Every Last Word

Dallas Innovates’ signature series capturing what leaders across North Texas are saying — in their own words — about innovation, impact, and what’s next.

The Last Word: Jam Vino’s Chef Lorius on Winning a ‘Golden Ticket’ from Walmart

by | Oct 10, 2024
The signature Jam Vino gourmet wine-infused jam created by Keller-based Chef Lorius was one 92 brands to receive a Golden Ticket during the annual Walmart Open Call. Available online now at Walmart.com, it'll reach the discount giant's shelves in 2025. "Jam Vino combines the heart of the South with the elegance of wine country, and our partnership with Walmart allows us to fulfill our mission of providing Everyday Luxury for Everyday People," Chef Lorious (AKA Lori Rogers) said in a statement.
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The Last Word: From ‘I Do’ to ‘I’m Done,’ How Dallas-Based Divorceaversary Gives Divorce and Breakups a Positive Spin
by | Oct 9, 2024
Divorceaversary is a new Dallas-based startup that puts a positive spin on the aftermath of going from "I do" to "I'm done." Aiming to transform how people approach life after divorce and breakups, its e-commerce site offers cards that celebrate new beginnings—in humorous, edgy, even NSFW ways. Some cards offer great advice ("I know things are bad but don't get bangs"), others are supportive ("Divorce looks good as hell on you"), and others express relief ("No one ever liked that asshole anyway"). 
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The Last Word: Common Desk Alums Plan Kids-First ‘Boutique Country Club’ in Dallas’ Lake Highlands
by | Oct 7, 2024
Williams recently wrote on LinkedIn about working with his former Common Desk colleague, founder Nick Clark, to develop the "first boutique country club in the USA" in Dallas' Lake Highlands neighborhood. The twist: Unlike traditional country clubs—where space and programming for kids is a relative afterthought—Eastside Country Club will be aimed at prioritizing kids over adults "when it comes to design, indoor space allocation, amenities, and programming."
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The Last Word: Winners Announced for Mid‑Cities ‘Beats for Good’ Competition
by | Oct 4, 2024
Beats for Good—a high school music competition for students in the Arlington, Hurst-Euless-Bedford, and Mansfield school districts—invited students to put their best performances forward by submitting videos of their talent in action. Back on September 6, the top judged entries were posted online with visitors asked to vote for their favorites—and the winners are in. First place went to 2024 Arlington High School graduate Mason Moore and his spellbinding acoustic guitar rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." 
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The Last Word: Governor Abbott on the Impact of the Dallas-Based Texas Stock Exchange

by | Oct 1, 2024
In June, TXSE Group announced plans to launch the Texas Stock Exchange (TXSE), focused on enabling U.S. and global companies to access U.S. equity capital markets via a “fully electronic, national securities exchange." In the months since, that's led to endless discussion of the impact of North Texas' "Y'All Street." It was capped by yesterday's announcement that the TXSE had raised over $135 million to date as it named members of TXSE's board—including former Texas Governor and former U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry; former SEC Commissioner Rick Roberts; and Alex Bussandri, the global head of strategy at Citadel Securities.
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The Last Word: Starship Bagel’s Oren Salomon on Winning 3 Awards at the 2024 New York BagelFest
by | Sep 30, 2024
Salomon—who also founded the coworking space Dallas Fort Work and is the global director of the maps project for Open Coworking—has bagels in his blood. But unlike most Brooklyn-born Jews, he came to North Texas and did something about it, opening three locations of his Starship Bagels in downtown Dallas, Far North Dallas, and Lewisville. On Saturday, he proved he has the goods by schlepping back to NYC and winning three top prizes at the 2024 New York BagelFest—one year after winning "Best Bagel" there in 2023.
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The Last Word: On Dallas Getting Its 2nd Old Monk Pub 26 Years After First One Opened
by | Sep 27, 2024
Trendy new bar-restaurants seem to pop up every week in Dallas. But many fans prefer something cozy, tried, and true, like The Old Monk pub at 2847 Henderson Avenue. Fastidiously un-trendied since its opening 26 years ago, the pub has drawn crowds of happily laid-back patrons since McKinney, an Irish-American from Dublin, first opened it.
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The Last Word: On the Dallas City Council Adopting the ForwardDallas 2.0 Land Use Planning Guide
After a long and often contentious process, the Dallas City Council voted to adopt a new land use planning guide known as ForwardDallas 2.0 Wednesday by a vote of 11-4. The vote followed months of debate between housing advocates and single-family homeowners on the best way forward for the city's growth over the next decade.
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The Last Word: Why the New York Times Put Irving’s Simply South on its 2024 America’s Best Restaurants List

by | Sep 24, 2024
The New York Times is out with its 2024 list of America's Best Restaurants, and a spicy, meatless destination off I-635 in Irving has made its colorful way onto the list. Simply South opened only last December in a former Tex-Mex restaurant location at 1001 MacArthur Park Drive—but the word is definitely out. The Times says the wait is 3 hours on Sundays for  dishes from Andhra Pradesh in southern India "that tastes like home cooking from the chefs Venkatesawara Rao Muttavarapu, Manikandan Ramalingam, and Anoop Muraleedharan."
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The Last Word: Mike Ablon on the Planned $350M Redevelopment of Dallas’ Bank of America Tower
by | Sep 23, 2024
Ablon and Mike Hoque of Dallas-based Hoque Global have the iconic 72-story Bank of America Plaza tower and four surrounding city blocks under contract, and are planning a $350 million redevelopment that includes a luxury hotel, street-level enhancements, and a potential new financial district in downtown Dallas, according to an exclusive report by D CEO's Christine Perez. 
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The Last Word: Six Flags’ ‘Chief Fright Officer’ on Turning Hit Movies into Fright Fest Attractions
by | Sep 20, 2024
It's scary enough to tiptoe through a regular haunted house. But when something pops out that gave you a heart attack during a movie—and sent your popcorn flying—the chills really kick up a notch. That's the idea behind Fright Fest, going on now through Nov. 3 at Six Flags Over Texas. Along with park-wide spooky vibes and "scare zones," there are new haunted mazes inspired by horror brands come to life: including Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures’ SAW franchise, Netflix’s Stranger Things, Warner Bros. Discovery’s The Conjuring, Legendary Entertainment’s Trick ‘r Treat, and Netflix & Legendary Entertainment’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
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The Last Word: It’s North Texas Giving Day, and There’s Still Time to Give
by | Sep 19, 2024
Giving is going gangbusters across North Texas today—because it's North Texas Giving Day, the 16th annual event presented by the Communities Foundation of Texas. More than 3,300 nonprofits from 20 local counties are participating this year, with 100% of donations going to support over 25 different cause areas. It's the largest community-wide giving event in the U.S., and it's centered around this website, where you can browse, search, and even take a quiz about causes you care about. As of 3:15 p.m. today, over $43 million has been raised—and you can add to that total by donating before midnight tonight.
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The Last Word: DFW Sports Stars & Legends Team Up for North Texas Giving Day

by | Sep 17, 2024
Texas Rangers first baseman Nathaniel Lowe leads a star-studded sports team of players and legends from the Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Stars, Dallas Mavericks, FC Dallas, and Dallas Wings in encouraging even more donations on North Texas Giving Day.
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The Last Word: Innovating Brunch with ‘a Thai Twist’ at Grandscape’s Tande Thai
by | Sep 16, 2024
Imjard and Tande Thai Executive Chef Matt Baum have launched a new weekend brunch that offers guests "a unique fusion of brunch favorites infused with vibrant Thai flavors" from Imjard's roots in Thailand.
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The Last Word: On the Founders of Fort Worth’s Goldee’s BBQ Making Food & Wine’s 2024 ‘Best New Chefs’ List
People wait in line up to 5 hours to get into Goldee's, a BBQ restaurant in a rough-hewn wood shack in Fort Worth. So you know something special is smokin' up there. But now the line may get even longer—because Goldee's three co-founders made the 2024 Food & Wine Best New Chefs list this week. 
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The Last Word: Dallas-Based LTK’s Amber Venz Box On Competing With Tech Giants
by | Sep 11, 2024
Dallas-based LTK is proving that North Texas startups can go toe-to-toe with Silicon Valley giants. In a recent interview with Axios, Amber Venz Box discussed the company's impressive growth in the creator economy space.
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