DFW News App

A company with a long history in Fort Worth is moving outside the city limits, though just barely. Tandy Leather Factory Inc., which traces its history back to 1919 and eventually became part of Charles Tandy’s legendary Tandy Corp., has signed a 10-year lease for a new headquarters and distribution space at Chisholm 20 Commerce Park in Benbrook, a few miles from its current offices. The 134,000-square-foot lease will begin in July with rent abated through September 2025 and running through September 2035. Initial rent will be approximately $111,000 per month. The company also announced it had closed on the sale of its corporate headquarters facilities, including its primary distribution center and flagship retail store, at 1900 SE Loop 820, to Colonna Brothers Inc., a family-owned food supplier based in North Bergen, New Jersey. Tandy Leather said it is continuing to seek a new location for its Fort Worth flagship store, which remains open at its current site.“We are happy to have closed the sale of Tandy’s current facilities and to have found a new space that will keep Tandy headquartered in the Fort Worth area,” said Jeff Gramm, Tandy Leather’s chairman, in a statement. “Our new space is better sized for Tandy’s operations, and these transactions have allowed us to monetize an under-utilized asset for the benefit of our owners.” On Jan. 3, Tandy Leather announced it was naming a new CEO, Johan Hedberg, to replace Janet Carr, who helmed the company for six years. Hedberg has more than 30 years of wholesale and retail leadership experience, most recently as chief sales officer and president for the Americas of Fiskars Group. Tandy Leather is a specialty retailer of a broad leather product line that distributes its products through 99 North American stores. A Tandy Leather Leathercraft kit from the 1950s. (Courtesy photo | W.D. Smith Commercial Photography Inc. Collection at the UTA Library)
The company was originally founded in 1919 as the Hinckley-Tandy Leather Company, a shoe findings business. Shoe findings are any component used for creating better fitting shoes or for replacing components inside a shoe. During World War II, Charles Tandy, the son of co-owner David Tandy, was in the U.S. Navy and stationed in Hawaii. He noticed how injured sailors were being taught knitting and needlepoint as a part of their recuperative therapy. Tandy thought men might prefer leatherwork. The company then began selling specialty leathers to the military for therapeutic leathercraft programs. When the war ended, Charles Tandy joined his father’s company and expanded the leathercraft portion of the business.By 1954, the company had 67 stores in 36 states. In 1963, the company acquired Radio Shack and grew to be a nationwide craft and electronic retailer. In the late 1970s, Tandy Leather and Radio Shack became separate companies and Tandy Corp. grew to be so successful that it eventually built the Tandy Center downtown. The two 20-story towers are now known as City Place. Magnolia Centre purchased Worth Commercial Real Estate has purchased the 31,000-square-foot building at 1227 W. Magnolia Ave. Known as Magnolia Centre, the Class B office building has several office tenants which will include the Worth Commercial Real Estate team. “We are excited to have a footprint in such a vibrant area of Fort Worth,” said Tim Bates, co-owner and partner. “This investment provides the opportunity to acquire an extraordinary asset and will be home to our team in 2025.”Worth Commercial plans to finish office space on the fourth floor of the building that will serve as its headquarters.Worth Commercial also supports a variety of nonprofits in the area such as Act for Justice, DASH Network and Young Life.Worth Commercial was founded in 2015 by Bates and Jerry Bolz and, to date, has raised and completed over $80 million worth of commercial real estate transactions including office buildings, similar to 1227 Magnolia, and apartment complexes.New retail opening Tired of the same old stores? Several new retailers are opening in the area. At Southlake Town Square, look for fine jewelry company Brilliant Earth, activewear retailer FP Movement and made-from-scratch restaurant Flower Child to open in 2025. Alo Yoga will also open late this year. Meanwhile, North East Mall will see international clothing retailer Primark sometime next year. Streetwear clothing retailer Denim House will soon open there. Emergency care on four-legs Veterinary Emergency Group, a New York-based veterinary emergency company, has opened VEG Flower Mound at 3614 Long Prairie Road in Flower Mound. This is the sixth VEG hospital in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and the 13th in Texas.Do you have something for the Bob on Business column? Email Bob Francis at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org. Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.