As road work drags on, a Fort Worth business owner fights to survive
Shannon Bell knew the construction on Keller Hicks Road would affect the popular arcade she owns, but she worries about how to keep her customers coming back with detours that are hard to navigate.
“I’m the only business on the road that relies on walk-in customers,” said Bell, owner of Tornado Terry’s, at 4530 Keller Hicks Road in Fort Worth. Crews have been working on a roughly half-mile stretch of the once-country road for 18 months and still have another at least another year to go.
Bell said her customer traffic is down by about 50%, describing how navigation apps, such as Google Maps, are routing customers to an apartment complex behind the arcade.
“People are set in their ways. I’ve literally had people tell me that they’re not coming back until the project is finished,” she said.
Bell, who opened the arcade with her late husband Terry, the area was in unincorporated Tarrant County and the nearby Villages at Woodland Springs was not built yet when they opened 35 years ago.
There were no storm drains or sewer lines on her side of Keller Hicks Road, she said.
Now her neighborhood arcade is surrounded by the rapid growth reshaping a once rural area on the Keller border.
What’s happening with Keller Hicks construction
Fort Worth is in the midst of a $24 million to improve Keller Hicks Road from Park Vista to Lauren Way. The first phase included the addition of turn lanes and an improved railroad crossing. Improvements in Phase 2 include streetlights, sidewalks, a traffic signal at Woodland Springs and storm drainage. The road should be open to two-way traffic in early 2027, the city says.
The city and its contractors have been in contact with Tornado Terry’s weekly to help with signage, customer access and construction scheduling, according to an email from Fort Worth’s Transportation and Public Works department.
Fort Worth requested that Google display the maps accurately, but the problems persist.
Asked why the work is taking so long, Lara Ingram, a spokesperson for the transportation and public works department said in an email, “You’ll note this involves water lines, railroad crossings. It’s a very complex project.”
District 10 council member Alan Blaylock, who represents the area, said he empathizes with Bell.
Tornado Terry’s “has been a favorite of both my daughters forever,” he wrote in a text message. “Hate to hear they are having challenges.”
Customers want to help
Longtime customer Jennifer Buchanan said she was surprised that when she went to the arcade on Halloween night with her 11-year-old son and his friend, they were the only customers until some teens showed up at 10 p.m.
“The place should have been packed,” Buchanan said.
Buchanan said she used her determination to get to Tornado Terry’s.
“It’s a whole mess,” she said. “We travel Keller Hicks daily.”
For her part, Bell said she will do all she can to stay open.
Bell said she serves a wide range of people who aren’t old enough to go to bars but still want to have a fun night out.
“I am all about the games. I don’t sell alcohol. I don’t throw out the kids at 9 o’clock,” she said.
Her business attracts families — grandparents who teach their grandchildren how to play pinball and pool and parents who want to spend time with their kids.
“As long as the Lord brings me enough to pay my bills, I will stay open,” she said.
