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The former Bealls department store on Farm Road 51 South in Decatur will be the new home of Ashley’s Furniture Homestore. The store could open as soon as March 2025. AUSTIN JACKSON | WCMESSENGER
Ashley’s Furniture Homestore is ready to fill the Bealls-shaped hole in Decatur’s heart.
The furniture and mattress chain has plans to open up shop in the 22,000-square-foot building off of S. Farm Road 51 in March or April this year.
Whenever it does open, it will be a shot in the arm for the shopping center that has been without an anchor store at 611 N. Ford St. since Bealls announced it was closing for good in 2020.
Ashley’s has opened more than 2,000 locations worldwide since 1997. The store in Decatur will be the first location in Wise County and the fifth Texas location owned and operated by Red River Home, a family business that has been in the furniture business since 1978. Mitzi Dowd, marketing director of the furniture franchise group, explained that it all started when patriarch John Wilson opened his first store, Wilson’s Furniture and Appliance, in Hope, Arkansas.
Today the business is led by brothers J.D., Paul and Adam Wilson, who are carrying on the family tradition.
The Wilsons operate the Ashley Homestore locations in Texarkana, Paris, Sherman and Greenville; plus four other furniture-related businesses located in Texarkana and Hope.
The Decatur location is currently undergoing remodels to turn the disused department store into a furniture oasis that appears to be filling a relative niche in the county.
Filling up fast
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The new TA Travel Center in Decatur is expected to open soon at the intersection of U.S. 81/287 and Farm Road 2264. The gas station will also be home to a new Golden Chick. AUSTIN JACKSON | WCMESSENGER
While people moving to Wise County is a lucrative business opportunity, two big gas station chains are preparing to capitalize on all the people moving through Wise County.
Rhome Police Department reported late last year that the southern sector of U.S. 81/287 in Wise County was seeing a daily average of 50,000 cars pass through each day. So, it makes sense why we’re seeing some new gas stations pop up along major thoroughfares.
One big addition is the TA Travel Center in Decatur. It’s looking like it could open any day now at the new location at the intersection of U.S. 81/287 and Farm Road 2264.
The truck stop is bringing a Golden Chick in tow, and expansive selection of gas pumps.
Bridgeport is also making some gas station waves.
The final plat for the QuikTrip location off of Texas 101 was approved by the Bridgeport City Council last week.
QT plans to build a 5,023 square-foot store on the 3.9-acre property at 3370 S Texas 101..
Fittingly, Tariq Samuels, a representative from QuikTrip, told the city council last week that he expects the project to move, well, quickly. After dotting all the i’s and crossing the t’s, he believes the construction of the store could be completed as soon as 36 weeks.
BKV to expand CCS venture
BKV Corp., the largest natural gas producer in the Barnett Shale, debuted its entry into Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) with the Barnett Zero project in Bridgeport in 2023.
That venture has helped BKV sequester more than 140,000 metric tons of CO2 since launching in 2023.
On Feb. 13, BKV announced in a press release that it was expanding its carbon capture and storage (CCS) initiatives to the Eagle Ford.
The project aims to capture and store approximately 90,000 metric tons of CO2e. A final investment decision was made in December 2024.
“This collaboration is key to advancing our net-zero strategy with profitable CCUS assets,” BKV CEO Chris Kalnin said in a statement.
BKV will source CO2 from a natural gas processing plant near Freer, Texas, compress it, and permanently sequester it at a nearby site. The Texas Railroad Commission has approved the project’s Class II injection well, and an environmental monitoring plan is pending approval from the EPA. Operations are expected to begin in early 2026.
The publicly traded company said the partnership could lead to future projects.
DEDC works to recruit and retain
The glitzy part of Decatur Economic Development Corporation’s job is recruiting businesses to create new jobs and grow economic activity in the city. We saw that take place in January, when the city approved a real estate sales contract between International Aviation Components, Ltd to bring a testing facility to Decatur’s Eagles Landing Business Park.
But a little-known aspect of their role in the local economy is business retention.
I got a first-hand look at those efforts a few weeks ago. A couple days after reeling in the aviation company, DEDC and various city leaders popped into Industrial Diesel’s facility at the business park to throw a pizza party for their staff. The business was the first to bet on the park in Decatur.
Pizza, cake and jugs of tea were just part of the gesture, one that brought back some childhood memories. The party seemed to be meaningful to employees as the mayor, city manger and DEDC staff and board members took time out of their days to personally thank them for choosing to work in Decatur.
I don’t think folks in Dallas are doing this. Call me sentimental, but I’m chalking it up to the Decatur Difference™
Making moves
Lowery Metals expands
Speaking of, Lowery Metals has opened a new storefront location in Decatur, adding to its Wise County footprint that includes a 27-acre site in Paradise that helped make the business a leading culvert provider in the region.
The Decatur location will specialize in custom sheet iron orders at its 20,000-square-foot, crane-operated facility. They’ll carry purlin, beam, fencing material and other products, too.
The metal supplier is throwing a grand opening party with live music and food to christen the new location at 2274 U.S. 380.
The celebration is March 6 and will feature music by Josh Weathers and BBQ from the Dallas Cue-Boys.
Garcia promoted to VP role
Pilgrim Bank promoted Decatur’s Amanda Garcia to Vice President-Lobby Services Officer. The promotion was approved by the Pilgrim Bank Board of Directors during their January 2025 meeting.
Garcia, a member of Decatur High School’s 2009 graduating class, joined Pilgrim Bank as a teller in 2012. She quickly moved up, working as a loan assistant for five years and a personal banking officer for three years. She was most recently the bank’s assistant vice president-loan officer before her latest promotion.
Congratulations, Amanda!
Firm hires attorney
North Texas Law Firm, Martinez Legal P.C, is pleased to announce that Romi Schwartz is joining the firm. Schwartz has practiced law since 1993, specializing in areas of practice that include divorce, child custody, adoption, domestic violence and more.
What did I forget…
Oh yeah, did y’all hear that H-E-B bought land to build a grocery store in Rhome?
They did last month, right after the last business column dropped. So yeah, that happened. I suppose time will tell on what that means.
When talking to officials, it seems like there’s no in between. Some think that a grocery store at the site is unlikely to open for a very long time, and if it does it would end up being a Kroger or something else. Others have seen the site plans with their own eyes and were left with the impression that H-E-B was actually coming in the next few years.
Time will tell. My bet is that it falls neatly in the middle of the polarized grocery store chain spectrum.
