James Avery Opens in Forney — And It's a First for DFW
James Avery Artisan Jewelry is now open at The Village at Gateway in Forney, at 11620 E US Highway 80. The store began welcoming guests on July 24, 2026, with a formal grand opening celebration on Saturday, August 1.
Here’s the part that got overlooked in the local coverage: this isn’t just another James Avery. It’s the first location in the entire Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex to get the brand’s new “Modern Hill Country” store design.
Why That’s Actually Notable
James Avery is about as Texas as a retailer gets — founded in Kerrville in 1954, still handcrafting in the Hill Country, still family-run. The “Modern Hill Country” concept is the company’s new experience-driven store format: warmer materials, more open layout, and space built around browsing and personalization rather than a case-and-counter transaction.
Rolling that concept out in Forney before Plano, Frisco, Southlake, or any of the established DFW retail corridors says something specific about how the market now reads Kaufman County. Brands put their new formats where they expect growth, not where growth already happened.
The Grand Opening
The August 1 celebration ran the usual playbook, plus some real giveaways:
- A free James Avery gift for the first 100 customers making a purchase
- 30 gift cards awarded — twenty-four $50 cards, three $100 cards, and three $500 cards
If you missed it, the store is open normally now. Charm selection, custom rings, and personalization services are the reasons most people make the trip.
Where It Sits
The Village at Gateway is the 120-acre development on US-80 at FM 460 in Forney, TX 75126. James Avery is in the inline retail run at 11620 E US Highway 80 — the same building as the new Bath & Body Works, which opened in the same stretch of summer.
Its neighbors across the center: Target, H-E-B, Home Depot, Ross, Burlington, and — later this year — BJ’s Wholesale and EVO Entertainment. We keep the full list current in the Village at Gateway opening calendar.
What This Says About Forney
There’s a rough order to how retail arrives in a growing town. Grocery and home improvement first. Then value apparel. Then specialty and lifestyle — the categories people used to drive to a mall for.
Forney went from having none of the third category to having a Bath & Body Works and a flagship-concept James Avery within about a week of each other. That’s not incremental. That’s a market being reclassified.
For anyone who’s lived here more than a few years, it’s a strange thing to watch. Forney spent decades as a place you drove out of to buy anything that wasn’t groceries or lumber. That version of the town is gone.
A Practical Note on Rings and the Gym
Slightly unusual advice for a jewelry post, but we get asked this often enough that it’s worth writing down.
Take your rings off before you lift. Specifically:
- Barbell work — a ring between your finger and a knurled bar is a pinch point. It bends bands and bruises fingers.
- Pull-ups and any hanging work — this is where “ring avulsion” injuries actually happen. It’s rare, it’s ugly, and it’s completely avoidable.
- Kettlebells and dumbbells — repeated pressure will slowly deform a soft band, especially sterling silver.
If you don’t want to leave a wedding band in a locker, a silicone ring for training sessions costs about ten dollars and solves the problem entirely. Plenty of our members do exactly that.
Sterling silver — which is most of what James Avery makes — also tarnishes faster with sweat exposure. Chlorine and salt are worse. Rinse and dry anything you did wear.
Five Minutes Down the Same Road
TX Fitness has been at 127 E US Highway 80, Forney, TX 75126 for over 25 years, on the same corridor as Gateway. If you’re already headed that direction for errands, we’re on the way back.
Weekday hours start at 5 AM, there’s no annual fee, and members with kids can use the supervised Kids Zone while they train.
Questions? Call (972) 564-0909 or stop in for a tour.