🔥Good news, bad news for area BBQs; 78-year-old homebuilder purchased; Cowboys all hat, no cattle; lose, 24-16.

Fort Worth earned its first Michelin star ...and the winner is Goldee’s Bar-B•Q! The Michelin Guide noted that “Goldee’s Bar-B•Q in Fort Worth shines especially bright as it has been promoted from Bib Gourmand status to One Star." Goldee's founders were Lane Milne, Jonny White, Jalen Heard, Dylan Taylor and Nuphon Inthanousay. There are 19 Michelin-starred restaurants in Texas. 

Patrick Hicks, a barbecue pitmaster and founder of Smoke 'N Ash BBQ restaurant in Arlington, passed away at 60. He opened a barbecue trailer in 2012, added his wife's Ethiopian flavors and dishes in 2018, and fused the two into Michelin Guide recognition and a host of national food awards.

Colorado-based Century Communities acquired substantially all of the assets of HMH Lifestyles, which operates as HistoryMaker Homes, significantly expanding its presence in the D-FW housing marketplace. HistoryMaker Homes was founded in 1949 in Fort Worth by O.N. Mitchell Sr. and O.N. Mitchell Jr. and is Texas’ longest-standing production homebuilder. Century Communities said the acquisition will triple its community count and meaningfully expand its pipeline.

Fort Worth's Opal Lee, the “Grandmother of Juneteenth,” received a big gift Wednesday for her 100th birthday. Community leaders, supporters and residents gathered for a ceremony that marked the start of demolition of the Southside Community Center and the kickoff of building the National Juneteenth Museum. Later, former first lady Michelle Obama spoke at an evening celebration at the Fort Worth Convention Center. 

Today in history: 2006 = Google announced an agreement to acquire YouTube for $1.65 billion in stock, just 20 months after the video-sharing platform was founded. At the time, YouTube was already generating more than 100 million video views daily. The acquisition would become one of the most consequential deals in internet history.

Women’s clothing brand Reformation is coming to Fort Worth’s University Park Village, according to state licensing documents, with a planned February 2027 opening. Also opening are clothing retailer Aritzia in the former Pottery Barn space and handbag retailer Coach. Aritzia’s construction is targeted to finish in March; Coach’s is scheduled to wrap up this month.

An undrafted rookie quarterback and an 0-4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers team ran roughshod over the 9.5-point favorite Dallas Cowboys for a 24-16 victory. Dallas fell to 2-3. 

Tarleton State University President Dr. James Hurley celebrated record enrollment, expanding academic and research opportunities, championship success and historic investment in the university’s future during his 2026 State of the University address.

We're not above potty humor: An American Airlines flight from Madrid to D-FW diverted to New York after all but two of the lavatories on the Boeing 777 stopped working. The plane had 287 people aboard a flight that often takes more than 10 hours. 

First 2026 hurricane: Isaias is predicted to make landfall along the Gulf Coast late Friday or early Saturday, threatening parts of Mississippi, Alabama and the western part of the Florida Panhandle. 

Is this among your job application requirements: A drone-racing competition to fill a job posting? Defense companies aren’t known for flashy marketing, but Anduril’s chief marketing officer is determined to make it iconic. 

GolfTRK, a membership-based, indoor golf concept centered on training, is moving into Southlake's Gateway Plaza at 2951 E. State Highway 114. Adam Purselley is listed as the tenant in a filing for a $300,000 renovation of the 3,874-square-foot space, with construction scheduled from December through February.

Pearson Grove, an office and retail development on Rogers Road by the Trinity River, is scheduled to break ground in early 2027. The 88,000-square-foot project is being developed by Fort Worth-based 2SP Partners, which will occupy part of the building as its headquarters. There will be 10,000 square feet of ground-floor restaurants with outdoor dining. Design Collective developed the master plan. 

LanCarte Commercial assisted in the sale of 1420 Markum Ranch Road to Universal Systems, a long-standing tenant that transitioned to ownership. The 18,500-square-foot industrial building is on 2.04 acres in Fort Worth. Sarah LanCarte, Finn Wilson, and Riley Dean represented the seller, Prattco Creekway. Brett Carrlton and Forrest Cook of Stream Realty Partners represented Universal. The acquisition reflects a broader shift, with more industrial owners moving toward ownership.

How did UPS mistakenly route sensitive components from Lockheed Martin’s F-35 stealth fighter through Hong Kong? Bloomberg News reported the shipment included an F-35 cockpit canopy and a weapons-bay door coated with radar-absorbing material used to reduce the aircraft’s detectability. 

Atlanta-based SG Property Services acquired Westpark Medical Center, a 53,871-square-foot outpatient building in Euless. Berkadia Medical & Life Sciences represented the undisclosed seller. The three-story property, completed in 2023, was 80.3% occupied when marketed and sits next to Texas Health Hurst-Euless-Bedford. A sale price was not disclosed.

University of Texas at Arlington researchers have received a $1.96-million National Eye Institute grant to develop AI-powered tools aimed at identifying biological factors that contribute to eye disease. The four-year project is led by Xinlei “Sherry” Wang, a UTA professor of statistics. 

Rumor: Shares of Chipotle and Starbucks are higher this week because of an analyst's speculation that the Mexican restaurant chain could merge with the coffee powerhouse.

Fort Worth-based insurer Higginbotham’s transportation specialty practice officially has become a “division”, giving the team greater ability to invest in transportation-specific staff, services and industry initiatives. The specialty practice originated at Memphis-based Lipscomb & Pitts, which partnered with Higginbotham in 2020. The group continued adding specialized personnel and expanding across the Southeast and Midwest. Today, it includes 31 team members with a combined 372 years of transportation insurance experience.

Fort Worth-based Vadzo Imaging adds two cameras: The company validated an 8-megapixel, 4K autofocus camera aimed at manufacturers and technology companies. The Falcon-830CRH is designed for applications including machine vision, barcode scanning, document imaging and kiosks. Also validated is a 13-megapixel, fixed-focus embedded camera aimed at edge AI, robotics, industrial, security and kiosk applications. The Bolt-1335CRS pairs an Onsemi image sensor with Rockchip’s RV1126 processor.

Snippets:

• Colleges and universities would be required to pay a $70,000 fee before recommending an international student for a U.S. work program, under a proposal announced by the Department of Homeland Security.

• American Airlines will put SpaceX's Starlink on more than 1,000 Airbus and Boeing jets, an increase above a May plan that covered approximately 500 Airbus planes. The rollout will start in early 2027.

• Keurig Dr Pepper unveiled its new beverages for 2027: Dr Pepper Ice Cream Float, 7Up Miami Vice, Canada Dry Raspberry Lemonade, Ghost Energy Blueberry Cream and C4 Energy Cocoa Loco. 

• Apple is reportedly releasing a suite of smart home gadgets, including doorbells, automatic locks, and thermostats.

Significant stat: Driven by strong business spending in construction and manufacturing, Texas sales tax collections rose 11.5% to $4.4 billion during September. Retail collections grew 3%, led by gains in electronics, appliances and auto dealers, but fell slightly behind the overall rate of inflation.

Daily digit: $12.1 billion = What investors spent on senior housing in the first quarter, the highest quarterly total in at least two decades, according to MSCI data. Wall Street is seeing a big opportunity as the nation’s oldest baby boomers start to turn 80. But they’re acquiring existing properties instead of building new ones. The gap between supply and demand is only exacerbating.

Announcements:

• Women's Business Council-Southwest: Promotes Sarah White to Vice President of Strategy and Impact.

• Blue Zones: Hires Brett McClung as Chief Executive Officer and President of national organization. McClung previously was an Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Leader at Texas Health Resources.

• Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas: Honors Keith Argenbright, Director of the Moncrief Cancer Institute at UT Southwestern Medical Center, with its 2026 Texans Conquer Cancer Award in Population Health.

• Enterprise Bank & Trust: Names A.J. Amarali Fazal as Market President - Metroplex Central.

• Southside Wealth Management & Trust: Names Todd Breeding Senior Vice President. 

• Texas Bank: Adds Jack Murphy as Vice President Middle Market Banking.

• Progressive Insurance: Hires Amber White as Lead Customer Strategist for Commercial Lines Acquisition.

• Texas State History Museum Foundation: Selects producer, director and screenwriter Taylor Sheridan for a History Making Texan Award, which will be presented in Austin this spring.

• Frederick Goldman: Promotes Thomas Schwartz to Chief Marketing Officer and Bryan Cowan to Chief Operating Officer. 

• The Sicilian Butcher: Names Nicole West President.

• GROWTH Homes: Names Jarod Blaney Chief Operating Officer. 

• American Law Institute: Elects Duane Morris attorney John Polzer as a member.

• The Parenting Center: Hires Ryan Edgar as Finance Director.

• Frost Bank: Announces Oct. 29 for its groundbreaking of the Burleson Banking Center.

817 Biz is formatted for viewing on mobile devices. Some links may expire after posting or be paywall-protected.