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  • 🔥F1 Smokehouse opening soon; Texans prefer to stay put; Zoo has rare crocodilian births

🔥F1 Smokehouse opening soon; Texans prefer to stay put; Zoo has rare crocodilian births

➕Bedford Performing Center🎭; and Tim Love had a (very) busy summer

September 01, 2023

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🗞️NEWS OF THE DAY:

👉Scheduling note: In observance of Labor Day, 817 Biz will not publish on Monday, Sept 4.

Felipe Armenta (Le Margot, Maria’s, Press Café, The Tavern and more) expects his F1 Smokehouse to open within 10 days at 517 University Dr. (in the former Austin City Tacos space). A stylish interior defies all BBQ stereotypes, as does the menu created by Armenta and culinary partner/celeb chef Graham Elliot.

Look for ribeye steak with bourbon glaze, dry-rubbed shoulder and barbecued shrimp with grits at F1 Smokehouse.

It's official: Construction on the $11-million, publicly funded Bedford Performing Arts Center will begin Sept. 29 and has a completion date of Sept. 30, 2024. The facility will be multi-purpose and host various performance events.

Food trucks will have a "simplified" permit process beginning today. A Tarrant County Public Health permit is the only food permit a mobile food unit is required to obtain for public consumption anywhere in the county. 

Texas has a high level of “stickiness”: An analysis of U.S. Census data showed Texas natives are more likely to stay in their home state than people born in other states. About 82% of people born in Texas still lived here in 2021. Researchers said the data point indicates that the state remains attractive to workers and has relatively affordable housing costs.

“Monumental conservation success.” That's what the Fort Worth Zoo said about a remarkably rare birth of four hatchlings of a critically endangered species, only the second time in U.S. history that gharial crocodilians have given birth in captivity. Approximately 200 reproducing adults are alive in the wild. Another 35 are living among nine institutions in North America. The zoo said in its announcement that it is “incredibly proud to announce this groundbreaking conservation success, quadrupling the number of births to ever take place in the U.S.”

One of four rare gharial crocodilian hatchlings. Photo courtesy of Fort Worth Zoo.

Harmony Public Schools out of Houston has filed plans for Harmony White Settlement at 9600 White Settlement Rd. The charter schools are STEM-focused and there are more than 60 in Texas. The $30-million project is expected to be completed June 2025.

U.S. regulators announced plans that will require regional banks with $100 billion in assets to issue debt and bolster their so-called living wills. Rules that have applied to the biggest institutions would now apply to mid-size banks and protect the public in the event of failures. Lenders would have to maintain long-term debt levels equal to 3.5% of average total assets or 6% of risk-weighted assets, whichever is higher.

Google, which has spent $1.1 billion for infrastructure in Texas, plans to build a $330-million data center in Red Oak (south of Dallas), and spend an additional $600 million. The data centers play a critical role in supporting the company’s AI innovations and growing Google Cloud business.

Today’s daily digit: 300,000

That’s roughly how many electric vehicles U.S. consumers purchased between April and June 2023 – a new record. However, experts say it will be several decades until the U.S. becomes an EV-majority market due to price barriers and lack of access to charging stations.

Arlington-based Priority Power Management, an energy management services, procurement, and energy infrastructure development company, has acquired Atlas Retail Energy, a premier energy procurement organization creating strategic, customized solutions for large-scale energy end users. Brandon Schwertner, CEO of Priority Power said: "This acquisition allows us to expand in existing markets, grow into new markets and help all of our customers benefit from expanded resources.”

Nothing to do with business: Have you ever noticed that some dogs look a lot like their owners? The phenomenon of the canine look-alike has been well-established by scientists — and says a lot about how we choose our companions.

👢👢PEOPLE ON THE MOVE:

  • Graham Hart Home Builder: Hires Andy Poland as Director of Land

  • JME Insurance: Named Kim Booker President

  • Trader Interactive: Promoted Cindy Truitt to Partner Success Manager-OEM team

  • Canoo: Names board member Greg Ethridge as Chief Financial Officer

  • O’Brien Right of Way Valuation: Hires Matt Browne as Managing Director and Sam Sutton as Senior Analyst

  • Frost Bank: Names Josh Stogsdill as Community Leader for the Mid-Cities market

THE JOY OF HOME REMODELING

“There’s always one annoying piece left over.”

đź‘€IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

  • What did you do this summer? Tim Love spent the summer cooking for the biggest names in music and reinventing festival food.

  • US consumer spending is expected to cool further but not fall off a cliff.

  • The number of unclaimed dead bodies that went to help train medical students in Texas between 2017 and 2021 grew from 64 to 446.

👉A reminder: 817 BIZ will not publish on Monday, Sept 4 (Labor Day), but will be back in your inbox on Wed, Sept 6.