🎲GameStop CEO bets on China's Alibaba; Hooters struggles, 3 others expanding; N. Texas foundation awards $47M.

Those with long Fort Worth memories will get a vibe about this downtown development. Bryan Eppstein, a spokesperson for Sundance Square, said the space once occupied by Reata and Four Day Weekend will become a live music venue called "The Spotlight" sometime in late spring. It will be similar to the former occupant there, Caravan of Dreams. (Image by Gyrofrog)

Ryan Cohen, billionaire investor and CEO of Grapevine-based GameStop CEO, has increased his stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba to roughly seven million shares worth about $1 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported.

In 2024, the North Texas Community Foundation awarded $47 million—the largest grant year in its history. 1,300 organizations received grants to continue their impactful work, according to Rose Bradshaw, president & CEO of NTCF. Since 1981, the foundation has granted more than $450 million.

In his letter to shareholders Saturday, Warren Buffet said Berkshire Hathaway's 2024 U.S. taxes totaled $26.4 billion, the largest corporate tax in history. He wrote it is approximately 5% of all corporate taxes paid and does not include taxes paid to 44 states and international taxes. 

Thieves used a stolen card to buy a winning French lottery ticket worth $523,000. The victim wants to share the winnings.

Warmer temps debuted just in time for yesterday’s Cowtown Marathon. Below are the winners, plus a link to complete results:

• Jarrett Kirk of Flower Mound won the men's division, completing his first Cowtown in 2:26:00. Lauren Kelly of Philadelphia won the women’s marathon in 2:52:51.

• Fort Worth’s Maxwell Murphy won the men’s half marathon (1:08:47). Jennifer Pope won the women’s in 1:18:59, a race in which Mayor Mattie Parker set a personal best of 1:49:30. 

• Brent Williams won the men’s ultra-marathon (3:19:14), and Kristen Beiza won the women’s (4:04:52). 

Former Fort Worth City Manager David Cooke has been named a Lifetime Achievement Award recipient by the Texas City Management Association.  The award recognizes city management professionals who make significant contributions in local government management for more than 20 years.

Fort Worth has updated the status of CentrePort Trail Phase 1, which will connect TRE Centreport Station to the intersection at Trinity Blvd and Elm Street and connect to River Legacy Trail in Arlington. Expected completion is this summer. Future funding would allow for the extension of the trail to the Mike Lewis Trail in Grand Prairie. 

Artist James Turrell’s Skyspace installation has a light opening this week at the Keith House, an event space for non-profits operated by the Meta Alice Keith Bratten Foundation. The structure is located at Fort Worth’s Clearfork and was designed by Bennett Partners.

Could $498 million -- about 2 % of the state's projected budget surplus -- turn Texas into Hollywood East?  Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson are pushing for it. 

Residents in several towns are forming non-profits to buy and operate struggling movie theaters. More than 250 movie theaters in the U.S. are now non-profits. (NYT)

If you thought poker rooms in Texas were illegal, you are right... and wrong. There are conditions in which they are allowed, and Fort Worth has a few member clubs. The latest is Desperado Poker Room at 905 W. Cantey, which is getting rave reviews.

Arlington has scheduled six workshops beginning March 18 for residents who want to play a role in shaping the city's future. For convenience, the Innovate Arlington Comprehensive Plan workshops will be held in each district.

Fort Worth will begin a major downtown water line overhaul March 3; expect street closures and traffic delays.

Restaurant roundup:

• Who gives a hoot? Hooters is considering bankruptcy.

• Shake Shack’s stock surged after the chain announced plans to accelerate store openings. Shake Shack opened 28 stores last quarter, ending 2024 with more than 570 locations. It wants to grow to 1,500 U.S. locations. Read more here.

• Cheesecake Factory opened more locations last year than ever and plans to add 25 in 2025. Read more here.

• Texas Roadhouse plans 30 restaurant openings next year while raising menu prices by 1.4%. The company opened 31 restaurants and 11 international franchise locations in 2024. Read more here.

Snippets:

• By $7 billion, Amazon has higher quarterly revenue than Walmart for the first time.

• American Airlines became the final Big 3 airline to add AirTag tracking to help prevent lost luggage.

• An inside peek at Cardinal Health's 74-robot, AI-driven, direct-to-consumer warehouse and fulfillment center opening in Fort Worth next year. 

Significant stat: The med spa biz has been getting a total body makeover. From 2010 to 2023, the industry grew from 1,600 locations in the U.S. to over 10,000, with average annual revenue per spa hitting $1.4M. Lip fillers, Botox and weight-loss drugs are fueling demand.

Believe it or not: Google has unveiled a chip that it claims takes five minutes to solve a problem that takes the world's fastest supercomputers ten septillion – or 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 years – to complete.

Announcements:

• Fidelity Investments: Promotes Tyler Raben to VP Branch Leader - Fort Worth.

• Formation Real Estate: Hires Tracy Cliburn as Marketing Director. 

• Charles Schwab Corp.: Re-deploys Joseph Vietri, head of the branch network, to crypto chief/head of digital assets. Promotes Jeanie Bidner to head of branch network.

• N. Central Texas Economic Development District: Names Chris Strayer Board Officer-Secretary.

• Watauga: Names former Dallas officer Jim Lewis III as Chief of Police.

• Southern Association for Counselor Education and Supervision: Awards Citlali Molina, assistant professor and program coordinator of M.Ed. in School Counseling at TCU, the Outstanding Pre-Tenure Counselor Educator Award.

• Bell Flight: Adds Tanna Brewster as Rotor Composite Project Manager.

• Pugnacious: Hires Abbey Dudek as Design Guru and PR Specialist.

• Jedediah Stinson Clothiers: Launched by Ethan Stinson. 

• DallasCIO chapter of Inspire Leadership Network: Honors Sandeep Chaturvedi, Executive VP and Chief Technology Officer of GM Financial, with its Global ORBIE for organizations with more than $1 billion annual revenue.

• TIAA: Names Caren Lock Managing Director and Government Relations Officer.

• Pepperdine University: Adds Kasey Pipes of Fort Worth to University Board of Regents.

• The Beck Group: Adds Josh Hallett as a Senior Project Coordinator.

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