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  • 🔑Loews Arlington pre-bookings, TCU ranks 2nd statewide + Cadillac's Escalade IQ

🔑Loews Arlington pre-bookings, TCU ranks 2nd statewide + Cadillac's Escalade IQ

Plus: đźš©Six Flags lawsuit, people on the move + more bite-size business news

August 11, 2023

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🗞️NEWS OF THE DAY:

Ka-ching: Loews Arlington Hotel and Convention Center, a $550 million, 888-room, full-service resort, has 150,000 room reservations seven months before opening. The property will be connected via skybridge to Live! by Loews, the company’s 300-room hotel that opened in 2019.

A new barbecue joint is open in Fort Worth that formerly had been a food trailer. Owner Trevor Sales opened Brix Barbecue in late July at 1012 S. Main St. Texas Monthly writer Daniel Vaughn calls it the hottest new barbecue destination in Cowtown. (read)

Brix Barbecue is open Thu-Sun from 11 am - 5 pm (or until sold out)

Luke Savoie has been tabbed the next CEO of Fort Worth-based Elbit Systems of America and will join the company at the end of August. He will work with current Elbit President and CEO Raanan Horowitz the next seven months until the latter's retirement on March 31, 2024.

The on-off-on-off 205-mile-per-hour bullet train between Houston and Dallas may be on again. Amtrack and Texas Central are exploring a partnership. They have applied for federal grants and the Houston and Dallas mayors are all aboard.

Heated consumer: Six Flags is sued by a California man after an incident in April 2022 where he and 11 others were trapped on the Mr. Freeze ride while an electrical malfunction caused a fire and smoke.

Community Coffee teamed with Yellowstone creator and Fort Worthian Taylor Sheridan for a craft coffee brand. Bosque Ranch Craft Coffee is named after Taylor’s Weatherford ranch and includes packaging with the Bosque Ranch signature iron stamp. The coffee will be available later this month.

General Motors unveiled its all-electric Cadillac Escalade IQ with an eye-popping price tag of $130,000. Speaking at a recent investor conference, GM CFO Paul Jacobson said the automaker's electric vehicles had been slowed by an issue with assembling battery modules. Nonetheless, GM said it expects $50 billion in revenue from its EVs by 2025.

The 2025 all-electric Cadillac Escalade IQ will be available in late 2024.

Little Lilly Sushi Too opened Tuesday at Keller Town Center. The restaurant is the second outpost of Little Lilly Sushi in Fort Worth. Check out the menu here.

Fort Worth's Meadowbrook Golf Course, which turns 100 next year, is getting a birthday re-design that includes re-routing 15 holes.

TCU named the #2 college campus in Texas according to Niche.com, a ranking and review site that compares colleges and schools throughout the U.S. The 2023 ranking is based on key statistics and student reviews using data from the U.S. Department of Education. The top spot in Texas went to Rice University.

Trail Drive Management Corporation, the not-for-profit entity operating Dickies Arena, will receive the 2023 Vandergriff Award at the Fort Worth Chamber’s State of the County event Aug. 17. Vandergriff was the Arlington mayor instrumental in bringing General Motors and the Texas Rangers to Tarrant County.

Texas sues Bookings.com: Texas' Attorney General office has sued Booking Holdings, Inc., a travel reservation company, for engaging in false, misleading, or deceptive acts and practices in violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The suit says Booking falsely marketed hotel rooms at prices that were not available to the public as advertised.

Not so LUVing: Southwest Airlines said it plans to appeal a federal judge’s order that requires “training on religious freedom” for three of its lawyers. The attorneys were ordered to undergo training by Alliance Defending Freedom. Previously, the judge had ordered Southwest to reinstate Charlene Carter, a flight attendant fired in 2017 for posting on social media about abortion. A jury issued a verdict against the airline and her union last year, finding it discriminated against her over her anti-abortion stance.

NOTABLE & QUOTABLE:

“We’re 8 years into our 5-year plan.”

—Rick McAdoo, co-founder of Fort Worth-based Ampcare, an FDA-cleared medical device for treating swallowing disorders.

đź‘źđź‘źPEOPLE ON THE MOVE:

  • Stephens Law: Hires attorney Rieker Carsey

  • Fleet Response: Josh Hobbs joins as President South Region

  • charity: water: Hires Lacey LaPointe as Sr. VP

  • Wilson Ensor: Hires attorney Neely Fortinberry

  • Trinity Habitat for Humanity: Promotes Lauren Calzada to Senior Director of Development

  • DFW Restorations Enterprise: Hires Leanne Moye as Sales & Marketing Manager

đź“°BELOW THE FOLD:

  • Up, up and away: Connect Airlines anticipating potential American Airlines partnership.

  • Today’s daily digit: 37.5%

    As of 2020, 37.5% of Americans 25+ had at least a bachelor's degree, representing a 250% jump from 1970, and also proving that holding a degree is still fairly rare (Statista).

  • Better than catnip: Congratulations to Adrianne Porcelli, co-founder of Purpledoor Marketing, winner of this week’s giveaway for a $100 gift card to Cat City Grill.

✂️SNIPPETS:

  • IJBOL: It’s pronounced “eej-bowl” and it is the new acronym that is replacing LOL on social media. It means “I just busted out laughing”. OMG I almost LMAO.

  • Not your average cup of joe: What’s a coffee artist you ask? This barista honed his skills in the military and then opened his own shop to become one (see video).

Have a press release (news tip, story idea, promotion, awards, announcements) to submit for editorial consideration? Email it to [email protected].