RIP Joe

Joe Tillotson, founder of Barley House and many Dallas bars, dies at 53

RIP Joe Tillotson.

Photo courtesy of Katy Tillotson

Joseph "Joe" Patrick Tillotson, a Dallas entrepreneur who helped open popular bars such as Barley House and Katy Trail Ice House, passed away on April 22, after battling cancer for several years; he was 53.

Joe was born on June 11, 1967, the fourth of five brothers, a seventh-generation Texan, and a descendant of Texas patriot Jose Antonio Navarro.

He was an accomplished athlete from an early age, winning the Dallas Times Herald Junior Golf Tournament at age 9, and played high school football (quarterback) and basketball, winning numerous awards, championships, and all-state honors.

He attended Lake Highland schools and graduated from Jesuit College Preparatory in 1986. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1990 with a BA in Economics, then attended SMU Cox School of Business where he completed his MBA in 1999.

He'd already started founding a string of businesses with friends including acclaimed Dallas bars and restaurants such as The Barley House, Muddy Waters, Bryan Street Tavern, the Metropolitan, City Tavern, Banditos Tex-Mex, Katy Trail Ice House, Katy Trail Ice House Outpost, and Redfield's Tavern, which he opened in 2019 as a gift and legacy for his wife Katy.

Most of the establishments he helped open or found are still open and had a positive impact. The Barley House was an early settler on Henderson Avenue, helping to set the stage for the thoroughfare's revival. Along with its sibling Muddy Waters, Barley House also provided a platform for an entire community of local musicians such as The Old 97's, the Cartwrights, Lone Star Trio, Slobberbone, Sorta, Little Grizzly, Pleasant Grove, Chomsky, and Deathray Davies.

Joe is survived by his wife, Mary Katherine "Katy" Tillotson, four children, two stepchildren, his parents John and Sylvia Tillotson, brothers John, James, Jeffrey, and Jerome, their wives, and many nieces and nephews.

A funeral Mass will take place at St. Monica Catholic Church in Dallas on Saturday, May 1st at 12 pm, followed by a reception at Redfield's from 3-6 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Jesuit College Preparatory in the name of the John R. Tillotson scholarship fund.

nightlife deaths

better than last year

Texas struggles on new ranking of best states to live in 2026

Photo by Stuart Seeger Wikipedia

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After earning its worst-ever ranking last year, Texas has improved couple of spots on an evaluation of the best states to live, but it's still at the bottom of the pack.

Each year, WalletHub's analysts compare all 50 states using 51 livability metrics to measure their affordability, economy, education and health, quality of life, and safety. Factors that were weighed include the cost of living, homeownership rates, population and income growth rates, wealth gaps, public school system quality, road quality, crime rates, and many others.

The Lone Star State landed at No. 36 spot in 2026, making it the 15th worth state to live right now. That's on par with its 2024 ranking, and it's a two-spot improvement over its 2025 performance.

While Texas residents can brag about living in a state with the No. 1 highest number of restaurants per capita and the 7th best quality of life in the country, that's about it. Texas earned middling-to-poor scores among the four remaining livability rankings: safety (No. 33), affordability (No. 35), economy (No. 37), and education and health (No. 40).

Texas has a lot of work to do to improve its livability for all of its residents, but especially for women, according to several other 2026 WalletHub studies. Texas is the fourth-worst state for women, the ninth-worst state for working mothers, and the seventh-worst place to have a baby based on limited access to maternal and pediatric healthcare.

But the very worst states to live prove that life could be much worse. New Mexico ranks 50th overall, with Louisiana (No. 49), Mississippi (No. 48), Alaska (No. 47), and Arkansas (No. 46) rounding out the bottom of the list.

After holding on as the No. 1 best state to live for a few years in a row, Massachusetts now ranks No. 4 and was overtaken by Idaho (No. 1), New Jersey (No. 2), and Wisconsin (No. 3). New Hampshire rounds out the top five best states to live.

WalletHub's top 10 best states to live in 2026 are:

No. 1 – Idaho
No. 2 – New Jersey
No. 3 – Wisconsin
No. 4 – Massachusetts
No. 5 – New Hampshire
No. 6 – Wyoming
No. 7 – Utah
No. 8 – Minnesota
No. 9 – Pennsylvania
No. 10 – Florida

wallethub texas reports