Fort Worth's Sundance Square Searching for ‘The Next Big Idea'

Fort Worth's Sundance Square is looking for small businesses with the "Next Big Idea." 

The family entertainment and business district plans to partner with up to 12 small-business owners to create brick-and-mortar storefronts.

Sundance Square is a 37-block area that attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year to downtown Fort Worth. They're hoping this launch of the Next Big Idea will help fill vacant store fronts, and kind of reshape the look and feel of the area, especially after the pandemic.

A pilot program brought in five new retailers last year, so Sundance Square supporters said, let’s keep it going. So the initiative is now expanding.

We talked to Sundance Square spokesman, Bryan Eppstein, who says this all grew out of pandemic-related closures of stores, most operated by national retailers.

So they had an idea.

Create space for entrepreneurs, from Fort Worth, to start their own businesses.

"So it's a very inclusive program," said Eppstein. "We're looking for diversity and inclusion. We're really trying to focus on people with an entrepreneurial spirit, ideas in the local Fort Worth area, and the program has just been a success."

Eppstein says there is a number of local new shops already open and ready for business.

They're looking to expand to as many as 12.

Small business owners who are selected will have a chance at a break on rent, and will also get marketing design consulting, and even possibly get access to seed money for their space build-out.

Rome Venegas, who owns Urban Plantology, says having her store in the heart of Sundance Square was something she only dreamed of.

"We were already planning to do little Farmers Markets, pop-ups here and there, but we never thought about a store, in downtown," said Venegas. "No. And this is a big opportunity that we appreciate. We are having so much fun meeting a lot of people. A lot of people from out of town.”

Applications will be accepted until April 18 on bigidea.sundancesquare.com. If selected, businesses will receive the following:

• A one-year lease with rent payments that the development group says will be designed to help the business thrive.
• Opportunities to take part in other Sundance initiatives, such as plaza events and social media campaigns.
• Support team such as janitorial, 24-hour security, and interior design and marketing consulting.
• Potential access to seed money for space build-out.
• An established customer base.