Landlord News

@properties Dallas headquarters tech-focused brokerage Braniff Centre

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A real estate agency has snapped up Dallas’ newest real estate agency @properties Dallas has announced its plans to headquarter the tech-focused brokerage from the Braniff Centre, a location symbolic of the history and growth of Dallas Love Field Airport. CEO Jerry W. Mooty, Jr. and Principal Piper Young are thrilled to have found the ideal space to establish and grow their empire in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

from Dallas’ newest real estate firm, @properties Dallas. The tech-focused brokerage has announced it will headquarter its Dallas operations from the Braniff Centre, a location symbolic of the history and growth of Dallas Love Field Airport. CEO Jerry W. Mooty, Jr. and recently announced Principal Piper Young are thrilled to have found the ideal space to establish and grow their empire in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

Located adjacent to the Dallas Love Field Airport, the Braniff Centre sits on 200,000 square feet of private hangar space designed to replicate the Braniff jet, which was previously used by the Dallas Cowboys football team. What was formerly the Braniff Airways’ operation base has been transformed to be a mixed-use property that, while modern and innovative, preserves and honors the history and significance of the location to the city of Dallas. The building now contains a high-quality hangar, retailers, restaurants, an auto-dealer showroom, as well as entertainment and hospitality and modern office spaces, which now include @properties’ Dallas headquarters.

visit atpropertiesdallas.com. Established in 2000, @properties ranks 8th on the REAL Trends 500 list of the largest residential brokerage firms in the U.S. by sales volume. During the past decade, @properties has developed a proprietary suite of integrated technology applications called pl@tform, which includes marketing, transaction-management, and client-relationship management systems, and recently launched a nationwide franchise. @properties and its affiliated companies, Ansley Real Estate and Nest Realty, have over 4,000 agents in 65 offices in 10 states.

Located adjacent to the Dallas Love Field Airport, the Braniff Centre sits on 200,000 square feet of private hangar space designed to replicate the Braniff jet, which was previously used by the Dallas Cowboys football team. What was formerly the Braniff Airways’ operation base has been transformed to be a mixed-use property that, while modern and innovative, preserves and honors the history and significance of the location to the city of Dallas. The expansion and restoration of the original space were dedicated to maintaining the ‘spirit of the modern jet-setter’ lifestyle that was established in the 1950s by the original Braniff International Airways. The building now contains private, executive hangars, retailers, restaurants, an auto-dealer showroom, as well as entertainment and hospitality and modern office spaces, which now include @properties’ Dallas headquarters.

The @properties Dallas team is led by CEO and Principal Jerry W. Mooty, Jr., a Dallas businessman and nephew of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. The team is fast-growing, with commitments from a number of Dallas’ top luxury realtors, including Piper Young, a luxury realtor who is on pace to record over $50 million in residential sales volume in 2021, who will serve as the director of strategic partnerships, principal and realtor. @properties Dallas is on the road to becoming a major player in Dallas’ real estate scene, and Mooty and the founding team are eager to operate the franchise from their new office space.

“We could not have asked for a better space to run the @properties Dallas franchise from than the Braniff Centre,” enthused Mooty. “It is an honor to have access to such a meaningful place in the history of Dallas and Love Field Airport. @properties Dallas is ready to make history.”

The @properties Dallas expansion is the third franchise for the tech-focused brokerage, and establishing their headquarters at the Braniff Centre is an exciting step toward what’s to come.

For more information, visit atpropertiesdallas.com.

Jerry Mooty Jr.

@properties continues its expansion into markets outside of Chicago with its newest franchise in Dallas, Texas, through a partnership with Jerry Mooty Jr., the nephew of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

It’s the third franchise for the company — @properties launched its first two in Detroit, Mich., and La Crosse, Wisc. — and plans more to come. In the last few years, @properties also has expanded through the purchase of Ansley Real Estate in Atlanta and Nest Realty in Charlottesville, Virginia.

@properties noted in a press release that the Dallas venture includes backing from the Jerry Jones family and that Mooty plans to scale up quickly to make the company a major player in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area. The franchise plans to focus on luxury sales and new construction and already has commitments to market a new condo tower in Highland Park and a luxury home development in High Hill Farm, a master-planned community near Tyler.

“The chance to pair strong local ownership with a true technology-driven solution for agents, buyers, and sellers is the big opportunity in Dallas real estate, and what drew me to @properties,” Mooty said in the press release. “This company has an incredible track record for innovation and success and a culture that inspires people.”

Mooty plans to make an announcement in the coming weeks concerning founding agents and luxury real estate agents he is recruiting from the area.

“Dallas is an awesome proving ground for the @properties franchise brand. We’re so excited to be here alongside an owner-operator like Jerry, who thrives on competition and is a true ambassador not only for local real estate but also for the entire Dallas-Fort Worth area,” said Thad Wong, co-founder and co-CEO of @properties alongside Mike Golden.

Mooty is an attorney, entrepreneur and real estate agent. He co-founded the law firm McCathern Mooty, LLP, where he was managing partner for 14 years. He launched the financial services firm Blue Star Payments in 2017, with the support of the Dallas Cowboys and the Jerry Jones family.

More information available at https://www.atpropertiesdallas.com.

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Mooty will build the Dallas franchise around a couple of market segments in which he and his team have considerable expertise: luxury homes and new-construction developments. The boutique luxury brokerage already has agreements in place to run sales and marketing for a new high-rise condo tower in Highland Park and a luxury home development within the High Hill Farm master-planned, second-home community just outside of Tyler, Texas.

He has been involved in real estate for more than two decades through his work as a lawyer, residential and commercial developer, investor, and broker. Most recently, he was director of strategy and led the top-producing Jerry Mooty Real Estate Group at Rogers Healy and Associates in Dallas.

Fair Food Judging

What it’s like to judge the State Fair’s wild Big Tex Choice Awards

Photo courtesy of State Fair of Texas

Alex Bentley (center in pink shirt) was one of the celebrity judges at the 2026 Big Tex Choice Awards.

The State Fair of Texas officially revealed the winners of its annual Big Tex Choice Awards for best new food and drink items on Tuesday, August 18, and I was lucky enough to be one of the 30 or so celebrity judges (depending on your definition of "celebrity") picked to determine the winners.

The number of people judging the 15 finalists - five Savory, five Sweet, and five Sippers - was a dramatic increase from the panels of previous years, which typically was limited to less than 10.

Judges ranged from anchors for local TV stations to radio hosts to reporters for print publications to social media influencers, giving this year's panel a broad range of personalities and tastes.

To be clear, I am not a food critic or restaurant writer. But I've attended a lot of food events, and as part of my job as an entertainment writer and editor for CultureMap, I review movies. So I tried to bring my critic's sensibilities to the table for the Big Tex Choice Awards.

Situated around a U-shaped table arrangement in a large conference room in the Briscoe Carpenter Livestock Center at Fair Park, the judges were arranged in alphabetical order by first name, giving me the unexpected honor of being at the head of the table (and briefly feeling like "head judge.")

Sizing up the portions
Food at the State Fair is not known for its restraint, both in ingredients and size, so it was a slight relief when we were told that we would be receiving sample sizes of each food/drink item.

Turns out, however, that "sample size" for enormous quantities of food simply means "slightly less," as was evident with the first item (and eventual Savory winner), the Burger Chop Tater Tacos. They're essentially tacos with a fried cheddar-tater tot shell filled with chopped burger, sautéed onions and jalapeños, then topped with Buffalo buttermilk ranch coleslaw and garlic parmesan buffalo sauce.

Sample size of Burger Chop Tater Tacos at the 2026 Big Tex Choice Awards This was the "sample size" of Burger Chop Tater Tacos at the 2026 Big Tex Choice Awards.Photo by Alex Bentley

Served one taco instead of the two fairgoers will receive, the dish (like most of the entries) was visually appealing and delicious, featuring a little kick from jalapeños and a Buffalo buttermilk ranch dressing, but not so spicy that it was off-putting.

Although it was tempting to eat the whole thing, I erred on the side of caution and stopped after a few bites, trying to pace myself for the onslaught yet to come.

How judging works
Judges were asked to rate each item on four criteria - Taste, Presentation, Creativity, and Value for the Price. While the first two were easy enough to determine, the other two felt considerably more subjective.

Judging for the Savory portion of the event proceeded at a relatively leisurely pace, allowing us to savor items like Dickel’s Texas Two Step Tacos (traditional but flavor-packed), Golden Crunch Melt (a tortilla chicken wrap with some nice zing), Nacho Wings (my favorite thanks to delicious toppings and perfectly-cooked wings), and Flamin’ Crunch Pizza (pizza with Flamin' Hot Cheetos on top that was edible but not really appealing).

Each item was introduced through Q&As with the people who created them, and several contestants got emotional, both at being selected as finalists and because their long tenures as State Fair food vendors have turned into family affairs.

There must have been a little too much time taken with the Savory items, though, because the Sweet items started coming out almost one on top of the other.

Meeting my Matcha
The first item was called Berry Me in Matcha, and it was my winner from the start, thanks in part to its cute, punny name and its fun presentation: a slice of cheesecake on a stick, paying homage to more classic Fair foods. It was also a flavor bomb, with a matcha coating and white chocolate-raspberry drizzle.

In a just world, Berry Me in Matcha cheesecake on a stick would have been the Sweet winner at the 2026 Big Tex Choice Awards.Photo by Alex Bentley

The dessert did win the Most Creative award, but the ultimate Sweet winner was Fletcher’s Chocolate Corny Dog, a fun but simple twist on everyone’s favorite Fair treat featuring a “mustard” drizzle and “ketchup” dip - really vanilla icing dyed yellow and raspberry compote.

Unlike some of the other entries, the Chocolate Corny Dog was easy to digest (both visually and otherwise) and didn't make you think too hard, which is likely why it prevailed over things like Fernie’s Frozen Espresso-tini Bar (a coffee and booze popsicle that didn't seem that creative), Holy Flan! Bunueleco (a concoction with too many elements and not enough flavor), and Texas Pecan Praline Cheesecake Cone (amazing to look at, very strange to actually eat thanks to way too much whipped cream on top).

Confusing concoctions
The Sippers category was a mixed bag. Items like the Corn Flake Shappé (a souped-up shake with dulce de leche and an abundance of corn flakes), Nevins Soft Serve Peach Bellini Float (ice cream and sparkling wine? Why not?), and Sunset Soft Serve Rita (ice cream and margarita? Why not?) felt more like desserts than drinks.

$Corn Flake Shapp\u00e9 at the 2026 Big Tex Choice Awards$ The Corn Flake Shappé at the 2026 Big Tex Choice Awards was way more dessert than Sipper.Photo by Alex Bentley

The Bacon Jam Caramel Apple Cider was the oddest entry, with little more than sugar, apple, and alcohol coming through taste-wise. The eventual winner, Tropical Coco Fresca, was the most sippable of the bunch and seemed to develop more flavor after it sat for a while.

As I've learned from attending food festivals, a little of each item goes a long way. I made the decision ahead of time to eat only a few bites or take a few sips of each entry, even though I was tempted to go further with a few of them.

I did, however, make sure to bring home the rest of my Berry Me in Matcha sample. It was simply too good not to share with my family.

big tex choice awards food-drink state fair of texas state-fair