Baseball bats yeah

Deep Ellum scores home run with new rock star baseball bat company

Can you guess who the rock star is in this photo?

Photo courtesy of Warstick

Deep Ellum gets a cool new business with the entry of Warstic, the sporting goods store co-owned by rock musician Jack White. The company has acquired the stunning Art Deco building at 2900 Main St., that was formerly All Star Baggers, a motorcycle shop. It plans to transform the space into a hand-turned wood baseball bat manufacturing facility and flagship retail location, with a plan to open in early 2018.

Deep Ellum will serve as the first brick-and-mortar retail location for the brand, which White owns with the Detroit Tigers' Ian Kinsler, and Ben Jenkins, who owns Dallas design company OneFastBuffalo.

Plans include a warehouse, retail store with a state-of-the-art bat-fitting room, wood and metal bat design studio and finishing lab, full batting cage, and a restaurant called the Players' Bar & Diner. Yay a restaurant. Now you have our attention.

Customers will be fitted for a Warstic baseball bat just like being fitted for a custom suit. Bat prices start at about $250.

"They'll be able to choose the personalized aesthetics of their stick while watching it come to life by our master bat craftsman," Jenkins says.

Warstic Sports Inc. was founded by Jenkins, a former professional baseball player turned designer. The company makes metal and wood baseball bats, gear, and apparel. A Detroit native, White became involved as a result of his close relationship with Kinsler and the Tigers. The same Kinsler who is a former Ranger, and who got ejected from the game with the Texas Rangers on August 14 for arguing with the umpire. Rock 'n' roll!

openings deep-ellum

Fun times in the city

Dallas swings a spot on new list of most fun cities in U.S. for 2024

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Dallas just wants to have fun, according to WalletHub's new ranking of the most fun cities in America in 2024.

The annual report ranked Dallas No. 31 out of 182 U.S. cities.

WalletHub's experts compared each city using 65 metrics to determine their level of "fun." Metrics were split among three main categories: entertainment and recreation, nightlife and parties, and cost.

According to the study's findings, Dallas was 24th nationally in the category for nightlife and parties, and ranked No. 39 in the "entertainment and recreation" category. That may be especially alluring for anyone who wants to explore the city's vast entertainment opportunities (especially during the holiday season), family-friendly recreational activities, top dining destinations, and more. Plus, Dallas is home to entertainment juggernauts like the State Fair of Texas and TopGolf.

Dallas performed poorly in the overall cost category, earning No. 114 out of all 182 cities. However, this category mostly compares flat costs rather than affordability based on local cost of living.

Potential new Dallasites should do their research before deciding to move here, rather than basing their decision on short trips and vacations alone. But we won't blame them for wanting to live in one of the best cities in the world.

"The top cities offer affordable options for year-round fun for their residents, which is good for residents’ wallets and their mental health," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo in the report.

Austin (No. 6) and Houston (No. 9) were the only Texas cities to earn a spot in the top 10 most fun U.S. cities list. Austin moved up one spot from last year, while Houston made a 10-place jump.

Other fun-filled Texas cities that made it in the top 100 are El Paso (No. 53), Fort Worth (No. 55), Plano (No. 78), Arlington (No. 79), and Corpus Christi (No. 99).

The top 10 most fun U.S. cities are:

No. 1 – Las Vegas, Nevada
No. 2 – Orlando, Florida
No. 3 – Miami, Florida
No. 4 – Atlanta, Georgia
No. 5 – New Orleans, Louisiana
No. 6 – Austin, Texas
No. 7 – San Francisco, California
No. 8 – Chicago, Illinois
No. 9 – Houston, Texas
No. 10 – New York City, New York

Cities were evaluated based on the number of attractions per capita, nightlife activities per capita, the average prices for eating at a restaurant or buying a movie ticket, and more. Data was sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau, The Trust for Public Land, and the Council for Community and Economic Research, among others.

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