Local entrepreneur Billy Delp never got to go on a tour of some of Brooklyn's best pizza joints. It was sold out on the Fourth of July when he wanted to go.
But it sparked a conversation with a food tour owner in the New York City borough, who told Delp that if he lived in Texas, he'd do a barbecue tour.Starting Oct. 4, Texas Bar-B-Q Tour will move its first paying customers (at $75 a pop) through Cowtown, with stops at Angelo's, Smokey's and Off the Bone. (He chose them by ratings given by, ahem, Dallas' D magazine.) Customers get food and transport.The 41/2-hour tour will run Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, with a modified version planned for Saturdays, Delp told us.People staying at hotels near the airport or in Dallas can hop on the Trinity Railway Express and ride to the T&P Station or meet at the downtown stop, where a chartered bus will meet them. For more information, go to texasbarbqtour.com.Delp, 51, an enthusiastic soul who sounds like he's at least four cups of coffee ahead of the rest of the world, said he has learned from food tour entrepreneurs that half the customers are local. And he found out that as long as the driver is paid, alcoholic libations can be enjoyed aboard the bus."The Lord has blessed me on this. I don't know why," said Delp, a Texan who has experience in the convenience store and restaurant businesses and marvels at what he is convinced is a brilliant idea. So brilliant that there's already talk of some sort of reality TV angle. "But I'm sworn to secrecy," said Delp, who doesn't sound like he can keep much to himself for long.Tax break sought for apartmentsThe Dallas developer that plans 315 apartments in a community off Lancaster Avenue near the West Seventh Street corridor is asking the city of Fort Worth for a five-year property tax abatement that will reduce the developer's bill by about $845,000.Locap Holdings said the 85 percent abatement of city taxes on the incremental value of the property is needed to fill a "financing gap," city records state. Construction will cost about $23.2 million. About 32 apartments will be affordable housing.The City Council is scheduled to hear the abatement request Tuesday and vote on it Sept. 27.Under the agreement, Locap will have to spend nearly $7 million on construction with Fort Worth companies and nearly $6 million with Fort Worth minority- or women-owned businesses.The city will waive permit fees and some other construction costs.The apartments, at Lancaster Avenue and Currie, Bledsoe and Norwood streets, are expected to be completed by March 31, 2013. The developers bought the property in 2009.Heirloom dress remains intactUpdate: Laurie Lee Cosby's 1905 wedding dress did not fall apart during its restoration at Fort Worth's Kite Cleaners. We reported Aug. 29 that there was a chance that its threads might burst. The silk dress came out ivory -- with all the yellow gone.As a bonus, Cosby discovered that the lace is white, not ivory too. "Carl Bear is amazing," she said, referring to the restorer and manager at Kite's location at 3225 Alta Mere Drive.Sandra Baker, 817-390-7727sabaker@star-telegram.comScott Nishimura, 817-390-7808snishimura@star-telegram.comBarry Shlachter, 817-390-7718barry@star-telegram.comHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
