s financial position. This often includes a forecast of expected future costs and income. This assessment incorporates annual strategic objectives, such as new product/service development and related expenses. In addition, cash flow planning is necessary when applying for a new loan or line of credit. Many financial institutions, especially during the height of the
pandemic, required borrowers to maintain a 13-week rolling cash forecast to prove credit worthiness.
M&A Transactional Support The pandemic also created merger and acquisition opportunities for middle market businesses, particularly in oil and gas, manufacturing, and chemicals. Whether one is looking to purchase or sell a business, multiple factors must be considered before, during, and after the transaction. For buyers, this often means assistance with quality of earnings, working capital analysis, risk assessments, IT due diligence, and a comprehensive review of the tax structure, liabilities, and other related issues. For sellers, this may mean assistance with financial statement preparation, nondisclosure agreements, due diligence support, tax consulting, and closing document support.
CFO Unfortunately, many businesses were required to make significant employee cuts to ensure financial vitality throughout the pandemic. Many leaders who no longer have an internal CFO choose to retain an outsourced CFO to obtain the needed financial guidance. Not only can an outsourced CFO review existing practices, make improvements, and increase efficiencies, but they can also assist with more strategic projects such as accounting software selection, process design, automation, inventory valuation, and standard cost set up. In addition, these professionals can assist with financial modeling, forecasting and valuations, venture capital fundraising, business analysis, and profit improvement.
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BY VIANEI LOPEZ BRAUN
Come September, the weather won’t be the only thing packing extra heat.
Texas’ Firearm Carry Act of 2021 goes into effect Sept. 1. Commonly referred to as “Constitutional Carry,” the new law expands gun rights in Texas and allows individuals to carry a handgun without a License to Carry.
The new law is based on the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and on Section 23, Article I of the Texas Constitution, which states: “Every citizen shall have the right to keep and bear arms in the lawful defense of himself or the State.” To carry a handgun, an individual must be at least 21 and free from certain criminal convictions (deadly conduct, terroristic threat, assault causing bodily
injury, etc.) for five years.
Under Constitutional Carry, a handgun may be carried in a concealed manner, where no part of the weapon is visible, or carried openly in a holster.
Texas Penal Code 46.03 maintains a long list of places where handguns are prohibited, such as bars (places with 51% or more of their income from alcohol sales), amusement parks, schools, courts, hospitals, secured areas of airports, and professional sporting events.
If your business is not on the prohibited list, what does this mean? Not much; your rights are largely unaffected. Business and property owners already have the right to post signage prohibiting handguns on their premises.
To prohibit individuals with an LTC
from carrying handguns on premises, businesses must post the exact signs provided by Texas Penal Code 30.06 and 30.07. The new law provides an optional sign (in Texas Penal Code 30.05) prohibiting the unlicensed carrying of firearms.
You may already have 30.06 and 30.07 signs posted to prohibit handguns. Now you should also post the new 30.05 sign, or simply a “no guns allowed” sign, to notify unlicensed individuals that they may not carry a handgun on your premises.
Note signage required for LTC holders is specific, but signage for unlicensed individuals is not, so any reasonably clear sign will do. If you are comfortable with LTC holders carrying a handgun but uncomfortable with unlicensed carrying, then a general “no guns allowed” sign is effective for the latter, but not the former.
Texas law protects the right to keep lawfully possessed firearms and ammunition in personal, locked vehicles. If you prohibit handguns on your premises, the prohibition can include company vehicles but does not apply to locked private vehicles in your parking areas.
“Constitutional Carry” doesn’t allow disruptive behavior and does not change the law regarding disorderly conduct. Except in an emergency, lawful gun owners must keep their handgun concealed or in its holster. Brandishing (i.e. displaying a firearm in a public place in a frightening manner) remains illegal and can result in criminal charges.
There are many nuances in the law that affect gun owners, and unlicensed individuals should educate themselves and proceed with caution if taking advantage of “Constitutional Carry.”
Jones
represents employers in a wide variety of business sectors and provides litigation and administrative agency defense, compliance assistance, and practical advice. She is a regular contributor to
Entrepreneur opens coworking space and studio in offpath neighborhood near downtown.
BY SCOTT NISHIMURA | PHOTO BY OLAF GROWALD
George Apodaca this summer opened BLANC Cowork + Studio in Fort Worth, the latest addition to the city’s cowork scene. Apodaca, who’s worked out of Las Colinas, saw opportunity in Fort Worth. “The creative
community is growing in Fort Worth, and it’s exciting to be a part of it.” The space is at 2212 W. Peter Smith St. off of Interstate 30 and Forest Park Boulevard near downtown.
The 7,000-square-foot space is in a converted industrial warehouse and is
designed to support photography, video, visual arts, and other “creative musings.”
• Three studios: 1,600-square-foot production; 408-square-foot photo or production; 310-square-foot studio with green screen
• BLANC Space: 2,500-square-foot open industrial shooting space
• Kitchen: 450-square-foot industrial loft-style kitchen
• 12 hot desks
• 10 dedicated desks
• Three private offices
• Clients can bring their own equipment or rent BLANC’s
• Apodaca has a 1,500-square-foot space in Las Colinas. “We were looking at doubling that. We stumbled upon this space. It just had kind of opened up. It had the things I knew I wanted. I knew we wanted to generate revenue from the space. We knew that other creatives needed space.”
• “It was air-conditioned. [In searching for spaces,] we were running into a lot of spaces without AC, insulation. It wasn’t anything we knew we couldn’t handle. I was definitely capable of doing that.”
• “Studios can be intimidating. You can come in here and start creating content of any kind.”
• Apodaca’s Arcpoint Studios can help clients create. “We’re essentially giving you a blank canvas.”
• “The ideal customer is somebody who needs to make consistent content for their brand. They don’t need to be an expert. We have studios and capabilities for them.”
Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Apodaca celebrated the studio’s grand opening with the Chamber. “I saw how involved they are, and I knew I wanted to be part of them.”
