Fort Worth Magazine - June 2025

The City's Magazine

2025 Dream Home

Tour the Dream Home in Montrachet May 31 – June 22

Hill Country views and a taste of Napa in West Fort Worth + Top Realtors

HEALTHIER JOINTS START HERE.

Steven Ogden, M.D.; Robert Schmidt, M.D.; Ajai Cadambi, M.D.; Marcus Ford, M.D.; Jeffrey McGowen, M.D.; Theodore Crofford, M.D.; David Shau, M.D.

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DEPARTMENTS

THE FORT

16 City Dweller

The unexpected city clears 1 million in city folk.

22 Calendar

What’s going on in June? The Cliburn and REK with Opal Lee in between.

24 Fort Worthian

El futbolista Parker Plaxco, Fort Worth Vaqueros striker.

26 Resident Art

Greg Dow’s hidden world of restoration and historic preservation.

30 People

Gyna Bivens walks away from Fort Worth City Hall still the refreshing straight shooter.

34 State Lines

Lockhart, Texas: pop. 15,318

40 Cowhand Culture

Don Gillis thought we needed an “Amon Carter March,” so, he gave us one.

44 Reverie

The backbone behind Kay Granger: her mother.

CHOWTOWN

140 Dining

Give us solo diners some grace. Plus, the Kinards come to the Public Market building.

WE COMPOUND:

» Weight Loss Injections

» Ophthalmic Sterile Solutions

» Hormone Replacement Therapies

» Pediatric Medications

» Dermatological Preparations

» ED And Women’s Health Treatments

» Veterinary Medications

A Genuine Declaration

When I first arrived at FortWorthMagazine in 2018, I had a habit of calling every new issue “the best issue we’ve done.” That is, since I took the reins as editor. It was akin to the president of the International Olympic Committee declaring every four years at the Olympic closing ceremonies that these Games were “the best Games ever.” The difference being that my thoughts weren’t anywhere near as scripted and disingenuous. Much of my positivity was for good reason; the more I got my proverbial sea legs and could sufficiently dog paddle the choppy waters of editorial, the more our monthly issues improved.

But, after two years of my making this declaration, I’m sure it got old — and slightly unbelievable. “Is this really the best issue we’ve done since you’ve been here, Brian?” one would likely ask. Thus, I started saving these over-the-top statements for recurring issues that we typically produce. “This is our best Rodeo issue,” or “Top Doctors,” or “Best New Restaurants we’ve ever done.” And I wouldn’t spread this accolade so liberally — I had to be 100% certain this was, in fact, the best we had done.

So, with this issue, I’m happy to say that this is the best Dream Home issue we’ve produced since I’ve been at the magazine.

For those who don’t know, the Fort Worth Magazine Dream Home is a recurring project and magazine issue. Now in its 25th year of existence, it’s a partnership between the magazine, a local homebuilder and interior designer, and a collection of subcontractors (all of whom you can find on page 67) to construct a multimillion-dollar luxury home in an exclusive neighborhood. While its purpose is to show off the handywork of local craftsmen as they showcase the latest in building and design trends, the project also raises funds for local charity, a Wish with Wings, which grants wishes to children with life-

threatening medical diagnoses.

That said, on the years the magazine takes on a Dream Home project, it requires more collective elbow grease to pull off than any other issue. While no one in our office put up timber or drywall or installed kitchen cabinets, the behind-the-scenes work my fellow employees do on this project is enough to make anyone sweat — even if remaining behind a desk.

And, with all due respect to the marvelous Dream Homes that came before, this home and magazine are genuinely ones for the books. The Napa Valley-inspired home with lush wine-themed rooms sits atop a hill that has a view of downtown Fort Worth’s evergrowing skyline. Yes, upon seeing the home, you’ll lose your breath, and your jaw will drop to the floor — it’s that spectacular.

But it’s not just the home that makes me so adamant about my declaration. It’s also the people with whom we worked. From our own marketing, sales, creative, and editorial departments to the teams that comprise the home’s builder, interior designer, and subcontractors — if this were a symphony, I’d say no one missed a beat.

It’s the best ever, and I hope you join us for our Dream Home Tour from May 31 to June 22 so you can see for yourselves.

Brian Kendall EXECUTIVE EDITOR

ON THE COVER:

CORRECTIONS? COMMENTS? CONCERNS?

Send to executive editor Brian Kendall at bkendall@fwtexas.com.

When it comes to a Dream Home, picking one photo to encapsulate the entire house is an exercise in futility. But this stunning photo of the home’s study, designed by Susan Semmelmann, shows the earthy tones that remain consistent throughout the home. Photo by Full Package Media

The Luxe Issue

The Cliburn

Shane McAnally

Describe your Dream Home in 15 words or less.

Walk-in shower, walkin closet, and a nice backyard for my doggo, and we’re happy campers.

One with large, light-filled rooms and the latest amenities like this year’s Napa-inspired Dream Home.

One without weeds, bugs, vermin, shifting foundation, leaking roof, peeling paint, or taxes!

owner/publisher hal a. brown

president mike waldum

EDITORIAL

executive editor brian kendall

contributing editor john henry

digital editor stephen montoya

contributing writers malcolm mayhew, michael h. price, shilo urban copy editor sharon casseday

ART

creative director craig sylva

senior art director spray gleaves

contributing ad designer jonathon won

ADVERTISING

advertising account supervisors gina burns-wigginton x150

marion c. knight x135

account executive tammy denapoli x141 account executive jim houston x158 territory manager, fort worth inc. rita hale x133

senior production manager michelle mcghee x116

MARKETING

director of digital robby kyser director of marketing grace behr events and promotions director victoria albrecht

project manager kaitlyn lisenby events and promotion intern stella todd

CORPORATE

chief financial officer charles newton

founding publisher mark hulme

CONTACT US main line 817.560.6111

subscriptions 817.766.5550 fwmagsubscriptions@omeda.com

Mid-century modern home with clean lines and a detached space for guitar practice sessions.

Any one of the Fort Worth Magazine Dream Homes would satisfy my ideal Dream Home.

A blend of old and new, with beautiful colors of corals, blues, and greens.

An eclectic home where all my friends live together — with space and room to breathe.

DIGITAL EDITION:

The virtual editions of both current and previous issues are available on our website. Flip through the pages to read more about the great city of Fort Worth by visiting fwtx.com.

©2025 Panther City Media Group, LP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher.

FortWorthMagazine(ISSN 1536-8939) is published monthly by Panther City Media Group, LP, 6777 Camp Bowie Blvd., Suite 130, Fort Worth, TX 76116. Periodicals Postage Paid at Fort Worth, Texas. POSTMASTER: Send change of address notices and undeliverable copies to Panther City Media Group, PO Box 213, Lincolnshire, IL 60069. Volume 28, Number 6, June 2025. Basic Subscription price: $21.95 per year. Single copy price: $4.99

FOR

From the moment we opened our doors in 1985, Cowtown has been our home—and you’ve been the reason we’ve thrived. As we celebrate four decades in business, we want to express our deepest gratitude to every individual, organization, and neighbor who’s walked through our doors, cheered us on, and trusted us with your projects.

Over the years, we’ve been honored to play a part in preserving and enlivening the very fabric of Tarrant County:

» Historic Renovation of the Tarrant County Courthouse: Restoring this treasured landmark was a labor of love—and a testament to what our community can achieve together.

» Cultural gems in the Stockyards: From the vibrant Paloma Suerte interior— where art and cowtown unite—to the dramatically western Drover Hotel, we’ve loved helping these spaces nd cowtown style life.

» American Paint Horse Association O ces: Supporting an organization that champions our region’s equestrian heritage has been a particular point of pride. …and so much more, from boutique storefronts to honored civic spaces.

None of these milestones would have been possible without you—our clients, partners, and friends in Cowtown. Your vision, your passion, and your loyalty have driven us to raise our standards higher, dream bigger, and give back to the place we all love.

Here’s to the next 40 years of restoring history, shaping culture, and building community together. From the bottom of our hearts:

Flamingo_Fort Worth Zoo Animals Gallery

THE FORT

PEOPLE TO KNOW THINGS TO DO PLACES TO GO

PARKER PLAXCO

A striker for Fort Worth’s summer league soccer squad, the Vaqueros, and a senior at Midwestern State University, Parker Plaxco’s love for “the beautiful game” started in earnest at the age of 4.

WHAT WE’RE WRITING ABOUT THIS MONTH:

On page 16 Cowtown’s population officially hits the seven-digit mark. On page 22 The Cliburn enters its final rounds and Robert Earl Keen comes to town. On page 26 Greg Dow preserves paintings and the legacy of Dow Art Galleries after 90 years in business. On page 30 After six terms, 70-year-old Gyna Bivens says goodbye to the City Council. On page 34 A trip to Lockhart, a smokehouse powerhouse. On page 40 The man behind TCU’s once popular “Amon Carter March.” On page 44 Fort Worth Inc. honors Kay Granger as Person of the Year.

by John Henry

The Unexpected City

Fort Worth joins those American cities with loads of people

Purchasing needs to order more bunk beds.

Fort Worth, as expected, has officially scaled the heights of big citydom, joining the ranks of major American cities by surpassing a population of 1 million, according to U.S. Census figures released last month.

Don’t sweat it, Merle Haggard. Still plenty of places here to turn loose and be set free, but Fort Worth today is twice the size of Miami. Not My-AMuh in the Panhandle, but the city in South Florida.

Fort Worth grew by 23,442 between July 2023 and July 2024 — the fifth-most among big cities — to reach a population of 1,008,106. Our father’s Cowtown

remained 11th in order of population but only 1,727 behind No. 10 Jacksonville, Florida.

“It just reinforces the path we’re on as a community and needing to be focused on how to be prepared for additional growth,” said Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker. “With all that comes a lot of responsibility. Everything that the city can control and focus on from public safety to infrastructure is just more relevant with surpassing a million people.”

Increased population figures are a win for economic development and the workforce pool companies are in search of. The generations-old rivals, Dallas

and Fort Worth, will soon be the ninth and 10th largest cities in the U.S.

The Dallas-Fort Worth region is now one of one,” said Robert Allen, CEO of the Fort Worth Economic Development Partnership. We always knew we were special, but this puts us in an elite category.

“You’ve got more workforce opportunities, and that’s very important as we continue to work to attract new business to Fort Worth. You need to win that talent story, and one of the ways you can do that is by continuing to show positive growth. So, continued positive growth for a city of our size is outstanding.”

Conversely, with the increased figures come some moaning and groaning for the gallery, many of them lifers who recall a simpler place.

“First of all, Fort Worth is really, really lucky to have distinct neighborhoods that people can choose to live in across all 350 square miles that really reflect the personality of that area of the city,” Parker said. “And we’ve continued to make sure that those neighborhoods continue to grow and thrive and make the right kind of investment. We have a sprawling city, but you’re seeing development across all council districts, which I think is a healthy sign as well.

“And people are moving to Fort Worth for a reason. A lot of it is because of the type of city that we are and the way we’re growing the right way. And in my experience, I think that folks that are moving here kind of fit that same fabric.”

Who couldn’t use more friends?

The trend away from the northeast continued, though cities in the region reversed declines in population in 2023.

Twelve of the 15 cities with the largest numeric population gains between 2023 and 2024 were located in the South or the West, though New York City topped the list with an increase of 87,184 residents between 2023 and 2024.

Rounding out the top five gainers were Houston (43,217); Los Angeles (31,276); San Antonio (23,945); and Fort Worth.

COMPASSION

It s in our DNA ’

ollin Macklin’s nursing journey began earlier than most. When Take Your Child to Work Day came around, she would accompany her mother to the hospital where she worked as a nurse, leaving Macklin with a lasting impression.

“Watching her provide care and compassion to her patients while balancing the demands of being a single mother was incredibly inspiring,” said Macklin, who now is a registered nurse. “She demonstrated resilience, dedication and the ability to make a di erence in people’s lives. It planted a seed for my passion for nursing.”

Originally from Ohio, Macklin would go on to earn her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2014. She joined The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth in January 2024 as clinic nurse manager at HSC Health, the university’s clinical health enterprise. In addition, she is enrolled in the HSC College of Nursing’s Master of Science in Nursing Innovation program.

When speaking about what inspired her to pursue her career in nursing, she attributed that motivation to her love of caring for people and the steady career path nursing provided. Read more about Hollin’s story at unthsc.edu/fwmag.

by John Henry

A Hand Up

Fort Worth POA invests in young people.

Officials with the Fort Worth Police Officers’ Association in May handed out laptops to 23 Fort Worth high school seniors preparing to head off to college.

It marks the third year of the laptop giveaway program, administered by Cops4Kids, a nonprofit arm of the police association. Each year, the POA asks every school in the Fort Worth ISD to recommend a student going to college. Each of those are invited to the POA offices for dinner and a program recognizing their achievement and walking away with a laptop.

It is the very definition of a hand-up. Sometimes, the giving doesn’t end with the laptop.

Lori Hernandez, a laptop recipient a year ago as a senior at TCC South/Fort Worth Collegiate High School, made the three-hour drive into Fort Worth for the event on Tuesday. She had to eat and run, though she lingered for

a bit, because she had to return to Nacogdoches for finals to finish up her first year at Stephen F. Austin University.

Though more than out of the way, Lori wouldn’t have dared miss this. Without the POA and Cops4Kids, Lori might not have made it to SFA.

Just weeks before her high school graduation, tragedy struck. Her mother died suddenly, leaving her completely without — no safety net, no support system, and not even a roof over her head. The future she had dreamt of disappeared overnight. College at Stephen F. Austin, once a sure next step, vanished from reach. What had been a season of celebration became a moment of survival.

Cops4Kids stepped in to be that safety net, that support system, and, if necessary, to put a roof over her head.

“He said, ‘We’re helping,’” says

Melissa Montalvo, Lori’s older sister, of Officer Bel Haddad, co-chair of Cops4Kids. “He showed up to help her in her time of need without even asking. That’s really special.”

Lori’s dreams are back on.

She is studying forest and wildlife management with a minor in military science at Stephen F. Austin. She hopes to pursue a career in ecology restoration or wildlife preservation.

Haddad and another officer attended Lori Hernandez’s high school graduation last year — a symbolic and tangible gesture of their support. They also brought a gift: a backpack embroidered with “SFA.”

Lori is receiving federal student aid, and she received a few scholarships to help pay for her first year. She is also serving in SFA ROTC and the Texas Army National Guard, but when she has been short in tuition or living expenses, Cops4Kids has filled in the gap, quietly stepping in to ensure she could stay on track.

“Them helping me with my tuition, it was definitely a major relief on me, especially going through grieving and trying to find a way to make it to college,” Lori says.

Cops4Kids conducts two big fundraisers in the form of pickleball and golf tournaments. The Oscar’s Pub golf tournament last weekend — where I found out about the laptop giveaway — benefits the nonprofit, too. There are other corporate sponsors.

Haddad says he and Officer James Novak, his colleague and Cops4Kids co-chair, have visions of raising money for a scholarship to Tarrant County College and TCU. That is a work in progress.

Cops4Kids also buys bicycles for the Fort Worth Memories giveaway at Christmastime, and officers also pass out gift cards for children in need at Christmas. They also buy Build-ABears for patients at Cook Children’s Medical Center during the holidays.

“It was God working, to be honest,” says Montalvo. “And Officer Bel, he’s her angel. And probably for many other people as well.”

by Stephen Montoya

Purple Robes

Mother and son share commencement stage at TCU.

In Fort Worth, a town where purple pride runs as deep as the Trinity River, a mother and son recently shared the same commencement stage at TCU, just hours apart.

Brandi Fields, a marketing director in the financial services world, and her son, Kyle Fields, a graduate assistant in TCU’s athletic department, both collected their master’s degrees during the university’s graduate commencement ceremony in May.

Hers was an Executive MBA from the Neeley School of Business. His was a Master of Liberal Arts. One family, two purple robes, and a shared moment neither saw coming.

“If I would’ve waited until I thought I was ready, I would’ve probably never gone,” Brandi says. The California transplant moved to Fort Worth just as her son was starting his college journey in 2020 at TCU. Three years later, he’d finished his undergraduate degree and was unsure of what came next.

“My parents kind of put a little bug in my ear,” he said. “Why not keep going?”

Brandi was already doing just that.

With her younger son at Texas Tech and Kyle navigating undergrad life at TCU, Brandi found herself an empty nester and enrolled herself in the Executive MBA program.

“What better way to meet new people, network, and piggyback on the fun my son was having at TCU?” she said.

It turns out, the stars had plans. Neither mother nor son realized at first that they were on a path to graduate at the same time — until the university announced it would combine all graduate programs into one commencement ceremony. “That’s when the light bulb went off that we really have been doing this together,” Brandi said.

Kyle, whose time at TCU included stints as a football student manager, a fraternity member, and a behindthe-scenes contributor to TCU’s 2022 CFP national championship run, was equally floored.

“Everything from high school till now has kind of seemed like the stars have aligned,” he said. “It’s meant to be, it’s how it was supposed to happen.”

Around Cowtown in 8 Seconds

A

smattering of things you might’ve missed

1. Hell and High Water: Listening to Taylor Sheridan goad his doubters is a favorite pastime. He was at it again while receiving an honorary Doctor of Letters at TCU. “Prove them wrong and never look back for their reaction to your success. They belong where they are — squarely in your shadow.”

2. The “Pop” in Population: What are they selling in Princeton, Texas? The suburb of Dallas was the fastest-growing city in 2024, increasing its population by nearly one-third in just one year and more than doubling it since 2020, from roughly 17,000 to 37,000.

3. Masterpiece Theater: Carnegie Hall+, the streaming arm of the legendary New York venue, will showcase an exclusive collection of performances from the Cliburn International Competition performances, documentaries, and legacy content, with new releases rolling out monthly. Think of it as a Netflix for the note-perfect.

4. Raising His Voice: Barry Corbin is lending his voice to the chorus of Texans sounding the alarm over the seismic shift in the state’s health care system that has put the Cook Children’s Health Plan, a nonprofit insurance program that serves more than 125,000 North Texas children and pregnant women, at stake.

5. Down, Set, Hut … Hut: UT Arlington joins Texas Wesleyan in adding women’s flag football to the athletics roster. UTA will begin play in spring 2027, becoming only the fifth Division I school to add the sport, and the third program in the state across all levels. Concordia is the other.

6. Write Where They Should Be: TCU becomes the permanent home of the personal archive of the late, great writer Dan Jenkins — a devoted Horned Frog right up until his last breath.

7. Don’t Be a Stranger: Victor Boschini retires as TCU chancellor on June 1 after 22 years on the job. In his honor, the school is renaming the TCU Music Center the Megan and Victor Boschini Music Center.

8. Whopper on a Whinny: Did you know that under Texas law, residents are allowed to ride their horses when visiting a drive-thru? A person riding an animal on a roadway has the same rights as someone driving a vehicle, so says the Fort Worth Report.

June

3–7

The Cliburn (Final

Rounds)

The stretch run of this year’s Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, one of the most prestigious piano competitions in the world, is sure to be as tense and thrilling as years past.

Bass Performance Hall basshall.com

10–15

‘Moulin Rouge!’

Based on the 2001 Oscarwinning Baz Luhrmann film, the musical, which weaves popular music with original songs, received 10 Tonys after opening on Broadway in 2019.

Bass Performance Hall basshall.com

10–29

‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’

The troupe at Reid Cabaret Theatre, the dimly lit lounge attached to Casa Mañana, will roll through a chunk of the incredible, and enormous, folk repertoire of Simon and Garfunkel.

Reid Cabaret Theatre at Casa Mañana casamanana.org

13–22

SparkFest

Hosted by nonprofit theater company Amphibian Stage, this 10-day-long, annual summer arts festival includes new play development, acting competitions, storytelling, and stand-up comedy. Amphibian Stage sparkfestfwtx.com

14

Women of DFW Showcase

As the title suggests, this locally curated lineup of women artists puts a spotlight on metroplex musicians, including Ella Reed, Gracen Wynn, Chloe Jobin, Lia Graham, and Corina Grove. Tulips tulipsftw.com

19

Opal’s Walk for Freedom

Join the event that kicked off Opal Lee’s push to make Juneteenth a national holiday. The 2 1/2-mile walk represents the 2 1/2 years it took for Texas to end slavery following abolition. Farrington Field opalswalkftworth.raceroster. com

19–22

Freedom Vibes Festival

Billed as the nation’s premiere Juneteenth celebration, this four-day festival features prominent speakers, a block party, and two Bass Hall performances from The O’Jays and Orchestra Noir. Bass Performance Hall, I.M. Terrell High School freedomevibes25.com

26

Blue October

The prolific alternative rock band that hails from Houston has released 13 studio albums and has 21 top 40 singles to its name, including the radio-friendly “Hate Me” and “Into the Ocean.”

Tannahill’s Tavern and Music Hall tannahills.com

27

Robert

Earl Keen

One of Texas’ most revered country singer-songwriters takes the stage at The World’s Largest Honky Tonk — and this is hardly his first. His 1999 show at Billy Bob’s famously tallied nearly 15,000 beers sold. Billy Bob’s Texas billybobstexas.com

June 13

Wu-Tang Clan

Wu-Tang Clan’s stop at Dickies Arena will mark one of the final performances for the influential hip-hop group, which consists of RZA, GZA, and a collection of massively talented rappers. Dickies Arena | dickiesarena.com

Opal Lee

Moulin Rouge!

Amber Butcher

Cathy Hickman

Sammy Silver

Nicole Chevins

Dan Holmes

Scott Silver

Brad Crouch

Jennifer Holmes

Kayson Smith

Hannah Fentriss

Gina Godsey

Sarah Hardy

Cassandra Hughes

Parker Plaxco

Striker, Fort Worth Vaqueros

By Brian Kendall Photo by Olaf Growald

Parker Plaxco knew from the moment he first dribbled a soccer ball that this sport, often referred to as the beautiful game, was going to be his life. Plaxco was 3, maybe 4 when he was first introduced to the no-hands sport — around the time our brains start making memories. So, he really can’t remember wanting to do anything else.

“I loved it,” Plaxco says of playing soccer at a young age. “I still love it.”

And so far, so good — the 21-year-old Stephenville native is living his dream. Still in college, Plaxco will start his senior season playing soccer for Midwestern State this fall and, for the third summer, he’s spending his off-season playing striker (forward) for the Fort Worth Vaqueros, a summer league squad based right here in Cowtown.

The Vaqueros, a team that’s played in the Lone Star Conference of the National Premier Soccer League since 2014, often attracts college players and professionals who want to stay fresh and keep their conditioning over the summer. The team plays their home games at W.O. Barnes Stadium in River Oaks and just kicked off their 2025 season with a game against Oklahoma United FC.

Though Oklahoma United would come out on top 5-1, the Vaqueros’ lone goal was the result of a Plaxco kick to the back of the net. You see, a natural.

But it’s not as if Plaxco’s quick foray and ascension in soccer was the result of a grand plan concocted by his parents; he wasn’t the product of a soccer-crazed mom and dad. Instead, like your typical Texans, Plaxco says his parents didn’t really know anything about soccer. After all, this side of the North Atlantic and the rest of the world can’t seem to come to a consensus on what to even call the sport — though it’s difficult to argue against football being the most logical.

“[My parents] just figured [soccer] was the first sport they could put me in,” Plaxco says. “They just knew I liked to be outside and play. And T-ball and soccer are the first two sports you can

do at a young age.”

And he took to it like a duck takes to water.

“They said that my first game, I scored six goals, and they never took me to a practice or anything,” Plaxco says. “So, they’re like, ‘Oh, OK. We like soccer now.’ That’s how my parents said it.”

Clearly a cut above the rest and needing better competition than the local rec leagues provided, Plaxco started playing on a club team, Quest FC, when he was 10. After the team folded when Plaxco started playing at Stephenville High School, he’d join a new club team, the Dallas Texans, and would make the four-hour trip to and from Dallas twice a week. And, yes, he did this all through high school.

To put it bluntly, he majored in soccer. And, even in college, it’s remained his main area of study.

Plaxco began his college soccer and academic career at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa before transferring to Midwestern State for his junior year, where he’s majoring in sport coaching, leadership, and administration. According to Plaxco, the major is a combination of teaching, fitness, and even coming up with coaching plans. If it wasn’t obvious before, it’s clear there’s no Plan B for Plaxco.

“I want to play [soccer] as long as I can,” Plaxco says. “I’d love to finish college and play professionally for however long, And then I’d like to get into coaching. I just don’t want to be away from the soccer field. I love it.”

BY THE WAY....

Fort Worth Vaqueras

In February, the Fort Worth Vaqueros announced the launch of a women’s team, the Fort Worth Vaqueras, who begin play this summer in the Women’s Professional Soccer League. Like the Vaqueros, their home games will also take place at W.O. Barnes Stadium.

Visitfortworthvaqueros.comforfullscheduleandmoreinfo.

1. At media day during his junior year at Midwestern State. 2. On his first team at the age of 4. 3. During his freshman year at Oral Roberts University. 4. An 8-year-old Plaxco playing a tournament. 5. Plaxco, playing for Midwestern State, posting up a defender. 6. During his sophomore year at Oral Roberts University. 7. Plaxco, at 10, playing his first year for Quest FC, his hometown club.

by

Art of Gold

Celebrating its 90th anniversary, Dow Art Galleries houses some of Texas’ finest art. But beyond its gallery walls, owner Greg Dow provides a service that helps Fort Worth families relive their cherished memories: art restoration.

To someone who doesn’t know Greg Dow, isn’t aware of his unique expertise, his long-running art gallery may seem like just that and only that.

Not that Dow Art Galleries, a Camp Bowie landmark whose roots date back nearly a century, isn’t impressive. Paintings, prints, etchings, sketches, drawings and watercolors — by artists near and far, contemporary and long gone — cover the walls, their nearly

perfect symmetry broken up by the occasional sculpture or antique piece of furniture, all of which, by the way, are for sale.

But hidden behind two rickety doors and down a long hallway of this 1947 building is a cavernous room with sky-high ceilings — a fortunate feature, as it turns out. This is Greg Dow’s workspace, and his tools of the trade fill every inch of his large shop, right up to

the tip-top of the ceiling.

Greg Dow is one of the city’s most well-known art dealers, but he’s also a practicing artist himself, specializing in the increasingly rare craft of art restoration. In North Texas, Dow stands out as one of the few capable of repairing not only frames but also the works they protect. From filling in miniscule pinholes on portraits of grandma to repairing a sizable rip on a high-dollar 18th century European painting, no job is too big or too small for Dow — a mantra his family business has recited, as of this year, for nine decades.

“Three generations,” Dow says. “We’ve had the same phone number for almost 100 years. The phone company once tried to change it, and we said, ‘You’re not taking our phone number.’” [An extra “33” was eventually added as a prefix as the city grew.]

Dow has spent the majority of his life within the walls of this shop, learning — starting at the age of 12 — the art of art from his father, Donald, who, in turn, learned it from his father, Percy. An author, too, Dow is considered one of the preeminent authorities on early Texas art; his gallery has hosted dozens of exhibitions from local and regional artists.

“One of the things I love about art is learning the origins of a piece,” he says. “I love to do research. I love to talk to people. I love to hear their stories about their pieces. Every day here, you never know what’s going to walk through the door.”

Oftentimes, Dow says, it’s someone who wants a new frame for their favorite picture or painting. “Their frame got damaged in a move or maybe they just want a new frame for an older piece,” he says. “Maybe the original frame doesn’t go with their new house or design.” Chances are, with mountains of frames to choose from, he can find a replacement frame easily.

“That’s how I acquire a lot of these frames,” he says, pointing at a pile that literally reaches the ceiling in his shop.

“People want new frames, and I ask them what they want to do with the old ones and they say, ‘I don’t want it; you

A third-generation art gallerist and restorer, Greg Dow has worked in the family business since age 12.

Malcolm Mayhew

Photos by Thanin Viriaki

can have it.’ At some point, I’ll find a new home for it.”

Dow can also repair frames, filling in their missing or broken pieces with wood, gesso, and other filler materials, and repainting them to match the original, even highly carved frames with Rococo intricacies and Victorian whooshes.

The greatest demand for Dow’s workmanship comes from local families who want to restore family heirlooms.

“What people bring me is priceless to them,” he says. “Nine times out of 10, it’s something of sentimental value — a painting of a family member, a painting by a family member, a favorite picture, something they value tremendously, something you can’t put a price on.”

Depending on Dow’s workload and the needs of the job, a restoration can take weeks or months. Many paintings, he says, simply just need a good cleaning to bring them back to life. In those cases, he uses a wide range of solvents to remove grime, dirt, dust, discolored varnishes, and overpaint.

For significantly damaged pieces — rips, holes, missing pieces of paper or canvas — Dow undertakes a meticulous restoration process akin to surgery, employing a diverse array of tools — from delicate tissue mending techniques to the precision of a scalpel and the gentle touch of Q-tips — to fill, repair, refine.

“It can take some time,” he says. “Especially these days when I’m backed up with projects. But we’ll get it done.” Dow guestimates he’s handled thousands of restoration projects.

Dow’s family business is rooted in Depression-era Fort Worth. In 1935, Percy Dow, Greg’s grandfather, purchased the J.T. Brown Frame Shop in the W.T. Grant building downtown. Percy had acquired a taste — and knack — for picture framing and repairing while working at another frame shop.

“He might not have made it if some pretty big customers hadn’t come along,” Greg says, noting Amon Carter Sr. and Sid Richardson called upon Percy’s services. “Matter of fact, at the

same time my grandfather opened his place, Amon decided to remodel the Hotel Texas, which he was a co-owner of. He wanted to put three framed prints in every room, and my grandfather got the order. That got my granddaddy’s name out there in a big, big way.”

Six months after opening, Percy was making $150 a week — good money during those troubled times.

Beginning with Percy, the Dow family has often been at the mercy of a growing city, Greg says. The original shop was booted from the W.T. Grant building due to a building redo, then lost another space on Monroe Street due to the construction of the federal building. After 15 years at 1207 Throckmorton St., Dow says the family was evicted to make way for Tarrant County Convention Center. A tough year in a small west Fort Worth space followed, nearly closing the shop.

“Finally, in the summer of 1970, my dad was driving along Camp Bowie when he saw this place, which used to be a carpet company,” he says. “He managed to buy it, and we’ve been here ever since.”

Today, he contends with traffic issues brought on by the current retooling of Camp Bowie between University

and Montgomery streets. “Development has always followed us around,” he says, laughing. “This city is constantly changing, constantly growing. We’re just honored to still be a part of it after all this time.”

While the business has been handed down from one generation to the next, whose hands it’ll fall into once Greg retires remains to be seen. Neither of his two daughters have interest in taking over the business, although one of his daughters, Jennifer, worked there for a while before she embarked on a career in the financial industry.

At 70, Greg says retirement is still years away — but he can’t help but wonder who’ll take the reins.

“What I’m really hoping is that one of my employees takes it over or someone comes in and buys it and keeps it going, similar to how my grandfather acquired it,” he says.

“There’s no lack of business, that’s for sure. There was a day last week when all I did was take orders; I didn’t get any actual work done,” he says. “There will always be a need for people who can help other people hold on to their history and memories.”

Dow Art Galleries, dowartgalleries.com

Also a frame shop, Dow Art Galleries serves as a one-stop spot for local art collectors.

Chef Kason Horn

by

John Henry

Stop Six Straight Shooter

Gyna Bivens ends her City Council post confident she left the place better than she found it.

GThe six-term City Council member and Mayor Pro Tem elected not to seek another term on the dais. She was succeeded by Deborah Peoples, the former can-

didate for mayor and Tarrant County judge who defeated five challengers for the open seat.

Plenty of public servants claim to “tell it like it is,” but Bivens has earned her reputation by actually doing so in language that is plainspoken, unfiltered, and unequivocal.

Don’t worry about wondering where you stand with the 70-year-old Bivens, a former TV news reporter and a 1973 graduate of Dunbar High School who grew up in Stop Six. She will tell you.

District 5 includes Fort Worth’s historic Stop Six and Handley neighborhoods and extends north to Mosier Valley, site of the settlement of the first freed slaves in Texas, and east to State Highway 10 and across State Highway 360.

“Well, in spite of me cursing like a sailor, I am a woman of faith, and I prayed to the Lord to let me know when it was time to go,” Bivens says from her now former office at new City Hall. “I had talked about leaving in 2021, and my mother — closer to God than I am, I guess —said, ‘No, you’re not done yet.’ So, I stayed another term.

“I felt comfortable leaving now. I think I’ve got some tangible examples of improvements that I brought to the district.”

Not to mention, she tells me, while pointing to the hallways where other council members also reside, “It’s getting crazy around here.”

Bivens’ service has been consequential.

She has been a leader in development advances in Stop Six, including Cavile Place, an affordable housing complex, and Hughes House, a mixedused development named in honor of former Dunbar basketball coach Robert Hughes. Both of those projects were boosted by a $35 million federal grant, essentially personally delivered by Ben Carson, then head of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The Trinity Lakes development is a sprawling development constructed by Ken Newell. It will also serve as a transit hub. Progress is being made

yna Bivens walked away from City Hall in May satisfied that she had left District 5 a better place than she had found it 12 years ago.

Photos by Richard W. Rodriguez

MORE THAN JUST BILLIARDS

S i n c e 1 9 5 2 , F o r t W o r t h B i l l i a r d s h a s b e e n t h e g o - t o d e

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V i s i t u s t o d a y a n d d i s c o v e r w h y w e ’ v e b e e n a t r u s t e d n a m e

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s a l e s @ f o r t w o r t h b i l l i a r d s c o m

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and construction begun on Lancaster, a major thoroughfare long neglected in District 5.

“She was pretty focused in what she wanted to accomplish,” Mayor Mattie Parker says. “And as a result, I know that the district is better off for it.”

Homes are also again being constructed in Stop Six.

The council member made somewhat famous for vowing never to be embarrassed by what she didn’t know, asked a simple question: Why are homes not being built in Stop Six?

“I didn’t know,” she says.

Historic overlay zoning had pushed builders into a corner, deterring new construction.

“I started talking to different builders, asking if they would be interested,” Bivens says. “They said,

‘Yeah, but I’m not going to build a house with a detached garage and a big ol’ porch because some fool thinks that’s the way it’s supposed to be.’ We were able to overturn it, and a building boom followed.”

Said Parker: “It made a huge difference in a short amount of time. She had to put together the right coalition of people to understand why she was doing it at the time, and it was really successful.”

Bivens comes from a line of Baptist preachers. She is a member of Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church. Her father, Roy W. Bivens Sr., a Baptist preacher, founded Sweet Home Missionary Baptist Church on Ramey. Following his death, Bivens’ mother, Betty Joyce Bivens, wanted to return to the church of her youth. She reminds me that there is another Mount Olive Baptist Church, but it’s in Arlington.

“I call it the snobbish one,” she jokes. “I’m a rowdy Baptist. My mother wanted to go back to Mount Olive. That’s where she wanted to go back, so, that’s where I am. I call it Driving Ms. Daisy.”

Her grandfather, J.D. Green, was a preacher at True Light Missionary Baptist Church in Riverside. He later moved to Dangerfield, Texas, and was part of the city charter committee there.

She says she brought her upbringing and her faith to the office.

“I pray over every agenda, at least most of them anyway,” Bivens says. “I try not to get too wrapped up in myself, but rather trying to do what people say they want done. I don’t like the all-knowing council model because when I came in, I saw council members just kind of disregard what people would complain about, especially zoning cases. They’d say, ‘No, no, this is going to be good.’ Well, that’s not me. If my constituents felt one way, they knew I was going to bring that to the dais.”

Unlike her position on the City Council, Bivens is staying on her day job. She serves as president and executive director of North Texas LEAD, a

nonprofit created by CEOs to recruit top diverse talent.

Bivens’ first taste of City Hall was in San Antonio as a television reporter for KMOL. She has a degree from North Texas in radio/TV/film. She moved over to the other side as a public information officer for the city of San Antonio.

Bivens moved home to work for Oncor as a communications person. It was while there that then-District 5 Councilman Frank Moss asked her to serve on the Board of Adjustment. “The Board of Adjustment will change your life,” she says. Moss also appointed her to the board of Trinity Metro, which she eventually chaired.

Moss, Bivens says, “is the one who made me.” She eventually unmade Moss, challenging him for his council seat in 2013. She received 92 more votes than Moss in a three-way race in the May election and squeaked by him by literally a few votes in the runoff.

“Gyna has become a real dear friend and confidant and for a variety of reasons,” Parker says. “Having someone with her tenure and experience and consistent leadership over 12 years has been really helpful to not just council District 5, but really to the city overall.

“She’s not afraid to tell you exactly what she’s thinking. And to some people that may have been off-putting or confusing. I always found it to be really refreshing, honestly, because you always knew where she stood. I’ve always loved having her as Mayor Pro Tem, and I think we got a lot of great work done together.”

Asked if she has thought about a legacy, Bivens scoffs at the suggestion saying she was having too much fun doing the work than to worry about building a legacy.

“I’m just not wired that way,” she says. “I wish I had been in some instances.”

Pressed to give herself a grade for her 12 years on council, she is unreserved.

“I’ve done a damn good job. And I know it.”

Row 1 (bottom),

L to R

June Waters

Daisy Pulido

Scarlett Roehm

Emma Fuxa

Erin Miller

Susan Hayes

Melody Miller

Millie Manning

Halli Hyatt

Mary Kate Manning

Aviana Reyna

Marley Ethington

Celeste Thompson

Heidi Flores

Megan Babcock

Kathleen Payne

Hope Monk

Hannah Holmes

Brynlynn Gray

Zoe Schwarz

Isa Rodriguez

Presley Holcomb

Arwyn Winkle-Ducote

Emma Marr

Emma Jane Farmer

Row 2, L to R

Connor McCurdy

Abby Summerville

Quinn Gregory

Landry Milliken

Brett Christensen

Libby Enlow

Hannah Rose Kuester

Caroline Balch

Leah Gittens

Sally Ann Mooring

Ananda Jenerson

Lauryn Mack

Alexa Murillo

Katie Beth Thomas

Tori Staggs

Caroline Reid

Londynn Murphree

Ashley Grace Stock

Charlie Currie

Patrick Zaino

Row 3, L to R

Jude Johnson

Bay Wallace

Gray Edwards

Elizabeth Honeycutt

Makayla Bird-Mueller

Carly Coleman

Clementine Miller

Kate He in

Harper Pebley

Rainey Green

Mariel Brumley

Addie Craig

Dalton Knapp

Lincoln Berg

Will Robertson

Tober Steelhammer

Row 4, L to R

Dallas Stuart

Daniel Williamson

Kenneth Riley

Aiden Gutierrez

George Brown

Cole Palfreeman

Kaden Richardson

Maddon Schulz

Kwame Osei

Sawyer Schneider

Sam Hancock

Senior Saints 12 Lifetime Saints Attended All Saints’ Early Childhood - Grade 12 14 Saints Committed to Play Collegiate Athletics

Acceptances from 170 Different Colleges and Universities

94% of Seniors Offered Merit Scholarships Totaling $14.1M (and counting)

Seniors are Matriculating to 54 Different Colleges and Universities in 30 Different States

CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF 2025

Samuel Nowlin

Riley Bruton

Davis Fulgham

Row 5, L to R

Haden Greer

Clarke Vinson

Dylan Finkelstein

Jacob Mainord

Bryce Anderson

Ryan King

Grant Skaggs

Drew Brown

Sutton Figley

Dylan Ratterree

George Herren

Matthew Bayouth

Xzavius Turpin

Currie Howard

Row 6, L to R

Rhett Norris

Sam Siratt

Hudson Dalton

Blake Robinett

Qumonte Williams

Ian Bothwell

Will Hammer

Blake Schimmels

Ian Lawler

Gavin Parkhurst

Gregg Babcock

Andrew Jones

Not Pictured:

Jaci Moore

Cambell Wynn

SNAP FOR MORE ON THE CLASS OF 2025!

by

Shilo Urban

Lockhart, Texas

Population: 15,318

The smoky aroma of slow-cooked brisket wafts along the breeze in Lockhart, the official Barbecue Capital of Texas. Found 30 miles south of Austin, this vintage enclave has been a bucket-list destination for generations of barbecue lovers. But there’s more than bark-crusted beef that brings travelers to Lockhart, which is blessed with one of the prettiest courthouses in Texas and a fresh buzz of energy around its

historic town square.

Lockhart’s well-preserved Victorian architecture has attracted filmmakers for decades, and over 50 movies have been shot in town (including “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” “Waiting for Guffman,” and “Transformers: Age of Extinction”). These days, the city is growing. Ever since the pandemic, a slew of young restaurateurs, artists, and musicians have relocated from

Austin to Lockhart in search of a quieter, more authentic (and affordable) small-town lifestyle. Eclectic new boutiques, bars, and eateries attest to their influence.

For the Czech and German settlers who arrived in the 1840s, however, Lockhart was less “peace and quiet” and more “violent Comanche raids.” But the soil was fertile, and the hard-working immigrants had nerves of steel. These Central Europeans, now Central Texans, started smoking and slow-cooking their beloved sausages and meats to preserve them longer — and Texas barbecue was born.

Central Texas brisket is considered by many as the quintessential Texas barbecue. Traditionally sliced and served on brown paper, it features a dry rub (sometimes just salt and pepper) and is smoked 12 to 24 hours over mesquite wood, pecan, or post oak. Classic fixins are simple, perhaps a slice of white bread or sweet onion, and sauce comes on the side (if at all).

In East Texas, barbecue is more influenced by Southern cuisine, with plenty of pork and chopped meats on sandwiches. Pitmasters often marinate their meat in a sweet, tomato-based sauce and smoke everything over hickory wood until it’s exceptionally tender. Mexico influences South Texas barbecue (aka barbacoa), which is cooked in steamers, ovens, or underground pits if you’re old-school. Less common cuts like beef cheek abound, and marinades shimmer with chiles and garlic. Out in West Texas, they cook their barbecue the cowboy way: right over the open flame of a mesquite wood fire.

It’s no surprise that Central Texas-style barbecue is the favorite in Fort Worth, which was historically linked to Lockhart via the Chisholm Trail. Lockhart was a major convergence point for herds heading north — and as cattle drives and meat markets gained traction in the late 1800s, the town’s barbecue reputation really took off.

Today, seven local barbecue joints fire up everything from brisket and

Lockhart is home to the Caldwell County Courthouse, one of the prettiest courthouses in Texas.

–Allison I.

bacon burnt ends to pork ribs, smoked chicken, and housemade sausage. The best place to begin might be Black’s Barbecue, the oldest barbecue restaurant in Texas continuously owned by the same family. Step back in time with red-checkered tablecloths, wood panel walls, and beef ribs the size of your car. The bean recipe dates to the 1930s, just like the restaurant. Down the road, Terry Black’s BBQ hails from the same-but-different Lockhart barbecue dynasty. Snag a seat on the patio if the weather’s not broiling. Kreuz Market opened in 1900 as a meat market, and its age-old brick pits produce fork-tender pork chops and brisket — except you won’t find any forks here, nor any fancy-pants fixins or sauce.

You will find sauce (but still no forks) at Smitty’s Market, and if side dishes are your jam, scoot over to Chisholm Trail BBQ for 19 of them made from scratch daily. Lockhart also has two new kids on the block: Riley’s Pit BBQ (with delectable smoked turkey) and the critically acclaimed Barbs B Q. Barbs B Q’s pitmaster Chuck Charnichart learned the ropes at Austin’s Franklin Barbecue before working at Goldee’s in Fort Worth. Part of Lockhart’s new wave of ex-urbanites, she’s known for flashy dishes like bright green cream cheese-poblano spaghetti, vegan chopped “meat” sandwiches, and Mexican concha bread pudding.

Will Lockhart become the next Austin, with skyrocketing property prices and slacker-yuppies exhorting us to Keep Lockhart Weird? Only time will tell, but one thing is certain: You will not leave Lockhart hungry.

Explore Lockhart

Savor: Lockhart’s non-BBQ food scene is abuzz with fresh arrivals. Fine dining meets underground bar vibes at Little Trouble, a rustic hangout with fun, inventive cocktails. If you’re craving Frito pie with a smoky frozen marg, Old Pal Bar Texas Tavern serves elevated pub grub in a Nickel City-style atmosphere (both bars are owned by Travis Tober). O’Donnell’s is another newbie with standout sandwiches, and Commerce Café’s gruyère popovers are a must before your meal.

Shop: Inspired to become the next great pitmaster? Mill Scale Metalworks sells custom smokers for pros and amateurs alike, including 1,000-gallon monsters made from upcycled propane tanks. Drop by The Culinary Room to hit the pudding bar and browse high-end groceries (they sell queso by the gallon). Lockhart also has two new bookstores: Haunt Happy Books is a horror-themed subterranean lair, and Best Little Wine & Books is owned by sommelier and Fort Worth native Kaye Askins.

Enjoy: Watering holes abound in Lockhart, from snazzy new lounges like The Case Room (inside Fiddler’s Green instrument shop) to oldtimey Texas taverns like The Pearl. The Pearl connects to The Blue Pearl, a 2,000-capacity music venue that opened last year in a rockwalled building from 1896. The red brick Dr. Eugene Clark Library dates to the same decade and is the oldest continuously operating library in Texas; peek inside to see its stained glass and spiral staircases.

Snooze: Whether you want to stay in town or the countryside, short-term rentals on Vrbo or Airbnb are the way to go. Most are entire houses, but the prices are doable — including cute cottages with colorful modern renovations close to the courthouse square. For history buffs, the Greek revival Gambrell House retains most of its midcentury features and receives high marks for its tranquil covered porches and charming Southern ambiance.

How to Get There: Drive south toward Austin on Interstate 35. About 18 miles past Salado, just before Georgetown, take Exit 265 for TX-130 S. Continue on TX-130 S for 57 miles, enjoying the highest speed limit in the Americas (85), then take Exit 470 for US-183. Lockhart is about 3 miles ahead. The entire trip is 219 miles and just over three hours if you get lucky with I-35 traffic.

Scan the QR code to listen to a curated playlist of Lockhart musicians.

The locals call this tank town The old water tower

Lockhart has seven local barbecue joints

An active senior living experience designed for your convenience and filled with energy. Embrace a simpler way of living with a maintenance-free home at The Harden, where you’ll enjoy the support of a community, the vibrancy of downtown Fort Worth, and easy access to the Medical District and more. Pre-leasing starts soon—join our Founding Resident List today!

by Michael H. Price

The Man Behind the March

When one thinks of great 20th century composers, Don Gillis is unlikely to come to mind — it’s a chore even finding his most famous work on Spotify. But UNT is looking to revive his incredible oeuvre.

What is an Amon Carter Stadium without an “Amon Carter March” to accompany its athletic contests?

An emerging composer named Don Gillis raised that question in 1937 — eight years after the devel-

opment of Amon Carter Stadium at Texas Christian University — and challenged himself to fill that musical gap with a memorable melody. The result was a lively swingtempo gridiron anthem that became

a halftime standard at the TCU Horned Frogs’ football games. Carter, the Star-Telegram’s publisher, had led the campaign for to build a new stadium in 1929 and by himself sold $500,000 worth of bonds. Gillis sought to deliver a belated gesture of thanks with “The Amon Carter March.”

Carter welcomed the Gillis composition: By all accounts, he enjoyed the occasional opportunity to lead the TCU band in “The Amon Carter March” while wearing a pair of customized purple-and-white boots, emblazoned with the symbolic likeness of the Horned Frog mascot.

One does not hear much these days about Gillis or his “Amon Carter March” (something ought to be done about that), but a campaign of rediscovery has brought new attention to Don Gillis’ career as a TCU alumnus-turned-conductor. An archive of his music and memoirs at the University of North Texas, his other alma mater, stands ready to yield its melodic secrets, and none too soon.

Distinguishing works in addition to “The Amon Carter March” include the commemorative Symphony No. 7: Saga of a Prairie School, which was commissioned by TCU for a début during commencement exercises in 1948 at Will Rogers Auditorium. The Prairie School epic was preserved in an album of 78-rpm phonograph platters from Decca Records’ affiliated

Don Gillis, a TCU alum and former marching band director, was a prolific composer whose music drew on several popular genres.

As TCU’s marching band director, Gillis composed “The Amon Carter March.”

SOAR on...

These 151 colleges and universities listed represent the institutions where FWCD seniors have been admitted. Institutions listed in red indicate where one or more senior(s) will attend.

Alabama A&M University

American University

The American University of Paris - FRANCE

Auburn University

Austin Community College

Baylor University

Blinn College

Boston University

Bucknell University

Cal Poly

Carleton College

Case Western Reserve University

Clemson University

Colgate University

Colorado State University

Cornell University

Cottey College

Dallas Baptist University

Dartmouth College

Davidson College

Denison University

DePaul University

DePauw University

Dordt University

Drake University

Drexel University

Duke University

East Texas Baptist University

Elon University

Emerson College

Erskine College

Fordham University

Georgetown University

The George Washington University

Grand Canyon University

Hamilton College

Hendrix College

Hofstra University

Houston Christian University

Houston Community College

IE University - SPAIN

90 SENIORS in the Class of 2025

Illinois Institute of Technology

Kansas State University

King’s College London - ENGLAND

Lehigh University

Louisiana State University

Loyola University Chicago

Michigan State University

Mississippi State University

Monmouth College

Monroe University-New Rochelle

Nebraska Wesleyan University

Northeastern University

The Ohio State University

Ohio Wesleyan University

Oklahoma City University

Oklahoma State University

Pennsylvania State University

Pennsylvania State University-Harrisburg

Pepperdine University

Rhodes College

Rice University

Rochester Institute of Technology

Rollins College

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Rutgers University-New Brunswick

Rutgers University-Newark

Saint Louis University

Sam Houston State University

San Diego State University

Santa Clara University

Savannah College of Art and Design

Seattle University

Seton Hall University

Sewanee - The University of the South

South Carolina State University

Southern Methodist University

Southwestern College

St. Olaf College

Syracuse University

Tarleton State University

Tarrant County College

6 ATHLETES participating in college sports

1 JIU-JITSU student pursuing pro career with Team Mohler

Temple University

Tennessee State University

Texas A&M University

Texas Christian University

Texas Tech University

Thiel College

Trinity University

Tuskegee University

University College Dublin - IRELAND

University of Alabama

University of Arizona

University of Arkansas

University of California, Davis

University of California, Irvine

University of California, Merced

University of California, Riverside

University of California, San Diego

University of California, Santa Barbara

University of California, Santa Cruz

University of Cincinnati

University of Colorado Boulder

University of Connecticut

University of Denver

University of Exeter - ENGLAND

University of Florida

University of Georgia

University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy in St. Louis

University of Houston

University of Illinois Chicago

University of Iowa

University of Kansas

University of Kentucky

University of Maryland - College Park

University of Miami

University of Mississippi

University of Missouri-Columbia

University of Missouri-St. Louis

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

University of North Carolina at Asheville

University of North Carolina at Greensboro

2 PERFORMING ARTS students continuing studies in the performing arts field

University of North Texas

University of Oklahoma

University of Oregon

University of Pittsburgh

University of Richmond

University of San Diego

University of San Francisco

University of South Carolina

University of Southern California

University of St Andrews - SCOTLAND

University of Tennessee, Knoxville

University of Texas at Arlington

University of Texas at Austin

University of Texas at Dallas

University of Tulsa

University of Utah

University of Vermont

University of Virginia

University of Washington

University of West Florida

University of Wyoming

University of York - ENGLAND

Vermont State University

Wake Forest University

Washington and Lee University

West Texas A&M University

Western Carolina University

Wichita State University

William & Mary

18

National Merit Semifinalists, Commended Students, and College Board National Recognition Programs Scholars

22

AP Scholars, AP Scholars with Honor, and AP Scholars with Distinction

MURPHY HOEFER Dartmouth College

ALEX SEIDEN Rice University

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London label. (That graduation ceremony included Gillis’ anointment with an honorary Doctor of Music degree.)

Gillis (1912-1978) also was fluent in many contemporary styles, idioms, and genres. He adapted American vernacular forms, such as jazz, cowhand refrains, and the blues, the better to convey playful whimsy and humor. Some audiophiles who have heard surviving copies of TCU’s London Records album and the Arturo Toscanini radio-transcription recording of Symphony No. 5½, A Symphony for Fun (1947) have likened Gillis’ works to those of other, more prominent, folksong-influenced artists. There can be found in Gillis’ work various resemblances to such perennial standards as Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring, Ferde Grofé’s Grand Canyon Suite, and Raymond Scott’s reimagined approach to jazz, “Powerhouse.” (“Powerhouse” remains prominent today as a recurring leitmotif for the “Looney Tunes” series of animated cartoons.)

Donald Eugene Gillis, a native Missourian, came to Fort Worth in 1931 with his family. His parents encouraged his interests in music. Gillis excelled as a schoolboy trombonist while moving toward TCU

and a bachelor’s degree. He became the assistant conductor of the TCU band and graduated in 1935. A master’s degree followed in 1943, at the University of North Texas. A younger brother, Lew Gillis, spent many years as conductor of the Fort Worth Stock Show’s Rodeo Band, in addition to music-making involvement with Six Flags and the Miss Texas Pageant.

Don Gillis, doubling as full-time TCU band conductor and chief of production at Fort Worth’s WBAP-Radio, developed credentials that led him to the NBC Radio Network in New York. He became the producer responsible for the NBC Symphony Orchestra during the tenure of famed conductor Arturo Toscanini. After Toscanini retired in 1954, Gillis served as president of the Symphony Foundation of America and developed the Symphony of the Air, involving veterans of the NBC Symphony. Gillis also produced the radio program “Toscanini: The Man Behind the Legend,” which ran for several years on NBC after the maestro’s death.

Administrative responsibilities seem not to have dampened Don Gillis’ enthusiasm for building melodies and harmonic structures. All

during the 1930s-1970s, he composed numerous orchestral symphonies, tone poems such as “Portrait of a Frontier Town,” and piano concertos, rhapsodies, and chamber-music exercises.

Gillis’ publications include a textbook on media instruction and a satire about methods of conducting. His unpublished autobiography, a droll piece called And Then I Wrote... (1948), prompted this wisecrack from Gillis: “Nothing has been left out of here except a brief mention of the spawning habits of the lamprey eel and a recipe for fried grits.”

ScantheQRcodetolistentoGillis’famed“SymphonyNo.5½”aswellasotherselectionsfromhis bodyofwork.

The TCU marching band performing “The Amon Carter March” in 1937.

Gillis presenting Amon G. Carter with “Honorary Band Leader for Life” scroll.

PASCHAL HIGH SCHOOL

Promoting Tradition and Excellence Since 1882

CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF 2025!

COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES LISTED REPRESENT A PORTION OF THE INSTITUTIONS TO WHICH OUR 478 SENIORS HAVE BEEN ADMITTED:

Abilene Christian University

American University

Auburn University

Austin College

Baylor University

Belmont University

Berklee College of Music

Blinn College

Boston College

Bryant University

California Polytechnic State University

Carleton College

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Coe College

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Stephen F. Austin State University

Tarleton State University

Tarrant County College District

Texas A&M - College Station

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Texas Wesleyan University

Texas Woman’s University

The University of Alabama

The University of Tennessee

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United States Air Force Academy

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University of Wisconsin

Vanderbilt University

Wake Forest University

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251 COLLEGES where students were admitted

$44.6 MILLION awarded in merit-based scholarships

3 National Merit Finalists

Merit Commended Students

by John Henry

The Face of Power and the Backbone Behind It

In recent years, much thought and discussion have centered on what it means to be a strong woman, as well as the qualities that define one.

As if there is a checklist of traits to measure her by.

For my money, give me Kay Granger and Alliene Mullendore as models.

In May, Granger was honored by Fort Worth Inc., our sister publication, as the 2025 Person of the Year. She and The 500 most influential leaders in Fort Worth were honored at a cocktail reception at the Fort Worth Club.

Granger retired from Congress in January after 28 years in the U.S. House of Representatives and a whole bunch of firsts.

In 1991, Granger was elected the first woman mayor of Fort Worth. In 1996, she became the first Republican woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas. And, yes, later, Granger became the first woman from her party to chair the Appropriations Committee.

Above all of that, however, is the fact that Granger was a damn effective member of the House, winning prize after prize for her hometown Fort Worth and Texas’ District 12.

Effective really doesn’t begin to describe her impact. She retired as one of the most impactful members in the history of the Texas delegation. Granger was an equal among the towering figures of the Texas delegation through the years, including Garner, Rayburn, Patman, Mahon, Gonzalez, and, of course, Jim Wright of Texas’ District 12.

“Her impact on her district and her

region and the state is equal to any other congressperson in the last 20 to 30 years,” says former U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, a longtime Republican colleague of Granger’s. “She was all Fort Worth, all 12th District, all the time.”

Granger has said in the past that her biggest influence was another woman — her mother.

Alliene Mullendore was a schoolteacher, administrator, and the first woman to serve on the school board in the Birdville school district. Alliene Mullendore Elementary School is named in her honor.

Much of Alliene Mullendore’s charm, people said, came from her gift for finding humor in life — even while engaged in the serious work of educating children.

“I think if you can’t laugh at yourself, you’re pretty sad,” Mullendore was quoted as saying. “If a teacher doesn’t have a sense of humor, she can go jump in a lake because she’s not worth a darn.”

Mullendore was born in 1906 and graduated from Polytechnic High School when she was 15. She began teaching at age 17 in Uvalde County. Her duties included taking care of horses.

In 1930, she married a fellow teacher, Norvel Mullendore. They had two daughters: Mary Lynn Mullendore and Norvel Kay Mullendore. Their father, originally a highway patrolman, later became a salesman. Norvel Kay was said to have been named by a great-aunt who had the family tradition of naming the children.

Alliene earned a bachelor’s degree

from Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene before coming to Birdville in 1943. She continued to work in education while earning a master’s degree from Texas Wesleyan and doctoral work at North Texas.

Alliene and Norvel divorced. Alliene reared a family on her own, just as her own mother had done. At 16, Alliene lied about her age to buy a house, stepping up when her father abandoned the family and her mother suffered an emotional breakdown. As the eldest child, the responsibility to provide fell squarely on her shoulders.

Armed with what many described as an iron will, Alliene refused to surrender when polio left her crippled. Though doctors said she’d never walk again, she defied the odds — returning to the classroom first on crutches, then with a cane, and eventually, entirely unaided.

A stern, independent woman, Alliene instilled in her daughters the need to be strong, Granger said.

“She was the most important person to me, without a doubt,” Granger said 35 years ago. “She molded me far and above anybody else. The women in my family are strong women.”

Granger has noted and tried to pass along her mother’s inspiration to others over the years.

“Success comes to ordinary people who set a direction and work like crazy,” Granger has said. “Leadership is not comfortable; leadership is a challenge.”

As we honor Granger’s life’s work, a tip of the cap to the one who molded her.

“Kay’s influence will last in perpetuity,” Mayor Mattie Parker said.

“There will be nobody like her.”

JohnHenryistheexecutiveeditorof Fort Worth Inc.

2025 Fort Worth Magazine Dream Home

By Amber Bell

Photography by Full Package Media

Lush green treetops rustle in the breeze, anchored in a shallow canyon among gently rolling hills with a clear blue sky above. The more than 45 surrounding acres host a smattering of hiking and biking trails, a winding creek, and even a 75-year-old pecan orchard. It could easily be a scene straight out of Austin, and it’s certainly giving Hill Country vibes. But this slice of paradise is located in West Fort Worth’s upscale Montrachet neighborhood, and residents are flocking to it eagerly. The exclusive gated community — which resides adjacent to its esteemed sister development, Montserrat — touts countryside resort living. It also includes a touch of Napa Valley charm, thanks to one of Montrachet’s newest homes, which carries Fort Worth Magazine’s prestigious Dream Home moniker.

The 6,931-square-foot home located on a 1 1/2-acre lot at 4557 Saint Estephe

Place is a collaboration between The Morrison Group, Susan Semmelmann Interiors, and a talented assembly of subcontractors. “The inspiration for the home was Napa, California. It’s somewhat organic with natural colors,” says Brad Davidson, senior project manager at The Morrison Group, a Fort Worth-based and family-owned homebuilder that’s been in business over three decades. They even designed the magazine’s inaugural Dream Home back in 2000. Brad maintained a vigilant presence on-site during the home’s entire building process, ensuring it was all perfectly crafted just as Morrison’s CEO and chief home designer Scott Sangalli designed it to be.

The home features an organic concrete tile roof with standing seam metal accents. The beautiful brick exterior, brushed and spackled with Portland mortar for a custom, white hued finish, is one not often seen in the neighboring

residences. The surrounding front courtyard is bordered by a low wall in the same brushed brick. A manicured pathway leads to a custom, black steeland-glass double front door, framed by solid, reclaimed white oak timbers.

The real stunner is, without a doubt, the view. From the moment they

approach the front door, guests can view straight through the great room’s ample windows and doors into the backyard, across the tree-laden hills, and all the way to Fort Worth’s downtown skyline. “You don’t see anything in between where you’re standing and downtown, because it’s all lower. It’s spectacular,” says Davidson of the home’s particular hilltop placement.

The wine country influence is especially fitting, considering Montrachet is the name of a vineyard that produces white wine in the Burgundy region of France. Susan Semmelmann — who founded her Fort Worth-based namesake company, Susan Semmelmann Interiors, in 2019 — capitalized on the theme and translated it throughout each space in the home. Rustic, lived-in elements and a plethora of textures and warm tones bring each room seamlessly into the next. “We’ve got

linen, lots of different wood, stone, velvets, chenille, suede, metals, and more,” explains Madeleine Semmelmann Housewright, who works alongside her mother as a fellow interior designer. The design team also brought in beautiful pieces by East Texas painter Kelly Gowan and Fort Worthbased abstract artist Jill Malouf.

“It’s so much more than just picking colors and fabrics; it’s about really understanding the process from the ground up. That’s why we love the Fort Worth Magazine Dream Homes because we get to create what we really want,” adds Semmelmann. “First impressions are lasting impressions.”

THE GREAT ROOM

Essentially the epicenter of the home, the great room is the first space that guests encounter. It’s a grand space with beautiful, hilltop views from the large windows that allow natural light to flood in. A luxe, marbled gray granite fireplace anchors the left side of the space, framed by dark wood box beams that extend up to the ceiling. Above the fireplace, a trio of abstract, layered birchwood artwork also draws the eye upward to the lofted ceiling and more large box beams that tie it all together and evoke a warm, inviting feel. But the hero of this particular space is unquestionably the sunken bar, a stunning feature that occupies the right side of the great room. It’s sophisticated and modern, with a beautiful leathered granite countertop and a sleek metal veneer on the lower surround. The bar — a signature element by Sangalli, who designed a sunken bar in his own home — was expertly crafted to fit the room with its size and low-placed proximity, offering eye-level interaction with the rest of the room. A set of dark green leather chairs around the bar top adds a stylish splash of color. The great room is keenly geared toward entertaining and also features two cozy and plush seating areas — outfitted with neutral fabrics and wood details — for additional conversation and gathering spaces.

Wall Finish: 1548 – Classic Gray Satin Finish

THE KITCHEN

Overlooking an adjacent living room, the kitchen features clean lines and a minimalist aesthetic. Dark wood cabinets by The Kitchen Source and state-of-the-art Wolf appliances outfit the open concept space. A stunning large tile piece serves as the vent hood, tying together the cool gray-toned, chopped stone backsplash and lightly

veined countertops. Three round glass orb pendant lights suspended by leather strapping above the rectangular island provide a warm, stylish detail. Just steps away, a dreamy butler’s pantry serves as additional prep space with its own beautiful details. Oversized windows make the space light and bright, a great place to start the day, thanks to

the Miele built-in coffee system, which is incorporated into the same dark cabinetry as featured in the kitchen. The flooring consists of beautifully patterned, Saltillo-style porcelain tiles that extend into the connected oversized pantry as well as the nearby mudroom — which contains extra storage and laundry space.

Wall Finish: 1548 – Classic Gray Satin Finish

THE LIVING ROOM

An inviting space with light-colored walls, neutral tones, and plush furnishings, the living room is at once elegant and cozy, rustic and refined. A large sectional sofa features beautiful silver-gray velvet — a custom fabric from Semmelmann’s new line, the Susan Semmelmann Couture Collection. And with luxe custom fabrics comes the need for equally luxe and custom furniture. Semmelmann commissioned the design of a wood and leather coffee table with a Fort Worth map etched on top. Meanwhile, for the build aspect, Sangalli designed a subtle yet showstopping fireplace with a white-and-gray variegated tile piece — which matches the vent hood in the connecting kitchen — that extends from the mantel to the ceiling. “It’s not a natural stone or granite; that’s a very large tile. I’ve never used it that way before; that was a really interesting way to incorporate it,” says Davidson. Engineered wood flooring in a light, natural finish extends throughout the home. Wood box beams from the great room continue into the living room, creating a square design on the multitiered tray ceiling, which is further accentuated by a smart combination of custom cove and recessed lighting to accommodate the mood and time of day.

Wall Finish: 1548 – Classic Gray Satin Finish

THE DINING ROOM

Every detail throughout the home was thoughtfully planned and coordinated by Sangalli and Semmelman — from the layout of a room and its doorways to the color of the walls and the type of fabric used for the furnishings. The dining room was certainly no exception and is easily one of the most dramatic spaces in the home. A rich, merlot-like color on both the walls and ceiling creates a striking effect. Rustic, natural elements temper the boldness, like the painting of a white horse on one wall and a dimensional artwork made of wood pieces on another. Semmelmann commissioned the custommade dining table and chairs, which she helped a vendor create from scratch through hand sketches and renderings. The size and stateliness of the large wooden table is perfectly balanced by the uniquely shaped chairs. They add just the right touch of whimsy and tie in the wall color, while the circular patterns in the fabric are mimicked by the light fixture above. Two identical pendants of tapered antique brass rings with concealed LED lights are delicately suspended in the air by leather straps, casting a warm glow while doubling as a guaranteed conversation piece.

Wall Finish: 1260 – El Cajon Clay Semi-Gloss Finish

THE GUEST SUITE

A vision in neutrals, any guest would be luxuriously comfortable in such a room as this one. Hues of silver and cream intertwine seamlessly with details like metallic, textured wallpaper, ornate silver lamps on the matching bedside tables, and dreamy fabrics. All the bedding in the Saint Estephe home was custom-made or designed by Semmelmann, including the creamy plush duvet and textured shams in the guest suite. Semmelmann also incorporated works from local artists in the home, selecting an achromatic piece by Dallas-based abstract artist Jill Malouf for this particular room. The mixedmedia creation is from Malouf’s geode series, inspired by her and her private jeweler husband’s personal collection of gemstones and minerals. It’s these types of luxurious touches that culminate in a bespoke, elevated home centered around the upscale countryside living that Montrachet celebrates.

Wall Finish: 859 – Collingwood Satin Finish

THE LOUNGE ROOM

Clad in a stunning shade of Chambourd by Benjamin Moore, the stylish lounge room embodies the richness of a cabernet wine with the smoothness of a Napa Valley sunset. It’s tucked away on the far-right side of the home, just down a short hallway from the living room. Large windows bring in enough natural light to keep the space from feeling heavy, despite its moody color scheme and hefty use of textures. It’s rich, warm, and inviting with velvet sofas and pedestal-based chairs, a set of thick-edged wood coffee tables, and a dynamic, patterned wallpaper adorning the ceiling. The room features several mixed-media pieces by Dallas artist Jill Malouf, which provide a dose of neutrals amidst the high impact space. Semmelmann also added a dynamic art piece above the sofa from one of her local vendors that features symmetrically arranged recycled paint cans. Entertaining in the lounge is a breeze with a scenic view into the backyard and out across the city’s skyline. A sleekly designed wet bar, complete with a wine fridge and modern metallic tile backsplash, provides the perfect spot to pour a libation and kick back in impeccably designed comfort.

Wall Finish: AF-645 – Chambourd Satin Finish

Both builder and designer wasted no opportunity to make the home’s office space a remarkable room in its own right. “The study has the most beautiful mural ever,” says Housewright. The floor-to-ceiling wallpaper, which looks like an actual painting, evokes abstract images of mountainous outdoor scenes. It wraps around all three walls,

THE STUDY

with the fourth wall consisting of windows and a set of custom metal doors that closely resemble the home’s front doors. “There’s a sort of dual front entry to the home for business meetings or engagements,” explains Davidson. “Guests can actually go right up to the study doors.” Savvy design features include a set of large armchairs

upholstered in a light green, patterned velvet — from Semmelmann’s own fabric collection — a light toned rug, and a natural wood-accented chandelier light suspended from the beautiful tray ceiling. A sleek black metal-and-glass desk and a beautiful, carved mango wood console finish the look.

THE LOUNGE ROOM

Clad in a stunning shade of Chambourd by Benjamin Moore, the stylish lounge room embodies the richness of a cabernet wine with the smoothness of a Napa Valley sunset. It’s tucked away on the far-right side of the home, just down a short hallway from the living room. Large windows bring in enough natural light to keep the space from feeling heavy, despite its moody color scheme and hefty use of textures. It’s rich, warm, and inviting with velvet sofas and pedestal-based chairs, a set of thick-edged wood coffee tables, and a dynamic, patterned wallpaper adorning the ceiling. The room features several mixed-media pieces by Dallas artist Jill Malouf, which provide a dose of neutrals amidst the high impact space. Semmelmann also added a dynamic art piece above the sofa from one of her local vendors that features symmetrically arranged recycled paint cans. Entertaining in the lounge is a breeze with a scenic view into the backyard and out across the city’s skyline. A sleekly designed wet bar, complete with a wine fridge and modern metallic tile backsplash, provides the perfect spot to pour a libation and kick back in impeccably designed comfort.

Wall Finish: AF-645 – Chambourd Satin Finish

THE PRIMARY ENSUITE

There’s an effervescent feeling to the primary ensuite, as Champagne was the chosen inspiration for the design details. There is, after all, an ample-sized freestanding tub centered in the large window that overlooks Montrachet’s hilly acreage — the perfect spot to relax with a glass of bubbly and take in a magnificent view. The ensuite carries a light, airy vibe throughout, a lovely juxtaposition to the slightly heavier cognac-toned bedroom. Lighting is paramount here, used in various forms from diffused undermounts on the fluted cabinetry — which are painted a calming Asphalt hue by Benjamin Moore — to wall-mounted soft lights in between each of the oversized mirrors. The star of the lighting show, however, is the gorgeous pendant light featuring glass spheres that emulate crisp bubbles rising up a cold bottle of Champers. The flooring is a beautiful light gray matte porcelain tile, and the countertops feature a complimentary shade of quartz, both from Daltile. The spacious shower is stunning, outfitted in a porcelain tile that mimics a marble finish with a frosted glass window for natural light. Oversized his-and-hers closets reside at the end of the room, and a separate dedicated laundry space — with connecting doorways to and from both the primary bedroom and ensuite — is a genius inclusion.

Wall Finish: 1548 – Classic Gray Satin Finish

THE GIRL’S ROOM

A vision in feminine, youthful elegance, the girl’s bedroom is a sweet respite. The Benjamin Moore Sonoma Clay paint color extends from the walls all the way up the slightly vaulted ceiling, encasing the space in a soft whispery touch of color. It’s gently anchored by the natural finish of the engineered wood flooring and a hide skin rug. Light, natural elements keep the design fresh and fun. The darling wood canopy platform bed with a slatted headboard is clad in Semmelmann’s custom linens with textured neutral fabrics and a matching pink duvet. Furnishings are kept simple but thoughtful, like an oversized, washed walnut wood dresser and a stunning, sculptural mango wood art installation on the wall above. An adorable seating area featuring plush chairs with feathery accents resides below an abstract canvas painting from artist Jill Malouf’s Garden series that perfectly echoes the color scheme in the room. The Sonoma Clay paint continues into the adjoining bath with dainty finishings. A speckled white quartz countertop over a natural wood vanity, matte mosaic floor tiles, and charming flower-esque wall sconces complete the space.

Wall Finish: 1242 – Sonoma Clay Satin Finish

THE BOY’S ROOM

Green is the theme for the appointed boy’s room of the home. Semmelmann chose a gorgeous Jojoba paint by Benjamin Moore for most of the space, keeping an accent wall for the feather-bedecked wallpaper behind the bed. The latter touts more beautiful custom bedding that harmonizes with the verdant hue. Textures such as the woven natural fabric on the headboard and the white velvet bench at the foot of the bed add a bit of contrast and dimension. Wood and metal design elements also abound, like the box beam on the ceiling with a leaf-like metal chandelier and metallic-shaded lamps atop natural wood bedside tables. The same theme is kept for the attached bathroom, which is painted the rich Jojoba color, with metal feather artwork on the wall and a touch of green in the glossy shower tilework. Just down the hallway from the bedroom is a half powder room that also embraces shades of green, featuring a luxe marble countertop customfitted to the round wall mirror. It’s finished with fluted cabinetry in a matching muted shade and grass cloth wallpaper. “It’s about taking something that is beautiful in its own right and putting a twist on it,” says Housewright.

Wall Finish: AF-460 – Jojoba Semi-Gloss Finish

Just like the extensive seating, gathering, and bar areas designed for the interior, the exterior of the Montrachet abode was crafted to be equally as inviting and accommodating. Several sets of double glass doors in various rooms of the home, like the primary suite, lounge, and great room, lead to the great outdoors. On one

BACKYARD/POOL

area of covered patio, there’s an outdoor gas fireplace with a large television hung above it and a circle of comfortable, oversized chairs. A nearby grill completes the setup, perfect for hosting and entertaining. The glistening pool and hot tub are a welcome reprieve for a hot Texas summer day, surrounded by lush

grass — which stays perfectly green 365 days a year because it’s synthetic. “Those products have come a long way, and it wears very well,” explains Davidson. And to close out an evening in true countryside style, there’s a fire pit and comfortable chairs situated at the highest point of the backyard for ideal sunset watching.

Dream Home Partners

Appliances

The Jarrell Company

Artificial Grass Wintergreen Synthetic Grass LLC

Beams

Green Valley Beam & Truss Co.

Brick

Metro Brick & Stone Co.

Cabinetry (Kitchen)

The Kitchen Source

Cabinetry (Master)

The Closet Factory

Cabinetry (Other)

Renova Custom Woodworks

Countertop (Fabrication)

Absolute Stone

Countertop (Materials)

Daltile

Electrician

Fox Electric

Fencing

Buzz Custom Fence

Fireplaces

Metro Brick & Stone Co.

Fireplace & Vent Hood Tile

Cosentino

Flooring & Tile Labor

Vintage Floors + Finishes

Flooring (Wood)

Vintage Floors + Finishes

Door - Front

Durango Doors

Garage Doors & Openers

Open Up Garage Doors

Glass

Fashion Glass

Gutters

Loveless Gutters

Hardware

Rick’s Hardware & Decorative Plumbing

HVAC

Moss Heating & Cooling

Interior Designer Semmelmann Interiors

Interior Shades (Motorized)

The Otium Group

Landscape & Irrigation

Guardado Landscaping

Lighting Fixtures

Passion Lighting

Low Voltage, AV, & Security

The Otium Group

Outdoor Furniture

Yard Art Outdoor Living

Paint (Labor)

Gutierrez Painting

Paint (Materials)

Benjamin Moore

Plumbing (Fixtures)

The Jarrell Company

Photography and Videography

Full Package Media

Plumbing (Labor & Supplies)

Pro Serve Plumbing

Pool

Purselley Pools

Realtor

John Zimmerman Group

Roofing

Tarrant Roofing

Tile Material

Daltile

Waste Removal

Waste Advantage

Windows and Doors Exterior Grand Openings

THE BUILDERS

Scott Sangalli and Brad Davidson, The Morrison Group

It’s not shocking to learn that Scott Sangalli, CEO and chief home designer for The Morrison Group, was at one point the youngest person to pass the CPA exam. After all, accounting requires precision and attention to detail — one decimal point off or one number incorrect, and it could result in something catastrophic. Sangalli applies this same meticulous and exact approach to homebuilding.

Founded over 30 years ago, The Morrison Group was the builder of Fort Worth Magazine’s inaugural Dream Home in 2000. While styles, trends, and techniques have changed, thanks to Sangalli and The Morrison Group’s dedication to timeless design, the first home feels as fresh today as it did at the turn of the century.

Despite positive press and a stellar product, The Morrison Group has remained a boutique builder. According to Sangalli, “We’re always going to be the little guys. I’m never going to be a production builder because that’s not where our love is. We enjoy so much building things that people walk in and go, I can’t wait to move in. I can’t wait to move in. That’s the greatest feeling in the world.”

THE CHARITY A Wish with Wings

THE INTERIOR DESIGNER

Susan Semmelmann, Susan Semmelmann Interiors

When it comes to Dream Home projects, this isn’t Susan Semmelmann’s first rodeo. In fact, the 2025 Dream Home marks her seventh Dream Home project with Fort Worth Magazine. Since 2020, Susan has partnered with Fort Worth Magazine on our annual Dream Home tour — a charitable initiative benefiting a Wish with Wings. For Susan, it’s more than design — it’s a mission. Every room is an opportunity to serve, to uplift, and to bring hope through beauty.

As the founder of Semmelmann Interiors, a nationally recognized couture design firm, Susan leads with generosity at the core. In just six years, her team has designed over $500 million in luxury homes, donated more than $2 million to charitable causes, and supported families in crisis through her namesake nonprofit, The Susan Semmelmann Foundation.

With her signature statementmaking aesthetic and a spirit grounded in servanthood, Susan uses design as a way to give back — transforming houses into homes and dreams into reality.

OUR SPONSORS

SEWELL

Fiber-Seal

Montrachet Development

The main beneficiary of the 2025 Fort Worth Magazine Dream Home Tour, a Wish with Wings is a Fort Worth-based nonprofit that grants wishes to children with life-threatening medical diagnoses. The 501(c)3 organization was founded in 1982 and has granted over 1,900 wishes to North Texas children, including trips to Disney World and Hawaii, Dallas Mavericks meet and greets, Harry Styles concerts, unicorn photo shoots, full-home renovations, and so much more — there isn’t a wish too big.

When you purchase tickets for this year’s Fort Worth Magazine Dream Home Tour, a portion of the proceeds benefit this incredible charity.

OVER $11.6 MILLION IN SCHOLARSHIPS OFFERED

Abilene Christian University

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80 STUDENTS RECEIVED 301 COLLEGE ACCEPTANCES TO 108 COLLEGES IN 20 STATES

Congratulations,

Loyola University New Orleans

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Houston Christian University

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Loyola Marymount University

9 ATHLETES SIGNED TO COMPETE AT THE COLLEGIATE LEVEL

Rome City Institute

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Rutgers University-New Brunswick

Sam Houston State University

Samford University

Schreiner University

Sewanee: The University of the South

South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

Southern Methodist University

Southern Union State

Community College

Southern University and A&M College

Southwestern University

St. Edward’s University

8,267 HOURS OF COMMUNITY SERVICE DONATED

Class of 2025!

Stephen F. Austin State University

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Tarrant County College

Taylor University

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Texas A&M University-Texarkana

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1,094 DUAL CREDIT HOURS EARNED

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Wilmington

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University of the Incarnate Word

Wagner College

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*Bold indicates universities where students plan to enroll

3 STUDENTS PARTICIPATING IN COLLEGIATE ARTS PROGRAMS

FOCUS

FORT WORTH MAGAZINE DREAM HOME PARTNERS

The 2025 Dream Home project relies on the skill and expertise of the area’s best builders, designers, architects, landscapers, and audio technicians. Whether you are looking to update your home or to build a new one, our official Dream Home builders, contractors, and subcontractors featured on the following pages can help you turn your dreams for your home into reality.

The information in this section is provided by the advertisers and has not been independently verified by Fort Worth Magazine

FOCUS: Design and install all types of fences, gates, and gate automation. AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: Twice awarded Small Business of the Year by Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce; Entrepreneur of the Year from Baylor Business School; Best Fence Company Fort Worth from various publications and sources; National Fence Contractor of the Year from Home Depot; Top 100 Companies DFW, Business Press, Family Business of the Year. MEMBERSHIPS/ AFFILIATIONS: American Fence Association, National Architectural Association, Better Business Bureau AAA Rating. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT:

Starting from a dream and building a company with a national presence over 25 years is our greatest achievement. We are consistently recognized as a leader for quality fencing as well as being a fastgrowing fence company in Texas and in the U.S. WHAT SETS US APART: We strive to get it right the first time and will keep working until it is right! We still answer our phones and still offer personal customer service. MOTTO: From day one we have always published and followed our motto, “We Promise a Lot and Deliver More.” COMMON MISTAKES IN HOMEBUILDING:

Selecting quality material is the best start you can have to fence building. Selecting the right wood type and species is critical for Texas climates, and selecting a No. 1, high-quality board will help the installation go smoothly, look great when complete, and give long-lasting pleasure and longevity. FREE ADVICE: When building perimeter fence systems, spend some time thinking about your gates: how many gates, what width, and their location. After all, you may use that gate every day. PICTURED: Traci Miller, General Manager; David Ball, Territory Manager; Denise Schrader, Owner.

Buzz Custom Fence

5104 W. Vickery

Fort Worth 76107

817.263.9788

buzzfence.com

The Jarrell Company

SPECIALTY: We work with both professionals and homeowners to find the perfect appliance, plumbing, lighting and decorative hardware solutions to suit their needs. Whether you are working on a large kitchen remodel, building a custom home, or adding a new bathroom addition, The Jarrell Company wants to be your go-to supplier for everything that makes your home both gorgeous and functional. MEMBERSHIPS/ AFFILIATIONS: Dallas Builders Association, Greater Fort Worth Builders Association, National Association of the Remodeling Industry, National Kitchen and Bath Association. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Since we opened our doors over 75 years ago, we have seen a wonderful response from the community and incredible growth. We owe it to our dedicated and knowledgeable employees and our passion for everything that makes a house a “home.”

PHILOSOPHY: The Jarrell Company is where modern appliances meet classic service. It is our mission to help people find the perfect high-end appliance, plumbing, lighting, and decorative hardware solutions while offering white-glove support and long-term customer care. FREE ADVICE: Talk to an expert first. It will save you time, money and frustration. BIGGEST MISTAKE PEOPLE MAKE WHEN BUILDING A HOME: Not planning for the appliances and plumbing properly. It is more complicated than you think.

The Jarrell Company 2651 Fondren Drive Dallas 75206 214.363.7211

1900 S. Main St., Ste.110 Grapevine 76051

817.532.5530 jarrellco.com

Moss Heating & Cooling

FOCUS: Moss Heating & Cooling delivers dependable, high-quality air conditioning and heating services to residential customers throughout the DFW community. Our expert craftsmen take pride in keeping families comfortable year-round through skilled system installations, routine maintenance, timely repairs, and our dedicated new construction department. But beyond getting the job done right, we care deeply about the experience our customers have at every touchpoint, from the first phone call to the final walkthrough. At Moss, we believe great service means more than just results. It means respect, reliability, and a team you can trust. AWARDS/ RECOGNITIONS: A+ BBB Accredited Business; Best of Fort Worth 2024; ACCA Quality Assured.

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS/AFFILIATIONS: Lennox Premier Dealer; American Standard Core Dealer; Dallas Builders Association. GREATEST

PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Our greatest professional achievement has been reaching $15 million in top-line revenue through purely organic growth. WHAT SETS THEM APART: What sets Moss Heating & Cooling apart is our commitment to a personalized customer experience that consistently exceeds expectations. We don’t just complete jobs, we build lifelong relationships with the homeowners we serve. At the heart of it all is our team. We value our people and invest in their growth, knowing that a strong, supported crew is the key to delivering exceptional service every time. MISSION: To improve the lives of the families we serve. COMMON MISTAKES IN HOMEBUILDING: A common mistake in homebuilding is that people often focus their entire budget on visible elements and may overlook the importance of high-efficiency HVAC equipment. This can significantly impact their comfort level in the long run. FREE ADVICE: Carefully consider the subcontractors the builder chooses. Opting for the lowest-priced subcontractors might compromise the quality of the build, especially in critical areas like the home’s mechanics. It’s disheartening to invest in a dream home only to find that essential systems like cooling don’t function properly. PICTURED: Charlie Stubblefield, Mark Wolkersdorfer, Chris Rawls, Jesus Verdin, Tanner Clark, Graye Roberts, Jesse Rudder, Hugo Perez, Chris Mariot, Kevyn Ritchey, Bob Holmes.

Moss Heating & Cooling

11145 Morrison Lane Dallas 75229

972.465.9966

askmoss.com

FOCUS FORT WORTH MAGAZINE DREAM HOME

The Otium Group

FOCUS: The Otium Group, an innovative design company, specializes in a wide range of low voltage solutions tailored to enhance modern living. Unlike typical AV companies, The Otium Group approaches technology like a design element — one that should blend invisibly into the architecture, while delivering a powerful and simple user experience. Founder Brian Hugghins explains: “When systems are designed right from the start, they feel like part of the home — not just something added to it.” MOTTO: Intelligent Integration. Effortless Living. MISSION: The Otium Group’s rebrand reflects a broader mission: to offer a complete suite of technology-focused solutions under one roof. From automated shading and smart lighting to landscape audio and commercial-grade networks, their work

reduces complexity for builders and homeowners alike. Fewer subcontractors. Fewer headaches. One vision. PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS: In the 2025 Fort Worth Magazine Dream Home, The Otium Group delivers more than automation — they deliver intentional design that elevates everyday living. From blueprint to final walkthrough, every element is curated with precision, beauty, and functionality in mind. This year’s project was pre-wired to anticipate the future: 17 zones of background music, 11 TVs, a full indoor and outdoor shade solution, hardwired networking with WiFi 7 access points, 14 surveillance cameras, a landscape audio system, and a Control4 infrastructure ready to grow with the homeowner. Installed features include a 6-foot central rack, an 85-inch Samsung

Frame TV, Origin Acoustics audio throughout, and full control of lighting, music, and security — all from a single interface. But the true luxury lies in how it all comes together. WHAT SETS THEM

APART: With a team of cross-trained professionals, 24/7 service support, and a deep commitment to customer satisfaction, The Otium Group delivers more than just electronics — they create comfort, beauty, and control. Smart living isn’t about flashy gadgets. It’s about simplicity, elegance, and intention. The Otium Group brings it all together. PICTURED: (left to right, sitting) Craig Aldridge, Brian Hugghins, Samaa Hugghins, Aidee Esquivel; (left to right, standing) Nikos Fazen, Oscar Hernandez, Kris Babcock, Brad West, Kyler Babb, Michael Cowdrey; (standing by TV) Adrian Guevara and Mark Marin.

The Otium Group

5059 Martin Luther King Jr Freeway Fort Worth 76119

817.300.1518

FOCUS FORT WORTH MAGAZINE DREAM HOME

Pro Serve Plumbing, LLC

FOCUS: Our primary focus is residential new construction. We have extensive expertise in custom single-family homes, highvolume production homes, multi-family communities, and build-to-rent communities featuring coveted amenities such as fitness centers, recreational activities, and community fellowship facilities. AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: Vendor of the Quarter for David Weekley Homes for the Quarter 4, 2017, Quarter 2, 2019, Quarter 4, 2019, Quarter 1, 2021, Quarter 4, 2022, and Quarter 3, 2024. PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS/AFFILIATIONS: Greater Fort Worth Builders Association, the Texas Association of Builders, and the National Association of Home Builders. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Pro Serve Plumbing has been providing plumbing services in the Greater Fort Worth area since 2010. We have developed long-lasting relationships with clients,

vendors, craftsmen, and homeowners over the years. We have been the preferred vendor for Fort Worth Magazine’s Dream Home since 2014 and consider this a great honor to be chosen to participate every year. WHY CLIENTS CHOOSE THEM: We strive to provide the best possible experience for our clients through thoughtful planning before the project begins and careful attention to detail throughout the building process to ensure we are providing them with exactly what they were expecting when they envisioned their new home. MISSION: At Pro Serve Plumbing, LLC, our mission is to deliver exceptional plumbing solutions for new home construction by treating every project as unique — no matter how many times we’ve done it before. Guided by honesty, accountability, effective leadership, we aim to exceed customer expectations through personalized service

and craftsmanship. We strive to be recognized not only by our clients as providers of superior service, but also by our peers as trusted leaders and partners in the plumbing industry. COMMON MISTAKES IN HOMEBUILDING: Sacrificing on the things they really want, thinking they will do it later. Often, later never comes, and they wish they had gone ahead and gotten that beautiful freestanding tub, or exotic granite, or elaborate light fixture. It’s your dream home; get what you want! FREE ADVICE: Do your research and ask questions. Nobody knows you like you know yourself. Most of the time, people know what they want, and it helps in the overall building process if they can convey that to their contractor. PICTURED: (left to right) Colton Drake, Scott Stephens, Lisa Nye, Rachel Foster, Melissa Golden, Kenneth Golden, Paul Tietze.

Pro Serve Plumbing, LLC

11255 Camp Bowie W. Blvd., Ste. 120 Aledo 76008

817.244.0614 proserveplumbers.com/

Danny Leverett, Owner/CEO

Tarrant Roofing

FOCUS: Our primary areas of expertise encompass residential reroofing, commercial roofing, and new construction roofing. RECOGNITIONS: We’re honored to have received several accolades, including being voted as the Best of Fort Worth in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2023 and 2024. Additionally, we’ve been recognized as one of the Top 100 Roofing Companies in the Nation for 2022, 2023 and 2024, and lastly, we were named the BEST Place to Work in Fort Worth in 2020. MEMBERSHIPS: We proudly maintain our membership in the NRCA (National Roofing Contractors Association). WHAT MAKES US UNIQUE: Tarrant Roofing is a company dedicated to setting higher standards within the roofing industry. Each day, we provide solutions to homeowners seeking to enhance properties affected by storm damage or deferred maintenance. Our commitment to excellence is reflected in our 100% satisfaction rating, consistent five-star service, and our lifetime labor guarantee. MISSION: Our core mission revolves around “Quality 1st, Profit 2nd.” Our primary objective is to deliver the utmost level of service and restore properties to their original beauty. We refuse to compromise on quality or offer discounted services. Our enduring legacy is built on consistently doing what is right. BIGGEST MISTAKE PEOPLE MAKE WHEN BUILDING A HOME: Constructing a custom home is an exciting yet substantial endeavor, presenting a chance to create something truly distinctive and aesthetically pleasing. In the world of roofing, we place significant emphasis on the integrity required to withstand the wind and hailstorms in Texas. Ensuring that corners aren’t cut during installation and utilizing top-notch materials is paramount to guaranteeing a secure and safe home. FREE ADVICE: It’s crucial to conduct thorough research and choose a contractor committed to excellence rather than just financial gain.

Tarrant Roofing

1900 Handley Ederville Road Fort Worth 76118

817.571.7809

tarrantroofing.com

Vintage Floors + Finishes

FOCUS: We specialize in solid and prefinished hardwood, carpet, custom rugs, tile, marble, and luxury vinyl tile (LVT). AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: Fort Worth Magazine’s Best Of pick for flooring, many years running. MEMBERSHIPS/AFFILIATIONS: National Wood Flooring Association, Greater Fort Worth Builders Association, Custom Builders Association, Better Business Bureau, and Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce. WHAT SETS THEM APART: Our process sets us apart and has developed the most loyal customer base in Fort Worth for one simple reason: personalized service. COMMON MISTAKES IN HOMEBUILDING: Be patient. You can’t rush quality. Allow the time needed to properly complete the project so the quality and craftsmanship are not compromised. WHY CLIENTS CHOOSE THEM: Our commitment to personalized service ensures every project reflects our clients’ unique vision. MOTTO: Quality products, trusted service. FREE ADVICE: Invest in good quality products. “The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of a low price is forgotten.” PICTURED: Bryan Page, Partner; Grant McGregor, Managing Partner.

Vintage Floors + Finishes

5136 Camp Bowie Blvd. Fort Worth 76107 817.877.1564

vintagefloorstx.com

Absolute Stone & Tile, Inc.

FOCUS: We concentrate on natural stone materials in custom homes and remodels. SPECIALTY: We offer custom fireplaces, as seen in this photo, along with other customized waterfall and modern edges. AFFILIATIONS: Absolute Stone & Tile, Inc. has worked with Fort Worth Magazine on most Dream Home projects and has a close affiliation with prominent builders in the DFW metroplex. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Serving the DFW metroplex and considered a trusted business for 24 years. BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY: Being locally owned and operated, our business focus is on the individual attention to our customers. We do our own work from estimating, consulting, and outlining to fabrication and installation, which ensures a prompt and reliable service. FREE ADVICE: Absolute Stone & Tile, Inc. is your “one stop” service company for all your granite countertops and other natural stone applications. We will help you with your project through every step of the process and provide you with a wide selection of materials and finishes that you can choose from. Whether you are a homeowner looking for a kitchen upgrade, custom design, or any type of remodel, we are here to help you.

FORT WORTH MAGAZINE DREAM HOME

Closet Factory DFW

FOCUS: Closet Factory DFW creates accessible luxury by designing custom storage solutions for any area of your home, from closets and garages to home offices, pantries, mudrooms, laundry rooms, and much more. AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: Best of Houzz Design, 2023-25; Best of Houzz Service, 2023-25; 5-star rated on Home Advisor; 4.8-star rated on Google, Fastest Growing Closet Factory location in company’s 40-plus year history. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Closet Factory DFW is committed to giving back to the community through Closet Factory Cares, our national philanthropic organization. WHAT SETS THEM APART: Each one of our custom projects is designed and manufactured locally in our Grapevine factory, from our production personnel to our installers, every team member is a trusted, experienced professional. MISSION STATEMENT: Our Seven Keys Values: 1) Obsess: over our customers, always. 2) Dependable: to ourselves, our families, our customers, and our community. 3) Relentless: in the pursuit of our goals, turning challenges to opportunities. 4) Meticulous: with a constant focus on quality and attention to detail. 5) Team-Oriented: because all we accomplish is the result of a team effort. 6) Resolute: in our confidence to achieve our objectives. 7) Thoughtful: in every decision we make. PICTURED: Jeff Henderson, Owner; Shelli Dierck, Senior Designer.

Closet Factory DFW

600 E. Dallas Road, Ste. 150 Grapevine 76051 214.530.9447 closetfactory.com

Design Center at Kelly Ranch 5100 Kelly Road Aledo 76008

Daltile Fort Worth

FOCUS: Tile, natural stone, pavers, LVF, installation products. AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: 15 years with Daltile. MEMBERSHIPS/AFFILIATIONS: President’s Club. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Our greatest achievement is our team representing a global brand with our own Fort Worth flair. We have grown our local sales service center with hard work and a team mentality. WHY CLIENTS CHOOSE THEM: Daltile is a sister company to Mohawk, which is the largest flooring company in the world. We have the best resources to develop high-quality products with cutting-edge style. We have a great local team, and we are lucky to work with the some of the best flooring businesses in DFW. MISSION: Daltile’s mission is to be the leader in the tile and stone industry by creating innovative, high-quality products and services that provide the best value for customers while also prioritizing sustainability and environmental responsibility. Its focus extends to empowering trade professionals with resources and support to help them achieve their goals. COMMON MISTAKES IN HOMEBUILDING: Make sure your expectations are aligned with your builder’s budget for flooring. If you have higher expectations, negotiate your flooring budget up front. FREE ADVICE: Use our showroom! Our designers are very talented and offer free design service with our products. PICTURED: Erika Montenegro; Ford Hanks, Manager; Cindy Platt.

Daltile Fort Worth 3328 Fossil Creek Blvd. Fort Worth 76137 817.332.4161 daltile.com

FOCUS FORT WORTH MAGAZINE DREAM HOME

COMPANY FOCUS: Our team is dedicated to creating the best value for our customers through innovative, high-quality products and exceptional customer service. AWARDS/ RECOGNITIONS: For more than 75 years, we have been strongly committed to delivering exceptional style and quality with the industry’s best customer service. We are grateful others think so too with Daltile receiving numerous awards for the past 21 years. PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS/ AFFILIATIONS: ASID, NKBA, Greater Fort Worth Builders Association, National Stone Institute. WHY CLIENTS CHOOSE THEM: “Made in the USA” means a lot to us. Unlike most of our competitors, many of our collections are proudly designed, developed, and manufactured in America. Renowned for trend-setting style, our foundation of upscale design and exceptional quality provides you with a broad selection of superior products you can trust. MOTTO: Delivering quality on time. FREE ADVICE: When selecting countertop surfaces, do your research and choose what you love! PICTURED: Leydy Diaz, LeaAnn Redmon, Brad Bruno.

Daltile Stone Center Fort Worth 3328 Fossil Creek Blvd., Ste. 100 Fort Worth 76137

682.647.1100 daltile.com

Daltile

Durango Doors of DFW

CONCENTRATION: Durango Doors of DFW specializes in custom decorative iron doors and thinprofile steel windows and doors. The trends of indoor/outdoor living and more contemporary architecture have spurred the use of bigger door panels that function as bi-fold and multi-slide panels that are basically moveable walls. We still sell a significant amount of decorative wroughtiron doors, but our thin-profile millennium steel line is becoming the choice of the market. PHILOSOPHY: We always strive to exceed our customers’ expectations through personalized service, creative design, and service after the sale. MEMBERSHIPS/AFFILIATIONS: Better Business Bureau and Fort Worth Builders Association. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Purchasing the old Ajax glass building that will be paid off this year. WHY CHOOSE THEM: We think of ourselves as an architectural products boutique, where customers can get a level of personalized service that is not offered at the big box retailers, lumber yards, or millwork companies. WHAT SETS THEM APART: Quality custom-made products and service after the sale. BIGGEST MISTAKE PEOPLE MAKE WHEN BUILDING A HOME: Trying to build it themselves. PICTURED: Scott Pereth, owner; Laura Fernandez; Tim Stanley; Ray Barnes, service manager.

Durango Doors of DFW

durangodoors.com

FOCUS FORT WORTH MAGAZINE DREAM HOME

Fashion Glass & Mirror

FOCUS: At Fashion Glass & Mirror, we specialize in providing top-quality mirrors and glass shower enclosures, serving as Texas’s premier supplier and installer for new home construction. Our commitment to excellence, innovative design, and customer satisfaction drives us to deliver superior craftsmanship and a wide range of customizable options, ensuring that every project enhances the beauty and functionality of modern homes. With a focus on integrity, efficiency, and durability, we aim to exceed expectations and elevate the living spaces of our clients across the Lone Star State. MEMBERSHIPS/AFFILIATIONS: Dallas Business Association, Austin Business Association, San Antonio Business Association, and Houston Business Association. WHY CLIENTS CHOOSE THEM: With over 52 years of experience in the industry, our commitment to excellence and reliability has solidified our reputation as an industry leader. We stand firmly behind our products, ensuring quality and customer satisfaction, while our passion for what we do drives us to continuously innovate and provide the best solutions tailored to our clients’ needs. With us, clients gain a trusted partner dedicated to their success and growth. MISSION: At Fashion Glass & Mirror we are dedicated to fostering partnerships and empowering our employees as we craft superior mirror and shower glass solutions. Driven by passion and integrity, we stand behind our products to ensure every customer experiences quality and beauty in every reflection.

Fashion Glass & Mirror

585 S. Interstate 35E DeSoto 75115

972.223.8936

fashionglass.com

Grand Openings, Inc.

FOCUS: Crafted, extraordinary windows and doors for the exceptional home and business. PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS/AFFILIATIONS: AIA Dallas; Dallas Builders Association. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Being part of exclusive, architecturally significant projects. WHAT SETS THEM APART: Grand Openings, Inc. is a nationally respected window and door dealer known for quality, expertise, and design-driven solutions. MOTTO: Premium materials. Thoughtful design. Unmatched functionality. COMMON MISTAKES IN HOMEBUILDING: Choosing the lowest bid instead of the best value. FREE ADVICE: Do your homework. Know your materials, your vendors, and your long-term goals. PICTURED: Cash Pierce, Amaraya Ruiz, Eric Marquez, and Dylan Thompson.

Grand Openings, Inc. 4119 Camp Bowie Blvd. Fort Worth 76107 214.956.7700 grandopenings.com

Green Valley Beam & Truss Co.

FOCUS: We are a local woodshop that specializes in custom hand-hewn box beams, mantels, shelving, and planking. AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: Best of Houzz winner (four times) for customer service. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Our greatest professional achievement is that most of our projects come through referrals and returning customers — a true testament to the quality of our work and the relationships we build. WHY CLIENTS CHOOSE THEM: Our products are made from new material that is light weight, durable, and resistant to warping. We offer five different distress levels and have nine standard stain colors to match your style and vision. MISSION: At Green Valley Beam & Truss, our mission is to craft timeless wood products. We are dedicated to creating warm, inviting spaces that elevate the beauty and character of every home. COMMON MISTAKES IN HOMEBUILDING: One common mistake clients make is overlooking the inclusion of beams during the planning phase. Adding beams to the plans early on helps prevent potential issues down the line. FREE ADVICE: Beams can dramatically enhance the character of a room, but it’s important to think about how they will integrate with the existing design elements. Choose a style and finish that complements your space — whether it’s rustic, contemporary, or traditional. PICTURED: Peyton Whitlock, Jose Rojas, Justin Whitlock, Maddi Wolf, Paul Whitlock, Jesus Luengas, Tyler Whitlock

Green Valley Beam & Truss Co. Aubrey 76227

940.215.6599 greenvalleybeams.com

CONCENTRATION: Guardado Landscaping is a landscaping and retail garden center connecting people to nature. RECOGNITIONS/ AWARDS: Official landscaper for 11 Fort Worth Magazine Dream Homes; 2008 Kaleidoscope Home. MEMBERSHIPS: Texas Nursery and Landscape Association, Alabama Nursery Association, Better Business Bureau, and Greater Fort Worth Builders Association.

GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT:

Every day there is a professional achievement. The entire staff receives a sense of accomplishment when a project is completed. PHILOSOPHY: You only get one chance at a first impression — let us design a landscape that they will remember. FREE ADVICE: Our team believes that a job well done means that promises have been kept and the customer is delighted with their project. There are many landscaping companies to choose from, so be sure the vendors you choose are licensed, bonded, and fully insured. BIGGEST MISTAKE PEOPLE MAKE WHEN BUILDING A HOME: Not listening to a client to grasp their expectations and concerns is a big mistake when building a home. Also not taking the landscaping aspect of a home seriously is another mistake. People drive through neighborhoods and immediately notice a  stone wall with trailing ivy or a beautiful water feature that are the first impressions of a home. We strive to catch the eye and peak interest for what’s inside the home of our landscape design.

Guardado Landscaping

3228 Alta Mere Fort Worth 76116

817.732.3434

sales@guardadolandscaping.net guardadolandscaping.com

Guardado Landscaping

Gus Gutierrez Gutierrez Painting

COMPANY FOCUS: Gutierrez Painting brings four generations of expertise to high-quality residential and commercial painting in Fort Worth. We deliver flawless finishes for remodels and new builds, enhancing every project with precision and durability to bring our clients’ visions to life beautifully. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Our greatest achievement is our growth from a small family operation to a thriving Fort Worth company, now employing a dedicated team. Since 2010, we’ve painted over 3,500 homes, building a legacy of quality and trust across the community. WHY CLIENTS CHOOSE THEM: Our attention to detail sets us apart. We’re reliable, communicative, and always aim to exceed expectations. While no project is without challenges, we ensure every job reflects our commitment to quality and client satisfaction, delivering results you can count on. MOTTO: “Quality that lasts, service you trust.” We aim to deliver exceptional painting solutions with integrity, building lasting relationships with our clients through every brushstroke. FREE ADVICE: Invest in prep work for a paint job that lasts. Proper sanding and priming prevent peeling and ensure a smooth finish — invest properly or settle for less.

Painting 10113 Lakemont Drive Fort Worth 76131

817.829.9524

gutierrezpainting.net

Gutierrez

FOCUS: The Kitchen Source is a full turnkey design and remodeling firm dedicated to delivering the best client experience across the DFW metroplex and throughout Texas. Our nationally award-winning team of designers brings your vision to life with creativity, expertise, and seamless project execution.

RECOGNITIONS: Legacy of Design awards for kitchen and baths; Wood-Mode’s National Design Winner; ASID’s Designer’s Choice Awards for Cabinetry/Cabinet Materials; NARI’s Contractor of the Year for Residential Kitchens; NARI’s Contractor’s Choice Awards for Kitchen & Bath; Sub-Zero/Wolf’s Regional Kitchen Design Contest winner and NARI’s CotY awards for Residential Kitchens. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Thirdgeneration, family-owned business. While we call Texas home, we’ve had the privilege of designing and managing projects from New York to Hawaii — even as far as the Cayman Islands. MISSION: The Kitchen Source has built a trusted reputation for professionalism, craftsmanship, and attention to detail. Our goal is to provide every client with an exceptional experience — from the initial consultation to the final reveal of their remodeling or building project. BIGGEST MISTAKE PEOPLE MAKE WHEN BUILDING A HOME: One of the most common — and costly — mistakes homeowners make is choosing the lowest bid without fully understanding what’s included. When comparing bids, ensure they reflect the same scope of work, quality of materials, and level of craftsmanship. PICTURED: Jennifer Johns, Amber Paulk, Elizabeth Tranberg, and Corinne Danicki.

The Kitchen Source

3116 W. Sixth St. Fort Worth 76107 817.731.4299 thekitchensource.com

The Kitchen Source

Loveless Modern Gutters Inc.

COMPANY FOCUS: Rain gutters. AWARDS/ RECOGNITIONS: Fort Worth Magazine Dream Home project partner since 2007. PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS/ AFFILIATIONS: Better Business Bureau and Fort Worth Business Association. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: The accomplishment that I’m most proud of is growing the business my father started into what it is today. WHAT SETS YOU APART: Our communication, experience, and attention to detail set us apart. MOTTO: Taking the time to do it right. COMMON MISTAKES IN HOMEBUILDING: The biggest mistake people make is not listening to their subcontractor’s advice. FREE ADVICE: Experience is everything in this business. It is earned, not given. Keep this in mind when choosing contractors as it is easier to do it right initially than to rework it. PICTURED: James Loveless, Owner; Justin Kaercher, Director of Operations.

Loveless Modern Gutters

6816 Harmonson Road North Richland Hills 76180 817.590.2583

lovelessgutter.com info@lovelessgutter.com

Metro Brick & Stone Co.

SPECIALTY: Metro Brick & Stone continues to be a trusted leader in the North Texas masonry and hardscape industry. Represented by industry veteran Dennis Calander, Metro Brick & Stone delivers unmatched quality, service, and expertise to builders, architects, and designers across the region. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS: Dennis Calander covers a wide North Texas territory with a focus on building strong partnerships and delivering personalized solutions for residential, commercial, and custom projects. WHY CHOOSE HIM: With over 42 years of experience in the masonry and building materials industry, Dennis Calander brings a wealth of knowledge, integrity, and personalized service to every client. His long-standing relationships and deep understanding of materials make him a trusted advisor for anyone seeking high-quality exterior solutions. PRODUCTS: Metro Brick & Stone offers an extensive selection of premium products. The curated product lines are designed to meet both the functional and aesthetic demands of modern construction and landscape design. With three convenient locations, each features a well-appointed showroom, yard stock, product experts, and support for contractors, architects, and homeowners alike. BIGGEST MISTAKE PEOPLE MAKE WHEN BUILDING A HOME: Waiting until the last minute to order products is the biggest mistake people make when building a home.

PICTURED: Dennis Calander and Bill Self.

Metro Brick & Stone Co.

2184 Joe Field Road

972.991.4488

metrobrick.com

FOCUS FORT WORTH MAGAZINE DREAM HOME

The Morrison Group

Scott Sangalli, Owner and Designer

FOCUS: As a family-owned business with over 28 years of experience in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, The Morrison Group builds stunning homes that function with a design flow that suits families — families that want to relax, entertain, grow, or come together to celebrate. AWARDS/ RECOGNITIONS: The Morrison Group was the first Fort Worth Magazine Dream Home builder and has come back in 2025 — a testament to their level of luxury home construction. WHY CLIENTS CHOOSE THEM: The meticulous attention to detail of their passionate construction team, Brad Davidson and Lauren Raven, creates a precedent from the start of the project of personalized service, consideration, and professionalism. In building the Dream Home of 2025, The Morrison Group has been leading a village of people committed to their craft to create an exquisite home. MISSION STATEMENT: “Your vision. Our passion.” COMMON MISTAKES IN HOMEBUILDING: Not using selection timelines. Selection schedules are the homebuilders’ and the clients’ best tool to keep progress steady. Clarify changes to design through writing as soon as possible (builders, designers, and clients alike). FREE ADVICE: It is truly a marathon to build a custom home. Resist wanting to sprint through the process and know the ebbs and flows of activity will come together. PICTURED: Scott Sangalli, Owner; Bradford Davison, Construction Manager.

The Morrison Group 1620 Wabash Ave. Fort Worth 76107 Office 817.927.1853

morrison-group.com

FOCUS FORT WORTH MAGAZINE DREAM HOME

FOCUS: Professional and knowledgeable staff, quality products, and unbeatable customer service. AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: Over 20 years of being a C.H.I. dealer. We have acquired ELITE award status with our manufacturer, and we are a five-star distributor. MEMBERSHIPS: Accredited BBB member since 2004; International Door Association (IDA) member since 2008; awarded No. 1 garage door company in the nation for customer service in 2015. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Providing a combined 50-plus years of industry knowledge and building a company that reflects our experiences and expertise in what we do. BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY: We live in a business world where it is impossible to make everyone happy at the same time, but we will do our best every day to try. FREE ADVICE: Research all your options of garage doors and garage door operators for your long-term best interest. BIGGEST MISTAKE PEOPLE MAKE WHEN BUILDING A HOME: The biggest mistake is homeowners not understanding or realizing the product choices made in regard to safety, maintenance, and the overall aesthetics of the home. PICTURED: (back) Cameron Hieb, Victoria Henry, Derrick San Miguel; (front) Joshua Cross.

10500 E. Hurst Blvd. Hurst 76053

817.399.9092 contact@openupgaragedoors.com openupgaragedoors.com

Open Up Garage Doors

Open Up Garage Doors

FOCUS FORT WORTH MAGAZINE DREAM HOME

Otium Shades

FOCUS: Our focus is simple: to deliver the highest quality products and service while tailoring every solution to the unique needs of our clients. Whether it’s storm-rated Magnatrack outdoor shades, sleek and stylish Rowley shades, or advanced Lutron solutions, we provide versatile options that enhance comfort and control. Each project is designed with precision, using blueprint reviews and on-site laser measurements to ensure a flawless fit. Our team’s dedication to excellence has made us the No. 1 automated shade company for SI Shades in the DFW area since 2022. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: As the trusted partner of Fort Worth Magazine Dream Home builders since 2012, Otium Shades continues to earn a reputation for innovation, craftsmanship, and customer satisfaction. WHY CLIENTS CHOOSE THEM: As a division of The Otium Group, Otium Shades combines deep expertise in home automation with a specialized focus on high-end shading systems. WHAT SETS THEM APART: What sets Otium Shades apart is our holistic approach. We’re not just installers; we’re integration experts. Our shades are designed to be part of a smart, unified system — programmed to respond to time, sunlight, or user preferences. From luxury homes to commercial settings, we go beyond basic installations to create intelligent environments where shading is effortless and intuitive. MOTTO: The Premier Choice for Automated Shading in DFW. PICTURED: Aidee Esquivel , Brian Hugghins, Samaa Hugghins

5059 Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway Fort Worth 76119 817.300.1518

Otium Shades

Passion Lighting

FOCUS: Passion Lighting is a full-service showroom with thousands of lighting products on display. The 13,000-square-foot facility showcases the latest in modern, contemporary, and transitional lighting. It is the only showroom in Texas with in-house landscape lighting design and installation services. AWARDS/HONORS: Since its launch, Passion Lighting has been a standout, having been nominated for the National Lighting Showroom of the Year competition for several years, claiming the title once. PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS: Bruce Paul – certified as one of the state’s few American Lighting Association Certified Lighting Consultants (CLC’s). GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Thriving for the last 20 years while 11 showrooms departed our market over this time period. WHY CHOOSE THEM: Passion Lighting’s team of lighting professionals can assist in finding unique lighting for your home, applying the latest in lighting controls and recess lighting design, using some of the most cutting-edge products on the market, and providing full-service landscape lighting design and installation. MOTTO: “Lighting the World …with Passion.” COMMON MISTAKES IN HOME BUILDING: Using poor quality; not using advanced lighting controls; lack of specialty lighting usage such as coves, cabinet and accent/art lighting; and selecting the correct K color for all the lighting needs, both inside and outside. FREE ADVICE: Use 3000K for interior lighting for most current new building projects that are residential.

Passion Lighting

1649 W. Northwest Highway Grapevine 76051 817.310.3261

passionlighting.com

FOCUS FORT WORTH MAGAZINE DREAM HOME

SPECIALTY: New swimming pool construction, remodeling, expert repair, and weekly cleaning are specialties of Purselley Premium Pools. PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS: We have been in business for 25 years; we can start and finish a new swimming pool in five weeks; and we have guaranteed next-day cleaning and repair in our service department. WHAT SETS THEM APART: Our experience, efficiency, and our passion for serving people are what make us unique. MOTTO: Slight overkill is our motto, and we prioritize quality over value. BIGGEST MISTAKE PEOPLE MAKE: The biggest mistakes when building a pool are poor structural support and quality control. FREE ADVICE: Keep the pool design simple and use durable materials.

Purselley Premium Pools 900 Haltom Road

Renova Custom Woodworks

FOCUS: Our primary area of expertise is custom cabinetry designed to the individual style of the homeowner and the requirements of their space. AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: 2025 Face of Custom Cabinetry, Fort Worth Magazine GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Growing a company from a single person in my garage to a place that employs multiple people, encouraging both professional and personal growth. WHY CLIENTS CHOOSE THEM: We believe that we’re unique because we strive to provide an experience in buying cabinetry. Your cabinetry is the last thing you see at night and the first thing you see in the morning. As a result, we want to learn about our customers’ individual style and personality as well as how they want to use the space. MISSION STATEMENT: Our company filters everything we do through these values: Do what’s right; Take pride in your work; Work with the next person in mind; Improve constantly. COMMON MISTAKES IN HOMEBUILDING: One of the biggest mistakes we see people make is focusing on the finish (how your cabinetry looks) at the expense of function. The visual appearance of your cabinetry is always a high priority, and we create custom solutions to maximize function while elevating the visual appeal. PICTURED: (left to right) Robert Mears, Dylan Kile, Brad Tedrow, Chris Roach, Kevin Garcia; (center) Mark Crowell, Jodi Crowell.

Renova Custom Woodworks 12217 J. Rendon Road Burleson 76028 817.707.4993 renovawoodworks.com

COMPANY FOCUS: We are a family-owned business that provides hardware and decorative plumbing fixtures to custom builders and designers. PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS/AFFILIATIONS: Dallas Builders Association, Greater Fort Worth Builders Association, Hood County Builders Association, and Grapevine Chamber of Commerce. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Our greatest achievement is being a local business that continues to provide a high level of customer service and expertise in our field, competing respectively with e-commerce and larger companies. WHY CLIENTS SHOULD CHOOSE THEM: We create a unique experience from start to finish with the knowledge and dedication to bring your home to life. MISSION STATEMENT: To build lasting and impactful relationships within our community. Our core values include Teamwork, Integrity, and Customer Obsession. COMMON MISTAKES IN HOMEBUILDING: Some common mistakes people make in homebuilding include being underprepared on their budget and understanding the time it takes to build a beautiful, forever home. You must respect the process, even the highs and lows.

Ricks Hardware and Decorative Plumbing 6040 Camp Bowie Blvd., Ste. 3105 Fort Worth 76116 817.552.4057 rickshardware.com

Ricks Hardware and Decorative Plumbing

Semmelmann Interiors

FOCUS: Semmelmann Interiors is a couture interior design firm known for its expertise, radical creativity, and heart for serving others. From concept to completion, it offers turn-key interior design, construction detailing, and custom furnishings. AWARDS/ RECOGNITIONS: Named Best Interior Design Firm and one of the Best Companies to Work For in Dallas-Fort Worth, we’ve earned 10-plus ASID Design Excellence Awards and have been featured in Architectural Digest, PaperCity, Luxe Magazine, and many other esteemed publications. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Launching our own product line, The Susan Semmelmann Couture Collection (set to debut later this year). As mission-driven messengers, this marks a defining milestone that allows us to share our message in a whole new way. WHY CLIENTS CHOOSE THEM: Because we put our people first and because we’re exceptionally good at what we do. We show up with gratitude, grit, and a hands-on approach. We lead with heart, deliver with precision, and design with radical creativity. At the end of the day, we don’t just make homes beautiful. We make you feel seen, known, and loved. MOTTO: “The Spirit of Living Is in the Giving.” COMMON MISTAKES IN HOMEBUILDING: Waiting too long to engage your designer. When we’re brought in early, we can shape the entire experience from architecture to art, ensuring the vision stays cohesive and stress-free. PICTURED: Susan Semmelmann.

Semmelmann Interiors

4374 West Vickery Blvd. Fort Worth 76107 817.774.4045 semmelmanninteriors.com info@semmelmanninteriors.com

FOCUS FORT WORTH MAGAZINE DREAM STREET

Texas Paint & Wallpaper

FOCUS: Paint, Paint Supplies, Wallpaper, Window Treatments. We are the largest independently owned paint and decorating store in Texas. Benjamin Moore Paints is our flagship brand. AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: Best Paint Store, D Magazine; Preservation Award for 75 years in service. MEMBERSHIPS/AFFILIATIONS: PCA, IFMA, ASID, AllPro. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Texas Paint has been a staple in North Texas since 1947. Growing from four locations to 14 locations but maintaining a focus on service. WHY CHOOSE THEM: Product expertise, service, and value. We pride ourselves on taking that extra step to ensure you have the right product for your project. Since there are many paint choices, we want to make sure that when you leave our store, you feel like you’ve got your money’s worth. MOTTO: The Best Paint in Texas Is Texas Paint! COMMON MISTAKES IN HOMEBUILDING: Most homeowners don’t voice the product or brand they want to have in their homes. They should have a say about what products are used. FREE ADVICE: Paint samples allow you to see what your space will look like when you paint a small sample on your wall before buying the actual paint. PICTURED: Joseph Long, General Manager; James Robertson, Operations Manager; Kevin Rodgers, Outside Sales; Koi Williams, Assistant Manager; Abraham Delatorre, 3rd Key Sales.

Texas Paint & Wallpaper

6800 Camp Bowie Blvd. Fort Worth 76116

817.738.0859

5233 McCart Ave. Fort Worth 76115

817.752.9078

Waste Advantage

COMPANY FOCUS: Commercial Waste Hauling – Front Load and Construction Roll Off. AWARDS/ RECOGNITIONS: Fort Worth Magazine 2025 Dream Home Partner. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Providing a local solution for local businesses in commercial waste hauling is our company’s greatest achievement. We are committed to providing a personalized service for every customer. Our trucks are the cleanest and manned by the safest most dependable drivers in DFW. WHAT SETS THEM APART: We are local and that allows us to provide hands-on customer service experience that gets lost in the industry. We are small enough to provide a high level of customer service while being large enough to handle any project. MOTTO: Trust. Transparency. Superior Service. We strive to make “trash” as simple as it should be. COMMON MISTAKES IN HOMEBUILDING: Going with the biggest name in a trade can be just as dangerous and going with the lowest bid.

Waste Advantage

780 W. Kennedale Parkway Kennedale 76060

817.710.8078

wasteadvantagetx.com

FOCUS: WinterGreen Synthetic Grass transforms spaces of all kinds with expert artificial turf installations — from professionalgrade putting greens and safe, durable playgrounds to eye-catching backyards, front yards, pet parks, common areas, and sports training fields. No project is too big or too small for our dedicated team. AWARDS/ RECOGNITIONS: Fastest growing business in Fort Worth 2020 and 2021, BBB A+ Rating. MEMBERSHIP/AFFILIATIONS: HUB, TRAPS, BBB, IPEMA, ADA. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Over 3.4 million square feet of turf installed in over 10 years of business. WHY CHOOSE THEM: We’re a locally owned company with a skilled in-house team — no subcontractors, no shortcuts. Our non-franchise model lets us choose the best products for each project, ensuring quality, consistency, and personalized service every time. MISSION: At WinterGreen Synthetic Grass, we deliver top-tier artificial turf installations with unmatched quality and care. Founded by a hands-on expert who mastered the trade firsthand, we take pride in our skilled, in-house team — crafting lasting landscapes that elevate every space. COMMON MISTAKES IN HOMEBUILDING: Waiting until the end to plan outdoor spaces. Landscaping — especially quality synthetic turf — should be part of the vision from day one to maximize curb appeal, function, and value. PICTURED: (back, l to r) Ashley Moore, Fallon, Winter Moore; (front, l to r) Yanna, Mila.

WinterGreen Synthetic Grass

1507 E. First St. Fort Worth 76102 817.386.7261 wintergreengrass.com

WinterGreen Synthetic Grass

Yard Art Outdoor Living

FOCUS: Yard Art Outdoor Living specializes in luxury outdoor furniture and décor, curating highend pieces that elevate exterior living spaces. We focus on blending comfort, craftsmanship, and enduring style for residential and commercial settings. AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS: Yard Art has been consistently recognized by leading manufacturers for excellence in showroom presentation, customer satisfaction, and sales performance. MEMBERSHIPS/AFFILIATIONS: We proudly collaborate with premier outdoor furniture brands like OW Lee, Telescope, Homecrest, and maintain affiliations with design trade associations to stay at the forefront of industry trends. GREATEST PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT: Our greatest achievement is becoming a trusted destination for designers, homeowners, and builders seeking timeless, quality outdoor furnishings — and creating outdoor spaces people truly love to live in. WHY CHOOSE THEM: Clients choose Yard Art for our expert guidance, curated collections, and white-glove service. We go beyond selling furniture — we help you design a lifestyle. MISSION STATEMENT: “Elevating outdoor living through exceptional design, quality and unmatched service.” COMMON MISTAKE IN HOMEBUILDING: Overlooking the outdoor space during planning. It’s not an afterthought — it’s an extension of the home. FREE ADVICE: Invest in quality pieces that withstand weather and time. Great outdoor furniture isn’t seasonal — it’s a year-round asset.

Yard Art Outdoor Living

5238 S. Hulen St. Fort Worth 76132

817.946.0362

YAFW@MyYardArt.com

1900 S. Main St. (Inside Stacy Building) Grapevine 76051

817.328.0200

YAG@MyYardArt.com

6407 Colleyville Blvd. Colleyville 76034

817.421.2414

YAC@MyYardArt.com

- Fort Worth

The ones to trust in Tarrant County.

From Fort Worth to Southlake, these real estate pros know Tarrant County inside and out. They know the schools, parks, shops and restaurants. The culture, history and hidden gems. Most of all, they know you .

Congratulations to our agents who have been named 2025 Top REALTORS® by Fort Worth Magazine!

From left: Thurman Schweitzer, Ashley Mooring, Adrianne Holland, Renee Eiband, Raleigh Green, Margaret Motheral, Gwen Harper, Andrea Miranda, Virginia Durham, David Chicotsky

How two Horned Frogs traded pom-poms for ‘SOLD’ signs.

Picture it. The early 1990s. Deborah Bailey was a TCU cheerleader. Kandy Hale Maberry was a TCU Showgirl. They may have been on different squads — but, boy, did those squads know how to join forces to cheer on the home team.

Today, Deborah and Kandy have combined forces once again. Now, as business partners, confidants and friends, they have built the Bailey Maberry Group, a powerhouse team of hardworking, kind-hearted real estate professionals who bring leadership, integrity and fun to everything they do.

Buying, selling, investing, advice. Negotiating deals. Celebrating wins. In Fort Worth and far beyond, their teamwork makes your dream work.

Live. Life. Inspired.

City or country. Residential or commercial. Here or there. The Sustala Group — one of Fort Worth Magazine’s 2025 Top REALTORS® honorees — has rede ned real estate with its entrepreneurial spirit, strategic marketing and commitment to excellence. They not only help their clients achieve every goal, they also help them achieve their most informed, inspired life.

Blazing Trails in Fort Worth Real Estate for 25 Years

We’re proud to celebrate these exceptional agents whose achievements reflect the very best of who we are. For 25 years, our company has built a legacy of integrity, hard work, and outstanding service to this community — and these honorees carry that tradition forward with every client they serve.

Steve

The Joseph Berkes Group

Laura Fauntleroy

817.343.5686

laura.fauntleroy@williamstrew.com

With calm confidence and a client-first mindset, Laura Fauntleroy brings heart and strategy to every transaction. A Fort Worth local and Navy spouse, her background in psychology offers unique insight and guidance. Known for honesty and responsiveness, Laura supports buyers and sellers alike—ensuring they feel informed, understood, and empowered through every step of their real estate journey.

steven.jones@williamstrew.com

“Steven is the consummate professional. Unlike many real estate agents, he wanted to find us that perfect fit and never once pressured us. He offered great advice and insights given his deep knowledge of the area and its numerous neighborhoods. Great communicator, awesome gentleman and can’t recommend him highly enough.” - Corinne

patricia@williamstrew.com

Williams - 817.570.9401 | martha@williamstrew.com

Freeze - 817.559.5529 | trey.freeze@williamstrew.com

amanda@williamstrew.com

The Martha Williams Group delivers exceptional real estate service rooted in deep Fort Worth ties and community engagement. As lifelong locals, Martha, Amanda, Patricia, and Trey combine market expertise with genuine passion for the city—earning trust, loyalty, and repeat clients through personalized care and proven results.

The Perry Group

Spencer Perry 817.964.5210 spencer@williamstrew.com

Ashley Everett 817.528.8232 ashley.everett@williamstrew.com

Discover The Perry Group with Spencer Perry and Ashley Everett — your trusted partners in real estate. Specializing in luxury homes, land, and lake properties, we deliver expert guidance with a personal touch. Whether buying or selling, count on The Perry Group for professionalism, market knowledge, and results that move you forward. Let’s get started today!

Rozi Stone

817.454.0250 rozi@williamstrew.com

Rozi is an agent with energy and commitment and has over 25 years of experience in residential real estate. She knows each client is unique and truly listens and customizes the process to fit the needs of each client.

Rozi never stops learning and you can count on receiving the best service from a top performer in the real estate industry.

817.371.5585 steve.berry@williamstrew.com

We’re

Leading with Heart

to recognize these outstanding agents honored as Top Realtors. Their

professionalism, and commitment to service reflect the values that have guided Ebby Halliday agents for eight decades. These professionals continue to raise the bar and make a lasting impact in the communities they serve.

817.454.6479

Paulette Greene Group

Success through collaboration.

Congratulations to our LEAGUE agents honored by Fort Worth Magazine as top REALTORS® in the $10 million + category!

Back Row (Left to right)

Christa Holbert  Ross Utley  Tracy Wiley  Sara Drehobl

Front Row (Left to Right)

Corey Bearden  Amy Normand  Stefani Hill

Back Row (Left to Right)

Devon & Alberto Reyes  Anna Kate Tonore

Kellie Bullinger  Elle Snodgrass

Front Row (Left to Right)

Heather Teems  Carley J Moore  Mark Philpot

*not pictured: Josiah & Jenny Keas, Shauna Tucker, Jayme Taylor

by Clay Munny

The State of Real Estate in Cowtown

Bottom line: Fort Worth continues to have a strong real estate market, and it’s unlikely to change anytime soon.

Despite what some locals might think — or hope, for that matter — it was long ago that Fort Worth shed the up-and-coming city or hidden gem monikers. With the population growing by 25% over the past decade and officially hitting the seven-digit mark last July, it’s clear Cowtown is no longer Texas’ best-kept secret. And with the city’s economic stability, favorable tax environment, relative affordability, exciting new industries (film and technology, for example), and cowboy culture experiencing a boom in popularity, Fort Worth has become an attractive destination for building, buying, and financing.

The Hottest Market in 2025?

Late last year, Nick Wooten, a real estate reporter for The Dallas Morning News, citing an annual forecast conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, proclaimed that Fort Worth-Dallas was poised to become the nation’s hottest real estate market in 2025.

“DFW has enjoyed an enviable post-pandemic recovery,” the report says. “A combination of affordability, growth, and economic diversity should continue to attract new residents and businesses to the area.”

Wooten, in an interview with Texas Standard, specifically cited Fort Worth’s northern growth as a contributor to the potential of a strong real estate market. “The industrial market in Fort Worth with Hillwood and Alliance is just booming. So, you’ve got growth in a lot of different directions.”

A Necessary Shift

Those on the market for a new home or looking to invest might’ve noticed

that Fort Worth’s housing market has recently transitioned from a seller-dominated landscape to a more balanced — and in some areas, buyerfriendly — environment. According to M&D Real Estate, modest declines in home prices (2%–3% year-over-year), rising inventory, and cautious buyers are at the crux of what’s reshaping the market — and it’s not such a bad thing. After years of rapid appreciation driven by low interest rates, increased supply is giving buyers more leverage and negotiation power than they’ve had in recent years.

“The Fort Worth region is seeing more stability in housing than in recent years,” said Paul Epperley, president of the Tarrant Countyarea Realtor association. “With more inventory and greater affordability, it’s an encouraging time for first-time buyers and growing families looking to make a move.”

However, according to Greater Fort Worth Association of Realtors, the market still tilts toward sellers. Despite an increase in active listings and slight decline in closed sales, home prices are holding steady. Thus, affordability persists as the biggest constraint for buyers. With mortgage rates hovering around 6.5%–6.8% and home prices still elevated, buyers remain hesitant to pull the trigger on large transactions. Many experts suggest a 10%–20% price correction may be needed to restore healthy transaction volumes.

The Luxury Landscape

According to a February article published in Dallas Business Journal, ultra luxury home sales ($10 million-plus listings) in the metroplex surged in

2024 — jumping 71% in sales volume from $104 million in 2023 to $178.7 million last year. While, obviously, most Fort Worthians won’t be able to afford such real estate, the sale of multimillion-dollar mansions points to a strong regional economy and potential for investment and development. An article in The Real Deal, a real estate news organization, dubbed Fort Worth-Dallas the ultraluxury capital of Texas.

And the sale of such homes is happening while prices in affluent areas in and around Fort Worth greatly increased over the past few years. Stacker, using data compiled by Zillow, released an article in April showing Westover Hills as the city with the fastest growing home prices in Texas. According to the data, the typical home value in the west Fort Worth town currently sits at over $2.5 million. This marks a one-year price increase of 10.1% from this time in 2024 and a 74.1% price increase over the past five years.

As is universally agreed upon by experts, despite shifting market conditions, rising inventory levels, and general economic uncertainty, Fort Worth remains a strong real estate market with long-term growth potential.

Stats from the April 2025 Housing Report by Greater Fort Worth Association of Realtors

• Homes sold: 895 (↓12.9% YoY)

• Median price: $338,000 (↑3.5% YoY)

• Inventory: 3.8 months (up from 2.8)

• Days on market: 54

• Days to close: 30

Highest-Priced ZIP Codes by Average Sales Price

• 75022: $1,158,781

• 76005: $700,522

• 75063: $682,400

• 75028: $622,630

• 75054: $591,833

• 76092: $575,000

• 76179: $555,000

• 76021: $540,000

• 76034: $535,000

• 76008: $559,060

2025 Top Realtors

PLATINUM PRODUCER

($30M+)

Jamie Adams

Jeannie Anderson

Kevin Andrews

Srinivas Arava

Kim Assaad

Michael Avidon

Laura Barnett

Susanna Gorski

Bartolomei

Kim Bedwell

Amber Butcher

Brad Crouch

Ida Duwe-Olsen

Brandee Escalante

Steve Fortner

Sharon Hodnett

Denise Johnson

Don Lawyer

Stacey Leslie

Susan Mathews

Kim Miller

DeeAnn Moore

Gina Mullen

Ryan Pafford

Travis Plumb

Greg Potts

Dona Robinson

Joanna Rodriguez

Jollete Ryon-Schoeve

Harrison Sharp

Jeremy Smith

Roxann Taylor

Surya Thapa

Ashton Theiss

JD Tomlin

Hailee Torres

Eric Walsh

Nolan Whisenhunt

Randy White

John Zimmerman

INDIVIDUAL PRODUCER

($10M+)

Juan Manuel Acosta

Brenda Adams

Shelly Adams

Kolawole Adebisi

Denton Aguam

Bobbie Alexander

Amy Allen

David Allen

Katherine Allen

Flor Alvarado

Lynae Amason

Curt Anderson

Chalamaine Armstrong

Christy Arnold

Tahrima Arshad

Frankie Arthur

Jacob Ascher

Scott Ashford

Marsha Ashlock

Rees Atkins

Carla Atwal

Keith Ayres

Cindy Bailey

Marie Bailey

Lucile Bangerter

Kelsi Bannahan

Felicia Barber

Marcy Barkemeyer

Ryan Barnes

Kaylan Baucom

Tonia Beard

Corey Bearden

Dana Beaty

Jan Belcher

Don Bell

Jeff Bell

Jonathan Bell

Jared Benson

Joseph Berkes

Steve Berry

Steve Berry

Jenelle Berry-Cook

Renuka Bhandari

Nina Bhanot

James Biedenharn

Earl Bilbrey

Bonnie Billingsley

Sandra Binner

Lisa Birdsong

Gary Bisha

Billy Bishop

Janice Blackburn

Lori Blad

Shaley Blanks

Jamie Bodiford

Julie Bologna

Jordan Borders

Mariela Borjon

Pamela Boronski

Vijaya Borra

Sarah Boyd

Donna Bradshaw

Beth Brake

Jamie Patricia Brannagan

Rachael Brenneman

Brady Bridges

Stephen Brooks

Charles Brown

Matthew Brown

Stephanie Browne

Joel Broyles

Alicia Brunson

Jessica Buchanan

Kurt Buehler

Kellie Bullinger

Letta Burger

Maggie Burgess

Angelique Burkett

Sherri Burlison

Suzanne Burt

Ben Caballero

Tiffany Caballero

Yvonne Callahan

Carole Campbell

Gena Campbell

Christie Cannon

Frank Capovilla

Beth Caraway

Cason Caraway

Marla Carrico

Brandon Carrington

Dalton Carroll

Beth Caudill

Kelly Cawyer

Spencer Cearnal

Christina Chambliess

Alexander Chandler

Craig Chapman

Jan Chavoya

Jeff Cheney

Nicole Chevins

Thanh Chi Tran

David Chicotsky

Srinivas Chidurala

Jean Christenberry

James Cianelli

Dennis Ciani

Tim Clark

Robert Clayton

Matthew Cline

Terre Coble

Chad Collins

Ryan Collinsworth

Rena Connors

Jonathan Cook

Susan Cook

Lane Cooper

Shaune Michael Corbett

Emmanuel Cordero

Sandy Cotton

Bailee Cox

Michael Crain

Matthew Crites

Jenevieve Croall

Sheila Cross

Allen Crumley

Desirae Cruz

Christina Danner

Sunny Darden

Devin Daussat

Darin Davis

Jordan Davis

Karla Davis

Nikole Davis

Shirley Davis

Robert De Franceschi

Mandie Dealey

Melinda Deckert

Hunter Dehn

Rose Depoe

Cathy Derstein

Martha Dever

David DeVries

Dillon Dewald

Sophie Tel Diaz

Tanika Donnell

Danielle Doty

Sara Drehobl

Aaron Driggs

Redonna Dunlap

Alondra Duran

Katie Durham

Connie Durnal

Tracy Dye

Tommy Dyer

Valrie Eberstein

Nanette Ecklund-Luker

Renee Eiband

Jason Ellerbusch

Lisa Ellis

J. Andrew English

Ryan Enos

Samy Eskander

Nadia Fakih

Amanda Falconer

Danielle Farr

Laura Fauntleroy

Hannah Fentriss

Parker Fentriss

Brooke Finnigan

Betty Joyce Fish

Brittany Fish

Susie Fitzgerald

Brandell Flores

Hudson Floyd

Jill Fochesato

Linda Fogle

Lori Fowler

Terri Fox

Tomie Fox

Jennifer Frank

Tod Franklin

Cilia Frappier

Stacy Fritchen

Christian Fussell

Marisol Gallegos

Beth Gaskill

Roslyn Gauntt

2025 Top Realtors

Lori Gentry

Troy George

Rebekah Gilbert

Susan Gilchrest

Kam Gill

John Giordano

Robin Glaysher

Elizabeth Gleason

Gina Godsey

Marla Goode

Alexa Goodman

Sesha Gorantla

Jacque Gordon

Nancy Granby

Julie Gray

Marty Gray

Teri Gray

Cathy Green

Megan Green

Shelley Green

Tony Green

Curtis Greene

Paulette Greene

Sarah Gunnip

Nitin Gupta

Elyse Guthrie

Monika Guzman

Eric Hacker

Sha Hair

Chase Hall

Chris Hall

Dani Hampton

Ashley Hanson

Raquel Harbin

Melissa Hardy

Sarah Hardy

Daniel Harker

Gwen Harper

Julie Harper

Caroline Harris

Keely L. Harris

Ashley Hart

Kason Hart

Jenilee Harwell

Tina Hearne

Bonnie Hennum

Kevin Allen Henry

Jesus Hernandez

Michael Hershenberg

Amy Herzog

Cathy Hickman

Christie Hill

Mona Dale Hill

Stefani Hill

Teresa Hill

Carrie Himel

Lori Hinderliter

Cami Hobbs Riley

Danny Hodges

Christa Holbert

Adrianne Holland

Jennifer Holland

Kristen Holle

Carol Holloway Stoneham

Dan Holmes

Jennifer Holmes

Lee Holtzman

Haley Howard

Angie Hudson

Erika Hudson

Matthew Hudson

Pam Hudson

Kacey Huggins

Cassandra Hughes

Gavin Hughes

Wendy Hulkowich

Debbie Hunn

Melanie Hunt

Saman Ilangasinghe

Kelly Ingram

David Inman

Adrian Jacobs

Lori Jacobson

Zahra Jalaluddin

Melissa Jenkins-Dill

Rene Jensen

Shalvi Jhaveri

Aaron Jistel

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CHOWTOWN

LOCAL EATS AND RESTAURANT NEWS

Dining Alone

As Fort Worth’s restaurant scene flourishes, those flying solo often find themselves navigating a landscape not quite designed for one. Will Fort Worth restaurants, and other Cowtown diners, ever know what to do with those who choose to dine alone?

WHAT WE’RE CHEWING OVER THIS MONTH:

On page 142: Popular Fort Worth chef Jenna Kinard and her husband are teaming up with a Kansas City restaurateur to transform the historic Fort Worth Public Market this fall. On page 144: Bocca Osteria Romana releases its new summer menu - and shares news of a forthcoming new concept. On page 146: Chef Rosario Ortega shares four recipes from La Cabrona’s stellar menu.

by Malcolm Mayhew

Single Serving

Our food writer wonders aloud why dining solo in other cities is widely accepted, but in Fort Worth it’s still taboo.

Afew weeks ago, I was dining at one of my favorite new Fort Worth restaurants, Bocca Osteria Romana, trying out some of their new dishes — an experience I write about elsewhere in this issue.

As I often do, I was dining solo. Across the room, an attractive young woman caught my eye — and then apparently, I caught hers. She gave me a big Texas smile, then another one.

This went on for a few minutes. I was anxious to tell my wife: “I’m 53 and I still got it!”

Then she got up, locked eyes with me, and headed straight for my table, as if she knew me. Oh, jeez, I thought to myself as she inched closer, I’ve been flirting with someone I know. My gosh, I hope it’s not someone from church.

“Hello,” said she. “Hey,” I replied. Whew, I don’t know her.

“Are you waiting on somebody?”

I’m on my second course. You’ve been looking at me for 20 minutes. Clearly not.

“No, dining alone.”

Here it got weird: “Do you want to join us?” At that point, her man friend was looking at me, waiting to see how I’d react.

“That’s very sweet of you to ask, but I’m OK.”

For clarity’s sake, I added: “I’m sorry, but do I know you?” Maybe I was blanking on her, after all.

“No, I don’t think so. We just feel sorry for you.”

First off, I should commend her for asking me to join them. Sometimes I think this city is growing too fast and that the people moving here are messing it up, and all this development is eradicating Fort Worth’s Fort Worth vibe. But then something like that happens, and I’m reminded of why I’ve lived in the area for 53 years. People are just friendly here.

Secondly, uh, what did she just say to me?

I honestly don’t remember how I responded, I was so aghast that someone would say that. Whatever I said, it shooed her away and she and I spent the rest of the night playing eyeball dodgeball.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized how those few words perfectly sum up how Fort Worth, which is supposedly growing into this great food city, still doesn’t know how to deal with solo diners. What’s commonplace in other cities is virtually taboo here.

“There’s definitely a stigma attached

Illustration by Lauren Deitzer

to eating alone,” says my friend Carlos Cueva, a frequent solo diner and restaurant manager who currently works at the new Duchess restaurant in the South Main area. “Some people think it means this person couldn’t get a date or they got stood up. Sometimes people just want to eat alone. I know I do.”

Like Carlos, I sometimes enjoy having a nice meal to myself. Nothing against my wife, my family, my friends, but I actually look forward to nights when my dining companions are a perfectly cooked steak and a nice glass of wine.

“Me, too,” says Coco Zhang, an instructor at TCU who also enjoys dining solo. “Dining with someone else, whether it’s friends or family, takes planning — and sometimes you don’t want to plan anything, where to eat, what to order, what time to be there. You just want to go eat somewhere that’s nice and order what you want to order and eat at your own pace.”

You might assume people like us don’t like people or we’re introverts. Nothing wrong with either. But when I eat alone, I don’t hide behind a book or play with my phone. I do what I always do: I look around, smile at people, chat with the server, and just enjoy the rhythm of the restaurant. Give me an open kitchen, and I’ll be transfixed for two hours.

That experience can be easily marred by someone who isn’t well-trained in dealing with myriad dining situations. It sometimes begins with square one — the host or hostess. There are two words that I absolutely dread this person will choose to greet me with: “Just one?”

“Yes, yes, yes, that is terrible,” says Zhang, who has also been greeted with those hurtful words.

When I was younger, I worked in restaurants for several years. During my time at El Chico at the old Seminary South mall, while training as a host, I asked that very question to a guest who was by herself, and immediately the playful smile she bounced in with devolved into a look of embarrassment. I totally called her out for being alone. My manager, who witnessed the

exchange, pulled me aside and gave me the best advice I ever received in a restaurant: “You are the person who sets the tone for their meal — don’t ruin someone’s meal by asking if they’re alone.”

Sometimes when I eat alone in Fort Worth, I feel like I’m continuing to be paid back for that careless comment. Instead of “Just one?,” a more appropriate query would be, “Table for one?” Or “How many are in your party?” The latter allows me to set the tone. I can say, “Just me tonight.”

Zhang suggests something even playful: “Dining solo with us today?” Something to make me and other solo diners feel at ease, something that doesn’t put a target on our backs the second we walk in. Some people feel self-conscious about eating alone; a poorly trained greeter can exacerbate that.

Even worse than “just one?” is the absolutely unacceptable “Can I help you?” I received this greeting at two of the top hotel restaurants in the city. Hotel restaurants. You know, where there are a lot of solo travelers. Business people. Family members waiting on other family members to show up. These are restaurants whose greeters should know better. But at both places, I didn’t even get a “Hello.” No “How are you today?” No “Welcome.” Instead, “Can I help you?”

I complained to managers both times. I told the greeters, too, they should actually greet, not begin their interaction with a guest with a condescending question. In just a matter of a few seconds, a matter of a few uttered words, a greeter can uplift your experience or destroy it.

“Too many businesses don’t really understand that the core of their business is making people feel good,” one of my favorite food writers, Ruth Reichl, told the Harvard Business Review a few years ago. “Whether it’s walking into a store or a restaurant, or being on an airplane, most people go through life hoping that good things will happen to them, and they return to businesses that make those things happen.”

Service itself has never been an issue for me when dining alone, strangely enough. I’ve heard horror stories about how single diners can be ignored in favor of bigger parties — parties that have the potential to tip significantly more. Hasn’t happened to me, though. Parties of one, I can tell you from experience, are usually a breeze for servers. They’re friendly, low maintenance, and, nine times out of ten, good tippers. I often made more off a table of one than a table of four.

Probably a little blindly, I compare Fort Worth to my second favorite city, New York, where dining alone is common. Zhang, who used to live in Brooklyn, thinks New York’s cooler with solo diners because of the sheer number of people who live alone. Also, dining here, especially at a nice restaurant, she points out, is often the time when family and friends get together, whereas in New York or Chicago or another big city, eating at a nice spot in town is the norm for many.

“In New York, it’s also about efficiency and convenience,” she says. “Here, if you want to eat alone, most people just make something at home. In New York, it’s just as easy to walk to a restaurant around the corner. Dining alone is just a bigger part of the culture there.”

On an optimistic note, Carlos says he’s noticed a shift lately in how greeters and restaurants are being trained to better accommodate the needs of solo diners. As a manager, Carlos is even helping train the next wave of fine dining staffers.

“I have noticed a big shift in how restaurant staffers are being trained to deal with various scenarios,” he says. “The bigger the city gets, the more restaurants that open, the more situations greeters and other restaurant employees are going to be expected to deal with. From what I’ve seen, from what I’ve been trying to do with service, we’re heading the right direction.”

I sure hope so. Because I certainly don’t want you feeling sorry for me.

by John Henry

Flavored by History

The culinary Kinards are reimagining the 1930s Public Market with three concepts built on heritage and heart.

The highly anticipated reintroduction of the Fort Worth Public Market building in downtown’s southwest corridor got a whole lot more intriguing in recent weeks with news of what’s in store for it.

Jenna and Micah Kinard are partnering with Wilks Development to

bring three concepts to the almost 20,000-square-foot building that served as a farmers market when it was constructed more than 90 years ago.

The centerpiece will be upscale dining with what the team is calling

“Texas flair.” Madrone will feature chef’s tasting menus and private dining experiences with a focus on seasonal, locally sourced ingredients.

Madrone is a Texas evergreen tree that thrives in West Texas, and the flavor of the restaurant will be uniquely Texana, with a focus on seasonal native ingredients providing, says Jenna, “a taste of Texas in an elevated way.”

Complementing the restaurant will be Willow, a cocktail bar and lounge with a premium liquor locker program.

On the building’s north side will be the Public Market Café & Goods, which will feature freshly baked goods, coffee, and locally made products. The Kinards plan to grow hydroponic produce on-site, including microgreens, herbs, and tomatoes, while curating goods from regional farmers and makers, an homage to the building’s origins.

The Kinards are approaching the enterprise the way a monk approaches a sacred altar — complete devotion and reverence to the history and significance of the place.

“That’s what it has come back to again and again — what an honor it is to get to steward such a historic building, such a historic place that has meant a great deal to so many people for many, many years,” Jenna Kinard says. “We’re being very intentional about building relationships within each concept and honoring what public market was to begin with. So, that’s kind of the heartbeat of every concept.”

Renovation of the Public Market building and the adjacent active senior apartment community, The Harden, began in June 2023. The project is on track for completion in early fall.

Jenna Kinard has established herself as a chef in Southern-influenced cuisine through roles as executive chef of Max’s Wine Dive, Hotel Drover’s 97 West, and Jellico’s at the Westin Southlake. She was also the winner of Fort Worth Magazine’s Top

Micah and Jenna Kinard

Chef competition in 2019.

The partnership with Wilks is an evolution. The parties considered a collaboration at The District at Willow Park, a Wilks development in Parker County. The Wilks people had another idea for her.

“The more we listened to her, to us it made more sense to kind of look at Fort Worth in the Public Market building,” says Jess Green, Wilks Development senior vice president. “I think she agreed right off the bat, honestly. Fort Worth is where her heart is and where she’s really had a lot of passion to do things, so it just kind of made sense.”

Logistically, partnering with one team on three concepts made sense, too, says Green, who called the prospect of three different vendors a “complicated nightmare.”

The Kinards worked out three different concepts for three different buildings for Willow Park.

This will be the first time husband and wife have worked together. They’ve been talking about it for a while. They did a test run running a culinary program in Alaska, Jenna relates.

“Micah kind of came on as my sous-chef,” Jenna says laughing. “But for the first time, we worked every day straight for four months, no days off. It was very grueling work, but we got to work as a team, and really it was not only marriage bootcamp, but also let’s see if we can actually do this. And, man, we thrived, and we just started getting so excited and started brainstorming again.”

That’s when Wilks reconnected. Green told them he wanted to show them a building.

“We pulled up, and I was like, ‘No freaking way!’” Micah says. “‘Are you kidding? The Public Market?’ Jess said, ‘What do you think about this?’ We said, for which concept? He said, ‘Maybe all of your concepts.’”

Says Jenna: “We are so elated. What an honor, what privilege. We’re so stoked.”

by Malcolm Mayhew

Heat Wave

New things are on the horizon for the owners of Bocca Osteria Romana, the city’s hottest restaurant, including a new summer menu and a soon-to-open new concept.

For brothers Alessandro and Alfonso Salvatore, the last year has been, in Alessandro’s words, a “tremendous blessing.”

Last summer, the brothers seemingly came out of nowhere — McAllen, to be exact — and took Fort

Worth’s culinary scene by storm with their Italian restaurant, Bocca Osteria Romana, which opened in August in the South Main area. No corporate backers, no marketing campaigns, not even a press release — they opened their restaurant in

the exact way you’re not supposed to open a restaurant.

Their DIY approach to launching Bocca is as refreshing as the restaurant itself, with its scratch-made food, warm, attentive service, and lively atmosphere. It’s remarkable how these relative newcomers to Fort Worth have so perfectly understood our city, cultivating a welcoming space for diners of all ages, races, and Italian food expertise.

The city, and its culinary scene, have quickly embraced them. Last year, Fort Worth Magazine named Bocca the best new restaurant of the past two years, and earlier this spring, CultureMap named Alessandro Fort Worth’s best chef of the year. There’s also the obvious thing that illustrates their talents: packed dining rooms every night they’re open.

“You cannot imagine how grateful we are,” Alessandro says. “It’s unbelievable how much love and support we get from Fort Worth. We honestly didn’t know what people would think of us or our food. We didn’t know Fort Worth very well at all. The love and support have been such a tremendous blessing.”

The restaurant changes its menu seasonally and with summer here, so are several new offerings. Among the new dishes is a light, lemon-tinged spaghetti featuring chitarra, a unique square-cut pasta, its shape the result of the traditional tool used to make it: a “chitarra,” named for the strings it uses to cut the dough.

Another new pasta is the seasonal tagliatelle; the summer version is made with a blend of five different mushrooms. Among new seafood offerings is an eye-catching octopus tentacle served on a bed of cannellini bean puree, the tentacle cooked perfectly, its skin nicely crisped, its meat supple and flavorful.

There’s also a beautiful beet salad, along with an appetizer of whipped ricotta, local honey, pomegranates, and crostini. Alessandro nicknamed the latter “scarpetta.”

“Fare la scarpetta — in Italian it

Photos by Thanin Viriyaki

Octopus is on the spring menu at Bocca Osteria Romana.

means using bread to soak up what’s left of your sauce on your plate after you’ve finished eating,” he says.

Bocca has been doing so well, the brothers have decided to open a second concept in the old Funky Town Picnic & Brewery space at 401 Bryan Ave., just around the corner from Bocca. Alessandro says that while they’re still working on the name and menu, the concept will incorporate elements of Mexican, Italian, Latin, and Caribbean fare.

“We are definitely going to do some creative pizzas,” he says. “One pizza we’ve talked about doing is a Hawaiian pizza topped with al pastor meat from a spit, fresh pineapple, and a Mexican salsa.”

Alessandro says the restaurant will tell the story of their lives through food and atmosphere. “Our journey has taken us across the globe, and we want this restaurant to show that — little nods to each place that has shaped us.” He says he’s hoping to open by the end of the year.

The Chowtown Lowdown

new menu

F1 Smokehouse, local restaurateur Felipe Armenta’s barbecue-themed restaurant in the Cultural District, has a new name and new menu. Now called F1 Bar & Grill, it has evolved into more of a midrange steakhouse and less of a barbecue joint. Armenta says the term “smokehouse” was confusing to some diners, who may have thought the word had something to do with smoking or vaping. While he’s kept several barbecue items on the menu, he’s added wagyu beef steaks sourced from his own Central Texas ranch, including a 6-ounce filet mignon and an 8-ounce flank steak. Other menu items include truffle honey fried chicken, a jalapeno-cheddar wagyu corn dog, a smashburger with bacon jam, and a chopped brisket melt. Armenta opened F1 in 2023 with Graham Elliot, the Chicago celebrity chef with whom Armenta went into business. Armenta owns some of Fort Worth’s most popular restaurants, including Pacific Table, Towne Grille, Press Cafe, and Maria’s Mexican Kitchen, which is named after his mother. An F1 Bar & Grill will soon open in Odessa, one of many concepts Armenta and Elliot have in the works. 517 University Drive, f1barandgrill.com

Speaking of prolific restaurant owners, Tim Love has opened his 14th concept, a food and games spot called Stewart’s Croquet & Cocktails, along the Trinity Trails in White Settlement. Named after Love’s father, Stewart’s is meant to conjure images of English country clubs where people play croquet and dine on highbrow light bites. As such, the menu includes several caviar offerings, along with zucchini carpaccio, a lobster roll, and a crab cake with a fennel and apple salad. There are drinks, of course, like craft cocktails and specially made martinis. Inside is a snug affair, with room for about 28 diners. Outside is a 15,000-square-foot lawn area devoted to croquet — a game Love played with his father as he was growing up. “We had a lot of fun playing when I was younger,” Love says. Once again, Love brings to Fort Worth a wholly unique concept. 4424 White Settlement Road, stewartscocktailclub.com

Summer has kicked in, which means the Hotel Drover is back to doing its popular Backyard Unplugged concerts. Throughout the summer, on every Friday and Saturday night, singer/songwriter types play under the stars on the hotel’s outdoor stage. June performers include Cory Michael, Austin English, Jay Smith, Tommy Luke, Sarah Schafer, and Adrian Garza. Along with the tunes, there are new bites to be had. New food/bev menu items for the hotel’s veranda bar and pool area include barbacoa quesadillas and watermelon mojitos. I’m more of an inside guy — and definitely a breakfast dude — so dying to try some of the new breakfast dishes at the hotel’s 97 West restaurant, like New York strip chicken-fried steak and eggs, banana Fosters French toast, and a chile con queso omelette with chorizo and black pepper bacon. 200 Mule Alley, hoteldrover.com

Dallas Fort Worth International Airport is paying more and more attention to hometown teams — have you guys seen the FortWorth Magazinenewsstand? Pretty, pretty cool. The airport recently announced several North Texas restaurants will open airport spinoff locales, such as Olivella’s Pizzeria, Mex-American Mesero, La La Land Kind Cafe, Velvet Taco and acclaimed Lake Austin-based bakery Mozart’s Bakehouse. In addition, a 24-hour Raising Cain’s will open in Terminal B while the country’s first 24-hour Chick-fil-A will open in Terminal A Pier; it’ll be open Monday-Saturday, of course. dfwairport.com

Bocca’s

includes, clockwise, whipped ricotta, and two new pastas.

COCKTAIL DE CAMARÓN

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds 41-50 shrimp (peeled and deveined)

• 1 bottle of Clamato (32 ounces)

• 1 can of tomato sauce (15.6 ounces)

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

• 1/2 cup lime juice

• 1 tablespoon Tapatio sauce (you may add more if you like it spicy)

• 1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic

• 1 teaspoon salt and black pepper

• 3 tomatoes

• 1/2 onion

• 2 stalks of celery

• 1 bunch of cilantro

• 2 ripe avocados

• Optional: 1 serrano or couple jalapeños

Instructions:

1. Boil 6 cups of water with 2 generous tablespoons of salt. Add shrimp and boil for 5 minutes. The shrimp should turn a bright pink and opaque white color. Strain and set in the fridge to cool.

2. While the shrimp is cooling, dice tomatoes, onions, celery, cilantro, and optional jalapeño or serrano pepper.

3. For cocktail sauce, whisk together tomato sauce, tomato paste, Clamato, Tapatio, lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic, black pepper, and salt to taste.

4. Combine chilled shrimp, diced vegetables, and cocktail sauce. Garnish with sliced avocado and serve with saltine crackers, tortilla chips, or tostadas.

4 Courses

Rosario Ortega, co-owner and executive chef at West 7th Tex-Mex joint La Cabrona, shares colorful and scrumptious recipes for your next four-course culinary adventure. But be forewarned, these dishes are sure to become popular requests in any household that successfully makes them.

By Rosario Ortega

Photos by Richard W. Rodriguez

MOLE

Ingredients:

• Chicken

• 4 to 5 pounds bone-in chicken thighs

• 1 large onion

• Corn tortillas

• Salt to taste

Mole sauce:

• 1 bottle Doña Maria (8.25 ounces)

• 10 guajillo peppers

• 5 Ancho chiles

• 5 Chile de Cambray peppers (double the amount of this pepper if you like it spicy)

• 1 cup roasted peanuts

• 1 cup roasted sesame seeds

• 1 cup roasted pumpkin seeds

• 1 round chocolate Abuelita

• 1 teaspoon each: cumin, garlic powder, black pepper, bay leaves, thyme, cinnamon

• 3 to 4 whole cloves

Instructions:

1. Boil chicken with 6 cups water, 1/2 of the onion, and salt generously to taste. Boil until fully cooked for about 20 minutes. Once chicken is cooked, save the water you boiled the chicken in (you will use it later to blend with the sauce).

2. Prep the dry chiles, guajillo, ancho, and cambray. Remove the stem and seeds and boil in water for 10 minutes. Strain the water.

3. In a nonstick skillet, toast sesame seeds, peanuts, and pumpkin seeds. Remove, then lightly toast all spices in same skillet.

4. At the same time, fry the tortillas. Cover the entire bottom of a pan in a neutral cooking oil; you want them to be crispy but not burnt.

5. In a blender, add the toasted spices, roasted peanuts, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds and blend with 1 cup of the chicken stock. Take out the mixture and set aside.

6. In the blender, add the fried tortillas and 2 cups of chicken broth. Take out and set aside.

7. In the blender, add the cooked and strained chiles with a cup of water.

8. In a bowl, dissolve the mole paste and chocolate Abuelita and a cup of chicken broth.

9. In a skillet, on medium heat with a couple tablespoons of neutral cooking oil, add blended chiles and cook for about 5 minutes, add the toasted spices/seeds/peanut mixture as well as the blended tortillas and cook for about 5 minutes. Lastly, add the mole and chocolate mixture. Taste for salt and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. If sauce is too thick, add more chicken broth. If too thin, add more toasted tortillas.

10. Add cooked chicken back into the sauce and cook for another 10 minutes. Serve with fresh tortillas and Mexican rice on the side.

Chef Rosario Ortega embarked on her culinary journey at an early age, finding inspiration in the lively confines of her hometown, Monterrey, Mexico. With each dish, she incorporates the rich tapestry of Mexican heritage, guided by the wisdom passed down through generations. Through dedication and practice, she has mastered her craft, infusing every recipe with the soulful flavors of her upbringing.

CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP

Ingredients:

• 1 to 1 1/2-pound chicken breast

• 1 red bell pepper

• 1 large onion

• 2 tomatoes

• 1 stalk celery

• 1 bunch of cilantro

• 1 can corn (15.6 ounces)

• 1 can black beans (15.6 ounces)

• 2 boxes of chicken broth (32 ounces each)

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1 teaspoon black pepper

• Salt to taste

Instructions:

1. Boil chicken with water, 1/2 of the onion and salt to taste. Boil until fully cooked for about 20 minutes. Take out, shred the chicken, and set aside.

2. Dice the bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, and celery into small dice. Sautee all the veggies and add garlic powder, black pepper, and salt to taste.

3. Add the chicken broth and let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

4. Drain the cans of corn and black beans and add to the broth.

5. Add shredded chicken and as much chopped cilantro as you wish. Let it continue to simmer for another 10 minutes and salt to taste.

6. You can garnish the soup with your favorite toppings. I like to use a couple avocado slices, shredded Monterey Jack cheese, and some tortilla strips.

Rosario Ortega

CHOCOLATE TRES LECHES ABUELITA

Ingredients:

Cake

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 5 eggs

• 1 cup sugar

• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 cup cocoa powder

• 1/2 cup chocolate Abuelita powder

Milk Topping

• 1 can evaporated milk

• 1 can condensed milk

• 1 cup whole milk

• 1 cup Abuelita chocolate powder

• 1/2 cup cocoa powder

Instructions:

1. First, beat egg whites only to stiff peaks. Add yolks and mix. Add sugar, vanilla.

2. Combine dry ingredients — flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, and chocolate Abuelita powder.

3. Combine wet mixture and dry ingredients.

4. Bake 350 degrees for 28-32 minutes. While it’s baking, combine milk topping mixture.

5. Once the cake is ready, poke holes with a fork while it’s still hot.

6. Pour milk topping mixture over the top and set in the fridge until ready to enjoy.

The Big Night

THE BIG GOOD

THE BIG GOOD celebrated another year of success with the fourth annual BIG GOOD The Big Night event. On April 3, co-founders Gary Patterson and Leon Bridges welcomed 450 guests to River Ranch Stockyards for a night of giving back, community, and music. THE BIG GOOD brought a host of big names to the stage, including MC Andy Roddick, Mayor Mattie Parker, and artists Charley Crockett and Maggie Rogers. Bridges and Patterson founded THE BIG GOOD in 2020, and since its formation has awarded over $3 million to support community initiatives. This year’s event saw another record-breaking year of fundraising for its selected beneficiaries: The Tarrant To & Through Partnership, Tarrant Area Food Bank, United Community Centers, and UpSpire.

Stephen Gilchrist, Leon Bridges, Gary Patterson, Pamela Gilchrist

Xeus Hamilton, Leon Bridges, Sam Birdine, Abraham Alexander Leon Bridges, Charley Crockett

Greg & Sara Scheideman, Mark Campbell, Leon Bridges, Maggie Rogers, Charley Crockett, Amy & Tull Bailey

Maggie Rogers, Leon Bridges

photos by Tracy Autem & Lightly Photography

A4

Event Academy 4

The A4 Event was a night to remember! With 250 guests in attendance, $175,000 was raised to directly support Academy 4 programs, and thanks to a gener-

ous match, an additional $150,000 was added. Guest speaker Drew Dyck inspired the crowd with a powerful message, while musician Armond Vance brought the energy and heart through his performance. Attendees left feeling energized and eager to go deeper with the mission of Academy 4. It was a meaningful night of building relationships and multiplying impact — together.

Ana Wong, Mike Wong, Terrence Butler

Sharon & Bryce Danley

Lisa Starr, Maria Manks Caroline Samis, Nate Beck, JK Doyle

Armond Vance

John Shearer, Tiffany Madrid, Stacy Gordon, Sarah Gordon, Sofia Madrid

Drew Dyck

photos by Becca Burke

PRESERVE WITH PROTECTION

The 500 and Person of the Year

The historic Fort Worth Club played host to more than 230 people on May 15 for a cocktail reception honoring FortWorthInc.’sThe 500 and Person of the Year Kay Granger.

Granger retired from Congress in January after 28 years as one of the most impactful members in the history of the Texas delegation, finishing her career as chairman and chairman emeritus of the Appropriations Committee, one of the most powerful positions in Congress.

She left a legacy in Congress as someone who was a tireless promoter of Fort Worth and who represented the city and Texas’ District 12 with dignity in the House of Representatives.

“It would have been a shame if we didn’t have the opportunity to do this for her,” Fort Worth Inc. Publisher Hal Brown said in remarks.

Jamie Cashion, Rosie & Mike Moncrief, Ashley Buckingham

Gyna Bivens, Sam Hill, Erik & Dana Vance

Hal Brown, Kay Granger, John Henry

photos by

Asia Eidson with Photobyjoy

Aaron Hunt, Nicole Ellis, Cynthia Campos

Rachael Capua, Carlo Capua, Reiko Clark

Rosa Navejar, Charles Reid

Fox Electric — Trusted Since 1960

GIVE BACK

GREATER FORT WORTH’S CHARITY/SOCIAL EVENTS

JUNE

Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month

May 31 - June 22

Thurs. - Sun.

Fort Worth Magazine

Dream Home Tour

4557 Saint Estephe Place

Fort Worth 76126

a Wish with Wings

June 6

Horsman McFadden Golf Tournament

Split Rail Golf Club - Aledo

UNT Health Science Center

June 7

BeatLeukemia Ball

Dickies Arena

Simmons Bank Plaza

Leukemia Texas

June 17

Big Dill Pickleball Event

Chicken N Pickle

Big Brothers Big Sisters

June 25

Slide and Spin Contest -

Veteran Horse Competitions

Will Roger Memorial Center

American Paint Horse

Foundation/ Two Ravens Foundation

June 26

A Night of Loteria & HopeEvening Fundraiser

NICA-Northside Inter-Community Agency

Northside Inter-Community Agency

GUTIERREZ PAINTING

Revitalize Your Home or Business with Gutierrez Painting!

Serving Fort Worth with pride for over 65 years, Gutierrez Painting is your go-to for quality, experience, and trusted results. Family-owned and operated since the 1960s, we deliver exceptional craftsmanship with every brushstroke.

Why Choose Us?

» Over 65 years of experience

» Family-owned, 3rd generation painters

» Interior & exterior painting

» Texture & drywall repair, small wood repair, tile work

» Residential & commercial services

» A+ Rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB)

CALL US TODAY AT (817) 829-9524 OR VISIT GUTIERREZPAINTING.NET

TO SCHEDULE YOUR FREE ESTIMATE!

Bring color, quality, and care to your next project with Fort Worth’s trusted painters.

APPLY FOR THE ENTREPRENEUR OF EXCELLENCE AWARDS PROGRAM

Local entrepreneurs are encouraged to apply for Fort Worth Inc.’s ninth annual Entrepreneur of Excellence awards program. Don’t miss out on the chance to celebrate your success and the team that helped to get you there. The awards program application deadline is July 11.

TOUR THE 2025 DREAM HOME

The Napa Valley-inspired Dream Home will take place in Fort Worth’s prestigious Montrachet development.

MAY 31-JUNE 22

THURSDAY - SUNDAY | 11 A.M. - 5 P.M. Tickets: $20 | Includes a 1-year subscription to FortWorthMagazine

Ralph Manning and Edward Crawford Coltala Holdings

For the first time in 33 years, neither the Thunderbirds nor Blue Angels, the air demonstration teams for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy, respectively, included Fort Worth on their annual tour of cities with large airstrips. A major bummer, to say the least. But as a slight consolation, the Thunderbirds did perform at an airshow in nearby Abilene at Dyess Air Force Base on April 19-20. Fort Worth Magazine’s creative director, Craig Sylva, made the two-hour trek out west with his family and captured the above image. Flying a “low show” due to overcast skies, the photo shows the No. 5 (lead solo) and No. 6 (opposing solo) F-16 fighter jets performing a maneuver known as the Inverted Pass. The No. 6 pilot (who’s not inverted in this picture) is Maj. Laney Schol of Columbus, Texas, the seventh female pilot to fly with the team.

PHOTO BY CRAIG SYLVA

We Drive the Difference

The Gilchrist Valet Service:

• Online or over-the-phone sales purchase and delivery

• Service pick-up and delivery

Experience the Gilchrist Difference:

• Family owned and operated

• Purchase process tailored to your needs

• Three stores to choose from where each General Manager personally assists you

• Customer relationships do not end with the sale

• Each experience is special when you work with Gilchrist Automotive

Pictured: Justin Rudd, GM Platinum Chevrolet

Mike Brown, GM, Pegasus Chevrolet

Stephen Gilchrist, Dealer Operator, Gilchrist Automotive

Stephen Jimenez, GM, Spur Chevrolet