Shutdown Specials

All the Dallas-Fort Worth hot spots with special deals for furloughed federal workers

Alamo Drafthouse and other businesses around Dallas-Fort Worth are offering deals for federal works affected by the government shutdown.

Photo by Stephen Duffy/Selig Polyscope Company

As the partial shutdown of federal government continues, a number of businesses around Dallas-Fort Worth are offering discounts and/or free admission for furloughed workers. Below is a list of businesses that have already announced deals; more specials will added as they come up. All deals are good for anyone with a valid, current federal government I.D.

Alamo Drafthouse: All locations of Alamo Drafthouse in Dallas-Fort Worth are offering federal workers free movies, Mondays through Thursdays throughout the month of January. The deal is good for one free ticket per day and is valid for any new or current release. Workers must buy tickets for any guests, and free tickets cannot be used for any specialty programming.
Boston's Pizza Restaurant and Bar: Boston's, which has locations in Irving and Arlington, is offering federal workers 50 percent off in-restaurant purchases until the shutdown is over. The deal is valid for dine-in only and can be used solely for food purchases.
Dallas Symphony Orchestra: The DSO is offering two free tickets for an employee and guest to any of their concerts through mid-February, including DSO on the GO Frisco on January 20; The Music of ABBA, January 25-27; John Adams Conducts Adams, Debussy and Respighi, January 31-February 2; ReMix: Alexander Kerr, February 8-9; DSO on the GO Denton on February 10; and Opus 100: James O’Donnell on February 17. Tickets must be obtained in person at the Dallas Symphony Guest Services Center at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center.
Dallas Holocaust Museum: The Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education and Tolerance is offering free admission for an employee and guest to view the permanent exhibition, "One Day in the Holocaust: April 14, 1943," or the special exhibition, "Let Me Be Myself: The Life Story of Anne Frank." This special exhibition has a VR component that allows you to “virtually” visit Anne’s “Secret Annex.”
Fort Brewery & Pizza: The Fort Worth restaurant-bar is giving a free full- or individual-size pizza (excluding H-Bomb), along with non-alcoholic drinks, to federal workers and their families.
Fort Worth Bike Sharing: Federal workers can ride bikes for free in Fort Worth by calling Fort Worth Bike Sharing at 817-348-0043 and asking for a promo code.
Great Harvest Bread Company: The Magnolia Avenue bakery in Fort Worth has a "Shutdown Shelf" with free loaves of bread for furloughed workers. Just present ID at the counter to claim a loaf.
Hopdoddy Burger Bar: On Wednesday, January 23, all six area Hopdoddy locations will be offering federal workers a free meal, including a burger, regular fries and a non-alcoholic beverage. For the remainder of the shutdown, federal workers will be able to get 25 percent off their meal.
The Joy of Waxing: Aesthetician Allison Herrold, who provides full body waxing, eyebrow/eyelash tinting, spray tanning, and makeup application, is offering federal workers a 50 percent discount on any service. The deal is also good for current or past military members. Located in Dallas near Scottish Rite Hospital, reservations can be made at www.joyofwaxing.com.
Knife Burger: Beginning Friday, January 18, Chef John Tesar will offer Ozersky Hamburgers for only $1 to federal workers throughout the government shutdown. The deal will be available at Knife Burger at The Shops at Willow Bend in Plano and Knife Burger at Food Hall at Crockett Row in Fort Worth. Any add ons or sides are not included in the deal.
Macaroni Grill: All furloughed federal workers can get a free Mom's Ricotta Meatballs + Spaghetti. The deal is good 11 am-4 pm every day through January 23 or until the government shutdown ends.
Magnolia Hotel - Park Cities: The hotel, located near Mockingbird and 75, is offering a complimentary breakfast buffet in the Park Cities Grill for all Love Field airport TSA workers and air traffic controllers.
Minnie's Pantry: The food bank in Plano provides free non-perishable items, fresh meats, fresh produce, and dairy products to any federal worker that shows his or her zeroed out paystub, a photo ID, and proof of residency. They are open Wednesdays through Saturdays, and will hold an extra service day on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day from 8:30-11:30 am.
Operation Kindness: Operation Kindness’ Pet Food Pantry in Addison is offering free bags of food and cat litter to federal workers. The Food Pantry program provides temporary food assistance, so owners can keep their pets. The offer is good on January 17 from 12-3 pm, January 19 from 10 am-2 pm, and January 26 from 10 am-2 pm.
Perot Museum of Nature and Science: The Perot Museum is offering free general admission to federal workers and one guest through January 31. The offer must be redeemed in-person and is not valid for parking or films.
Righteous Foods: The Fort Worth restaurant, featuring Chef Lanny Lancarte, Chef of the Year at the 2018 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, is offering free tacos for federal workers through January 25.
Ruthie's Rolling Cafe: In partnership with Lyda Hill Philanthropies, the local food truck will be providing free meals to federal workers for the duration of the shutdown. The truck, often found at Klyde Warren Park, sets up shop at various locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area; check their site for their daily schedule.
Start Restaurant: Start will be providing a discounted "Lunch Bag" at $6.50 for federal workers. The "Lunch Bag" includes a turkey swiss wrap, tots, and a fountain drink. They are also encouraging workers to ask about temporary work if needed.
Sky Zone: The trampoline park, which has a location in Irving, is offering federal workers and their immediate families a free 60-minute jump every Tuesday through Thursday through January 31. Sky Zone socks are required and not included in this offer, but guests can always bring back SkySocks from previous visits to use again.
Taco Cabana: The Mexican chain is offering 20 percent off its entire menu (with a max of $20 in savings) for all federal workers. The offer is valid at all participating Taco Cabana locations, dine-in, or drive thru, but is not valid for online orders. The discount will continue through the period of the shutdown, unless otherwise announced.
Tangers Outlet Fort Worth: The outlet mall will be offering free TANGERCARES $20 gift cards to federal workers through January 28. Only one gift card per employee. TangerCARES is Tanger’s program dedicated to demonstrating their commitment to the communities in which they operate through volunteerism, fund-raising efforts, and charitable donations.
Twisted Trompo: The new Dallas taqueria (which will open a location in Garland on January 22) is offering $1 tacos for federal workers every day until the shutdown ends.
Whataburger: Starting Saturday, January 26, Whataburger is offering federal workers a free Taquito and coffee from 6-11 am every morning until further notice. The offer is available at participating locations, in-restaurant only. One breakfast per federal ID. Offer does not apply to drive thru or mobile orders.
YMCA: Both the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas and YMCA of Metropolitan Fort Worth are waiving a month of membership dues for any federal worker who is already a member. The YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas is also offering free workouts for federal workers who are not members.

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Hemp news

Texas cannabis businesses sue state to block ban on smokeable hemp

Photo by CRYSTALWEED cannabis on Unsplash

Texas is cracking down on smokeable hemp.

Texas hemp industry leaders and advocacy groups have sued the state to block new regulations that eliminate natural smokeable hemp products and increase licensing fees.

The Texas Hemp Business Council, Hemp Industry & Farmers of America, and several Texas-based dispensaries and manufacturers filed for a temporary restraining order in state district court in Travis County against the Texas Department of State Health Services and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission on Tuesday, April 6. They argue that the agencies have overstepped their constitutional authority by rewriting the statutory definitions of hemp established by lawmakers in 2019.

“Under current Texas law, hemp is defined by its delta-9 THC concentration of not more than 0.3 percent,” said David Sergi, an attorney for the hemp coalition, in a press release. “These Texas officials and state agencies are clearly attempting to create new law in direct contradiction to what the Texas legislature intended.”

The background
Even though Texas law bans marijuana, lawmakers legalized hemp in 2019. State law defines hemp as containing less than 0.3 percent levels of intoxicating Delta-9 THC.

To get around the law’s Delta-9 THC restrictions, manufacturers started cultivating hemp plants with another type of THC, called THCA, that, when ignited in a joint or smokeable product, can produce a high. Many lawmakers have said this legal loophole has allowed a recreational THC market to appear overnight without direct approval from the state.

Last year, the Texas Legislature voted to ban the products out of fear that these intoxicating products were consistently getting into the hands of children. But, Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed the decision last summer, before asking the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and DSHS to increase regulations on the industry instead.

The Texas Department of State Health Services released regulations on consumable hemp-derived THC products that went into effect on March 31. These new regulations include child-resistant packaging, a significant increase in licensing fees, new labeling, testing, and bookkeeping requirements. The rules also codify the legal purchasing age to 21, which went into effect last year as an emergency directive.

Why the hemp industry sued
Also under the new rules, laboratories tests now measure the total amount of any THC in a product. If the THC levels exceed the 0.3 percent threshold, even if it’s only activated upon being smoked, the product will be noncompliant under state regulations. As a result, some of the most popular hemp products, like THCA flower and pre-rolled joints, have been banned.

Hemp businesses caught selling noncompliant products face a range of penalties and fines, including license revocation and up to $10,000 in violation fees for each day these products were sold in stores.

“An administrative agency may not substitute its own policy judgment for the outcome produced by the constitutional lawmaking process,” the lawsuit states. “The Texas Constitution vests legislative power in the Legislature, not administrative agencies.”

Retailers cannot sell hemp to out-of-state customers either.

The rules also increase licensing fees for manufacturers of hemp-derived THC from $258 to $10,000 per facility and retail registrations from $155 to $5,000, which industry leaders say will fulfill the ban by forcing businesses to close. The hemp business community’s lawsuit is not challenging the other new regulations, including the age verification or ones they say protect consumers.

“Texas hemp businesses wholeheartedly support those regulations, as they fall within the agency’s authority,” said Sergi. “We are seeking to halt rules that would effectively end the in-state production of hemp and the sale of hemp products — items the Legislature chose not to ban during recent legislative and special sessions.”

What the state says
Concerns about the safety of these high-THC products among youth led lawmakers to attempt to ban hemp-derived THC products outright last year. While the overall ban didn’t succeed, lawmakers successfully banned vape pens containing THC and other hemp-derived intoxicating chemicals.

Data provided from the Texas Poison Center Network confirms a sharp increase in cannabis-related poisoning calls starting in 2019, a year after hemp-derived THC was legalized by the federal government, from 923 to a 10-year high of 2,592 in 2024. Calls climbed to 2,669 last year. The majority of these calls involve suspected poisoning of children under the age of five and teenagers.

Drug policy experts said these numbers seem alarming, but it is natural for poisoning calls to increase when a drug has become legalized, and the data needs additional context before making conclusions from it.

Jennifer Ruffcorn, spokesperson for HHSC, directed questions about the lawsuit and what it means for the new hemp regulations to DSHS.

Lara Anton, spokesperson for DSHS, declined to comment on pending litigation.

What’s next
The hemp industry’s battle to stay alive in Texas started back in 2021 when the state health agency classified any amount of a natural intoxicating hemp compound called delta-8 THC as illegal. The hemp industry sued the state over its ban on delta-8 and the Texas Supreme Court is expected to consider the case this year.

The delta-8 lawsuit will have an impact on the outcome of the most recent lawsuit over the smokeable hemp ban because both lawsuits challenge the authority of a state health agency to make changes to the market without approval from lawmakers or the public.

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This story was originally published by The Texas Tribune and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

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