Auld Lang Syne, 2021: The Stories We Won’t Soon Forget

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2021, we hardly knew ye. That’s just a trite old Irish lament, but it’s hardly true about you. We got to know you quite well. Spending 365 days together will do that.

However, what a year it was.

It started with Betsy Price, Fort Worth Inc.’s Person of the Year, announcing that she would not seek a sixth term as mayor of Fort Worth, setting off a domino effect that completely changed the makeup of the City Council.

The year ended with the passing of a legend, Tex Moncrief, who died on the last Wednesday of the year at age 101. He didn’t leave, however, without making a sizable imprint on the oil industry and the communities far and wide through philanthropy.

What fun we had, though, too. The Entrepreneurs of Excellence gala in November was a blast. It wasn’t only Four Day Weekend that left us breathless (from laughter). The stories of the talent and drive of 20 distinguished innovators and creators had us all transfixed.

Oh, and we also made up a new song in Fort Worth this year: "The Things that Make You Go 'Whoop!"

Here are 21 events we (Inc. staff and you, too) will remember the most from 2021.

21 ‘Hotel Texas’ turns 100

The Hilton Fort Worth, best known to history as the Hotel Texas, where President John F. Kennedy stayed the night before his assassination in Dallas, turned 100 years old in December. The president gave informal remarks the morning of the Nov. 22 to an adoring crowd outside the hotel. Inside, he delivered prepared remarks at breakfast. “Three years ago, last September, I came here, with the Vice President, and spoke at Burk Burnett Park, and I called, in that speech, for a national security policy and a national security system which was second to none. That city responded to that call as it has through its history.”

20 City of Fort Worth closes on purchase of new City Hall

The city made formal its move west of downtown with the completion of its purchase of the former Pier 1 headquarters for its new base of operations at 100 Energy Way. A move-in date is expected in 2022.

19 Five new companies join City Center Fort Worth

In October, City Center Fort Worth enthusiastically announced the addition of five new companies to its twin edifices that bulk against the sky. The addition was a hopeful signal for City Center management that renewed interest in Class A office space was picking up after the pandemic. “We are once again seeing a strengthening interest in Class A office space in downtown Fort Worth,” said Johnny Campbell, president and CEO of City Center Management.

18 Tim Love adding Hotel Otto to his West Side restaurant property

Tim Love, known for popular establishments such as Woodshed Smokehouse, Lonesome Dove, and Atico, added “hotelier” to his resumé. The Fort Worth celebrity chef told our readers that he was taking a different dive into the hospitality industry with what he dubbed a “micro-resort” in The River District. Hotel Otto would be its name and bungalows made from shipping containers would be the game.

17. Chadra Mezza owners dial it back

Our readers love Chadra Mezza. It’s why they all tuned in to read about owners Nehme and Christina Elbitar’s new life on a farm in southeast Fort Worth, a hilly 7.5-acre spread that sports views of a lush valley and downtown Fort Worth. Out of Nehme’s gardens have been harvests of fresh produce that one day might make it into the dishes of Chadra Mezza. And don’t forget the olive oil. This was the second-most-read story in 2021.

16. New bottle shop headed for Near Southside

The spirits are with Megan McClinton, a popular Fort Worth bartender with statewide repute who announced in July that she planned to open Tricks of the Trade Spirits and Supplies in the former Frank Kent headquarters on South Main Street.

15. Boomerjack’s gets ready to open in Lake Worth

Entrepreneurs figure it out. To wit, Brent Tipps. His first BoomerJack Wings restaurant was a small 2,000-square-foot wings and tenders concept. Three years later in 2005 he reinvented himself to BoomerJack’s Grill in order to open in Montgomery Plaza. A wings place didn’t fit their customer target market. They were, however, interested in the “grill” concept. One problem: When they asked to see his menu, he didn’t have one. So he went out and cut and pasted a menu together (pictures and all) from other casual restaurant menus. He added his logo and changed the name from BoomerJack Wings to BoomerJack’s Grill. Sixteen years later, Tips has 17 BoomerJack’s Grill locations, the most recent in Lake Worth with a grand opening in September.

14. Kimpton Harper opens in XTO building

The 226-room Kimpton Harper Hotel in downtown opened with a ribbon cutting in June in the former XTO Energy building, as a crowd of eager observers watched. The hotel has dueling centerpieces: a chef-driven Italian restaurant, il Modo, and a penthouse bar and cocktail lounge, Refinery 714. Named after the hotel’s street address, the bar located on the 24th floor, which provides customers with an awesome backdrop.

13. Revolver Taco closes doors at Sundance Square

When a taco place shuts its doors in Fort Worth, it’s news. Not good news, either. So it was with the news in August of the Revolver Taco Lounge’s permanent closure of its Sundance Square restaurant, which opened only two months before. “I need to defend the ground that feeds me,” said owner Regino Rojas. “Dallas is home.” This was the third-most-read story in 2021.

12. Tarleton State climbs the ladder

Go, Texans! Christmas came early for Tarleton State with Texas-sized news in December. The university was elevated to the designation of “Doctoral Universities: High Research Activity” by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Also known as Carnegie R2, the standing put Tarleton among 132 universities across the country designated as high research, and only one of a handful to move up from “Master’s Colleges and Universities-Larger Programs (M1).” The reclassification will become official in February. Huzzah!

11. From homelessness to home

In early September, a coalition of private and public partners welcomed the first 14 chronically homeless people into a 48-unit apartment complex in west Fort Worth. The first tenants of the $4.7 million project near River Oaks Boulevard were two couples, 10 individuals, and one pet dog. Fort Worth Inc. readers loved this story, the most read of 2021.

10. American Airlines management handoff

American Airlines announced in December that CEO Doug Parker, who built American Airlines into a towering industry presence through consolidation would be stepping down in March. At that time, American President Robert Isom would succeed him. “I’m confident now is the right time for this transition,” Parker said.

9. Fort Worth’s fastest-growing companies 2021

Let’s hear it for the 30 companies who grew their topline revenues as well as anybody else. The company with the largest percentage growth was WinterGreen Synthetic Grass, who had only $170,969 in revenue in 2016 and finished 2019 with over $2.3 million.

8. Seeding a nonprofit newspaper

The “Coalition of the Concerned” got its daily digital news publication off the ground in 2021, thanks to seed money left by philanthropist Anne Marion. In February, the fruit of the coalition’s efforts, the nonprofit Fort Worth Report, took the wraps off of its launch plan, the source of curiosity in the city’s business and civic community for months.

7. And the best companies to work for are … envelope please

It’s Satori Capital of Fort Worth! Well, among small- and medium-sized companies, that is. The private equity company won Fort Worth Inc.’s annual contest run and judged independently by Pennsylvania research firm Best Companies Group. “Everything we do starts with the team and the culture,” said Randy Eisenman, who co-founded the firm in 2008 with Sunny Vanderbeck. There were no losers, however, on this list. If you made the list, you’ve got a good company culture.

6. Entrepreneurs, par excellence

In November, Fort Worth Inc. honored 20 distinguished entrepreneurs at the 2021 Entrepreneur of Excellence gala at the Fort Worth Club. Four Day Weekend, the now-legendary comedy troupe, served as masters of ceremony for the occasion as only they know how. But this night belonged to the innovators and risk-takers: You believed the mission, despite the seemingly unclimbable obstacles, was possible. And another very special thank you to our sponsors Whitley Penn, CapTex Bank, and Kelly Hart. 

5. Tex Moncrief passes away at 101

The year ended on a somber note with the passing of an iconic Texan. Legendary Fort Worth oilman and philanthropist W.A. “Tex” Moncrief Jr. died on the last Wednesday in December at age 101. He was known as much for his fabled career as he was his philanthropy, which included $25 million to establish the UT Southwestern Monty and Tex Moncrief Medical Center at Fort Worth. May he rest in peace.

4. Mattie Parker takes the reins in Fort Worth

It’s go time in Fort Worth, said new Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker at her inauguration at the Convention Center in June, making her, at age 37, the youngest mayor of any major American city. Change was the mantra this night as five new council members were also sworn in, including two, Chris Nettles and Jared Williams, who defeated incumbents Kelly Allen Gray and Jungus Jordan in runoff elections. When the dust cleared, Fort Worth’s new City Council had become the most diverse in the city’s history.

3. Mayor Betsy Price says she won’t seek reelection

Betsy Price, the longest-serving mayor in Fort Worth history and Fort Worth Inc.’s Person of the Year, gathered the local news authorities at City Hall in January to announce that she would not seek a sixth term in the May 1 elections. Price, first elected in May 2011, said the decision was “the right thing at this time. In June, the former mayor announced that she would throw her name in for the job of county judge in 2022 after Glen Whitley said he would not seek another term as the chief executive of the Tarrant County Commissioners Court.

2. Crescent breaks ground on new development

Fort Worth’s Cultural District got fancier in September with Crescent Real Estate’s breaking ground of a mixed-use development that will include a premier boutique hotel with chef-driven restaurant, luxury apartments, and a Class A office building that would be home to Crescent’s headquarters, CEO John Goff’s Goff Capital, and the base of operations for Goff’s Canyon Ranch Luxury resort and spa company. Additionally, Goff said the hotel’s rooftop bar would be named Ralph’s Bar. And for a very good business reason. Cheers.

1. Fort Worth: Texas A&M North

Whoop! More Aggies are coming to town, and that is a great thing. Chancellor John Sharp arrived in Fort Worth in November with blueprints of the Texas A&M University system’s plans to expand in Fort Worth with a three-building research campus anchored by the existing School of Law. Game changer was a common theme among speakers at the announcement. “It really puts us on the map from an education standpoint,” said Councilwoman Elizabeth Beck.