Fort Worth Business Press, June 2, 2014 May 19, Vol. 26, No. 19

May 19 - 25, 2014 Vol. 26, No. 19 • $3.00 Shifting tastes Glen Garden may become distillery, meeting center n Scott Nishimura Hard return [email protected] washington post photos Veterans’ unemployment defies simple answers ABOVE: Christopher Lloyd, a former Army sergeant, cleans the windshield of a car at an auto dealership in Wichita Falls. TOP LEFT: National Guard Sgt. Nathan Bianchi sleeps Feb. 16 at home in San Antonio after having root-canal surgery. TOP RIGHT: Lloyd, pictured in the living room of the Byers home that he rents, says he prefers to live alone peacefully. A By Greg Jaffe - The Washington Post two-tour Army veteran of the Afghanistan war pulled on a pair of old combat boots and headed off to his $8-an-hour job washing cars at a Ford dealership in Wichita Falls. “My military background don’t mean nothing,” he said. “I am just another guy with a GED.” An unemployed Iraq veteran in San Antonio woke up late, as he always did these days, and searched the online job boards for new listings. “Same garbage as usual,” he said. BY THE NUMBERS 37% somewhat useful not too useful not at all useful 44% very useful Among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans 9% 10% How well do you think the skills you learned in the military translate to the civilian job market? SOURCE: Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation poll The 102-year-old Glen Garden Golf and Country Club in southeast Fort Worth, where Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson learned the game, could soon have a new use. Firestone & Robertson Distilling Co., the two-year-old Near Southside whiskey distillery that produces the popular TX Blended Whiskey and packs the house for $15 Saturday tours and tastings, is already outgrowing its current space, proprietors Leonard Firestone and Troy Robertson say. They have taken the 106-acre golf Firestone course under contract from the two men who own it and are seeking a zoning change to allow the construction of a distillery, related uses, food service Robertson and – down the line – lodging. Firestone and Robertson see the potential for a big visitor and meeting draw, in the bucolic mold of Kentucky’s distilleries and California’s wineries. “We’ve been fortunate the brand has taken off and demand is high,” Robertson said in an interview May 15. “It’s going to be a true attraction and a great spot for entertaining.” Tentatively, the zoning case is scheduled to go before the city zoning commission June 11 and before the City Council July 9. On May 17, Firestone and Robertson planned to brief a meeting of Glencrest Civic League neighborhood association that abuts the golf course off of East Berry Street. The association president Marie Love, who Firestone and Robertson briefed See veterans u 20 See distillery u 12 Everyone’s all 40 Under 40 Joel Burns takes on The Weather Channel (and wins) on social media site. P8 Fort Worth Business Press celebrates Class of 2014 at awards dinner P24-25 a-twitter HONORED