- Trailers to Twiggy'z: Food truck owner dishes up UTAThe aromas of Twiggy’z Mangonadas y Mas fill The Park nearly every Wednesday afternoon. Situated between Trimble Hall and the UTA Planetarium, The Park hosts local food trucks weekly for students and staff to enjoy during lunch rush. While the university offers various dining options, Jennifer Lookenbill, Maverick Dining director of operations, compared the feeling to searching a fridge full of food and still finding “nothing to eat.” “When you see the same variety day in and day out, you almost become numb to what the offerings are,” Lookenbill said. Twiggy’z owner Frank Leija first brought his business to The Park last fall, quickly becoming a fan favorite. The business’ staples include elote with Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, tacos, homemade marinated bistek, nachos and more. The name Twiggy’z is inspired by Leija’s 13-year-old daughter, whose nickname growing up was “Twigz” due to her petite frame. His logo incorporates a rainbow unicorn horn in place of the ‘i,’ another nod to his daughter, who loves the magical creature. Leija’s wife fell ill a few years ago, leaving her unable to work. This left the family in a difficult financial situation as they faced homelessness. In the midst of it, his daughter asked him for a snow cone machine. Leija said he purchased one off of eBay and got two deep freezers from Facebook. His children made cardboard signs displaying his phone number, and soon, the family was getting calls and selling $0.50 snow cones from their Dodge Caravan. “We were in neighborhoods, and then we were in taco shops, tire shops, warehouses. Then, going into that first year, we got our first party,” he said. Gaining momentum in their second year of business, COVID-19 caused traction to slow down as Leija got sick as well. Soon after getting up and running again nearly two years ago, the family lost their home to a fire. Close to being put out of the hotel they were staying at, a customer he catered a quinceañera for remembered his kindness and offered them a house for rent in Lancaster, Texas. Leija began working again, selling snow cones and tacos on an empty acre of land bordering the city and Red Oak, Texas. While working out there, Leija said a customer’s parents heard he was going through a rough patch and asked him to name three things he needed help with. Among the three wishes, he said he wanted a trailer. “About two weeks later he took me out to Tyler, Texas, to a ranch, and the trailer was sitting just rusted. No windows, no tires, animals living in it and trash all in it,” Leija said. “He said, ‘Can you do something with that?’ I was like, ‘Man, I told you, if I had a trailer, I’d be unstoppable.’” After taking the trailer to a body shop and adding Leija’s desires — three windows, a grill and a cooler — he said the rest is history. “It went beyond my expectations. Not in my wildest dreams I thought I’d be here,” Leija said, gesturing to the UTA campus. “When I got invited here, I’m still in awe.” Growing up with six brothers and two sisters, Leija said he spent a lot of time in the kitchen with his mother and grandmother when visiting México in the summer. Sharing his culture’s food with people from all walks of life and seeing them enjoy it is an amazing feeling, he said. “Not only you get to tell your friends, and they get to now experience what you grew up with or a delicacy for your culture,” Lookenbill said. “It’s fun because that’s building relationships. It’s building foundations. It’s building memories.” Molly Baggett, Maverick Dining marketing manager, said bringing food trucks of different cultures speaks to what UTA offers as a whole. With a stout international student population, bringing ethnic cuisine to campus allows university members to fully immerse themselves. Because the space used for The Park is small, Lookenbill said there can only be two food trucks at once. Though quickly becoming a weekly staple, she said they had to allow other businesses in the rotation. His first week absent from campus, Leija said he received around 60 messages from concerned UTA students. “The week we didn’t have Twiggy’z, it was a big uproar,” Lookenbill said. Support from the UTA community has been intense, but Leija said he couldn’t ask for more. “I just thank everybody, thank them all from the bottom of my heart,” Leija said. “My family, my kids, we all pray together. We say ‘Thank you.’ We’re beyond blessed to have y’all.” @hjgarcia0 news-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu
- Steer wrestling, yoga and Texas Rangers in this week’s To-Do ListWith western-style rodeos, outdoor yoga and stand-up comedy, there’s an abundance of activities to do in Arlington this week. Sports Attend the multi-event American Rodeo featuring western sports and performances from country music stars 7:15 p.m. Friday or 1 p.m. Saturday at Globe Life Field. Attendees can see steer wrestling, bull riding, team roping and more. Tickets are available starting at $34.97 on their website. Doors open 6 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday. Residents can come together for a free yoga class in a garden bed from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the Lake Arlington Native Plant and Pollinator Garden. The class works to highlight the conservation and restoration of native prairie flowers and wildflowers on 2.75 acres of land adjacent to the Lake Arlington Dam. Watch the Texas Rangers bat against the Los Angeles Angels at 7:05 p.m. April 15 at Globe Life Field. Tickets are available on their website and start at $13.86. Those who purchase a theme night ticket through the website will receive a limited edition #42 Jackie Robinson cap honoring his legacy. Comedy Enjoy a night of laughs with Chad Prather and his unique southern style standup 8 p.m. Saturday at Arlington Music Hall. Known for his quick wit and stories, the comedian blends comedy, music and motivation. Tickets are available online starting at $26. Doors open at 6 p.m. Music The Aretha Franklin tribute concert, “R.E.S.P.E.C.T.- A Celebration of the Music of Aretha Franklin” will show attendees the journey of the music artist featuring a live band and vocalists performing some of her greatest hits. The event starts 7 p.m April 13 at the Majestic Theater in Dallas. Tickets are available online and start at $59. news-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu
- Trailers to Twiggy'z: Food truck owner dishes up UTAThe aromas of Twiggy’z Mangonadas y Mas fill The Park nearly every Wednesday afternoon. Situated between Trimble Hall and the UTA Planetarium, The Park hosts local food trucks weekly for students and staff to enjoy during lunch rush. While the university offers various dining options, Jennifer Lookenbill, Maverick Dining director of operations, compared the feeling to searching a fridge full of food and still finding “nothing to eat.” “When you see the same variety day in and day out, you almost become numb to what the offerings are,” Lookenbill said. Twiggy’z owner Frank Leija first brought his business to The Park last fall, quickly becoming a fan favorite. The business’ staples include elote with Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, tacos, homemade marinated bistek, nachos and more. The name Twiggy’z is inspired by Leija’s 13-year-old daughter, whose nickname growing up was “Twigz” due to her petite frame. His logo incorporates a rainbow unicorn horn in place of the ‘i,’ another nod to his daughter, who loves the magical creature. Leija’s wife fell ill a few years ago, leaving her unable to work. This left the family in a difficult financial situation as they faced homelessness. In the midst of it, his daughter asked him for a snow cone machine. Leija said he purchased one off of eBay and got two deep freezers from Facebook. His children made cardboard signs displaying his phone number, and soon, the family was getting calls and selling $0.50 snow cones from their Dodge Caravan. “We were in neighborhoods, and then we were in taco shops, tire shops, warehouses. Then, going into that first year, we got our first party,” he said. Gaining momentum in their second year of business, COVID-19 caused traction to slow down as Leija got sick as well. Soon after getting up and running again nearly two years ago, the family lost their home to a fire. Close to being put out of the hotel they were staying at, a customer he catered a quinceañera for remembered his kindness and offered them a house for rent in Lancaster, Texas. Leija began working again, selling snow cones and tacos on an empty acre of land bordering the city and Red Oak, Texas. While working out there, Leija said a customer’s parents heard he was going through a rough patch and asked him to name three things he needed help with. Among the three wishes, he said he wanted a trailer. “About two weeks later he took me out to Tyler, Texas, to a ranch, and the trailer was sitting just rusted. No windows, no tires, animals living in it and trash all in it,” Leija said. “He said, ‘Can you do something with that?’ I was like, ‘Man, I told you, if I had a trailer, I’d be unstoppable.’” After taking the trailer to a body shop and adding Leija’s desires — three windows, a grill and a cooler — he said the rest is history. “It went beyond my expectations. Not in my wildest dreams I thought I’d be here,” Leija said, gesturing to the UTA campus. “When I got invited here, I’m still in awe.” Growing up with six brothers and two sisters, Leija said he spent a lot of time in the kitchen with his mother and grandmother when visiting México in the summer. Sharing his culture’s food with people from all walks of life and seeing them enjoy it is an amazing feeling, he said. “Not only you get to tell your friends, and they get to now experience what you grew up with or a delicacy for your culture,” Lookenbill said. “It’s fun because that’s building relationships. It’s building foundations. It’s building memories.” Molly Baggett, Maverick Dining marketing manager, said bringing food trucks of different cultures speaks to what UTA offers as a whole. With a stout international student population, bringing ethnic cuisine to campus allows university members to fully immerse themselves. Because the space used for The Park is small, Lookenbill said there can only be two food trucks at once. Though quickly becoming a weekly staple, she said they had to allow other businesses in the rotation. His first week absent from campus, Leija said he received around 60 messages from concerned UTA students. “The week we didn’t have Twiggy’z, it was a big uproar,” Lookenbill said. Support from the UTA community has been intense, but Leija said he couldn’t ask for more. “I just thank everybody, thank them all from the bottom of my heart,” Leija said. “My family, my kids, we all pray together. We say ‘Thank you.’ We’re beyond blessed to have y’all.” @hjgarcia0 news-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu
- Steer wrestling, yoga and Texas Rangers in this week’s To-Do ListWith western-style rodeos, outdoor yoga and stand-up comedy, there’s an abundance of activities to do in Arlington this week. Sports Attend the multi-event American Rodeo featuring western sports and performances from country music stars 7:15 p.m. Friday or 1 p.m. Saturday at Globe Life Field. Attendees can see steer wrestling, bull riding, team roping and more. Tickets are available starting at $34.97 on their website. Doors open 6 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday. Residents can come together for a free yoga class in a garden bed from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the Lake Arlington Native Plant and Pollinator Garden. The class works to highlight the conservation and restoration of native prairie flowers and wildflowers on 2.75 acres of land adjacent to the Lake Arlington Dam. Watch the Texas Rangers bat against the Los Angeles Angels at 7:05 p.m. April 15 at Globe Life Field. Tickets are available on their website and start at $13.86. Those who purchase a theme night ticket through the website will receive a limited edition #42 Jackie Robinson cap honoring his legacy. Comedy Enjoy a night of laughs with Chad Prather and his unique southern style standup 8 p.m. Saturday at Arlington Music Hall. Known for his quick wit and stories, the comedian blends comedy, music and motivation. Tickets are available online starting at $26. Doors open at 6 p.m. Music The Aretha Franklin tribute concert, “R.E.S.P.E.C.T.- A Celebration of the Music of Aretha Franklin” will show attendees the journey of the music artist featuring a live band and vocalists performing some of her greatest hits. The event starts 7 p.m April 13 at the Majestic Theater in Dallas. Tickets are available online and start at $59. news-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu
- The Arlington artist who paints with cigar bands instead of brushesKim Jackson loves details to an irritating degree. Her art is meticulous. Jackson starts her portraits by sketching in red, black, gold and white markers. Each stroke is a highlight or shadow. Then comes the intricate work: coloring. She fills the art with pieces of cigar labels — each selected, trimmed and positioned just right. Each label and stroke of ink illustrates inanimate objects like a Texas flag, humans like boxer Muhammad Ali or an eight-bit version of Batman. For about a decade, the Arlington resident has combined her habit of smoking cigars with her love of making art. She has produced over 100 collage portraits made from delicately layered cigar labels. She was one of dozens of national, regional and local artists selected for the 11th annual South Street Art Festival in downtown Arlington. “The more I do it, the more insane I get about the details,” she said. “And I clean it up as I go just because I’m uptight like that.” Jackson picked up the habit in the early ’00s as a theatre major at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, where “the only thing to do was to go smoke cigars and run lines for theater,” she said. She has made art for as long as she can remember. Her father was a political cartoonist, but she wasn’t as good at drawing. Instead, she’s drawn to a more realistic style. Her art business began when she couldn’t figure out a birthday gift for a friend, Jackson said. She took about 150 labels they had collected together and made a portrait of Shakespeare. At her tent for the South Street Art Festival, Jackson’s works seemed disconnected at first glance. Portraits, patriotism and pop culture icons sat next to one another. Upon further inspection, her work’s details subtly shimmer. Every shadow, every expression and all motions are made of tiny paper fragments — the gold-embossed edges of foil stamping on cigar bands. Each piece can take about 100 hours, Jackson said. While most of her work was hung in the tent, one larger piece was laid on a bench. The 2-by-4-foot piece was a commentary on the Food and Drug Administration wanting to take labels off cigars so they would be attractive to children. The piece was made from 1,500 to 2,000 labels, she said. Jackson has learned to master her craft of blending cigar bands’ colors to make a detailed image, said Steve Moya, owner and producer of South Street Art Festival. “I am amazed at how good she is with what she does,” Moya said. “It’s a very unique talent and something you don’t see a lot.” Her art carries both sight and scent. She displays and sells her work at a cigar lounge she co-owns in Burleson, Texas, Jackson said. The bar in the lounge allows her to escape from the business side of selling art, Jackson said. “It just was never a money thing to me. I just like making things, and I cannot stop,” she said. Her work has traveled worldwide, and her commissioned clients include Al Micallef, owner of Micallef Cigars and the Reata restaurants in Alpine, Texas, and Fort Worth. One of the pieces Jackson did for Micallef consisted of 30,000 cigar bands. Yet, Jackson is still processing that she’s selling art. A decade into her business, it’s not second nature to her. She still schedules alarms to make sure she’s promoting her art on Instagram. But the reality is slowly setting in on her. She can now refuse commissioned pieces. She owns 40 66-quart tubs of bands that friends and the cigar community have collected for her, even if she never directly asked for donations, she said. Her art career is no smoke and mirrors — just smoke and glue. @DangHLe news-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu
