Remember the Alamo

Remember the Alamo: Ultimate Texas license plate up for grabs in rare auction

Alamo Texas license plate February 2016 auction

One lucky Texan will have the one-and-only ALAMO license plate.

Photo courtesy of My Plates

Remember the Alamo? A piece of Texas history can be yours — if the price is right. The Lone Star license plate reading ALAMO is on the auction block for a limited time.

The online auction hosted by My Plates, the official Texas vendor of vanity license plates, coincides with the 180th anniversary of the Battle of the Alamo. Bidding for the tribute to Texas independence opened today (February 23), the same day the siege on the Alamo began in 1836. The auction closes in 12 days.

The ALAMO license plate is legally transferable and will be awarded for a five-year term. The winner can choose from more than 100 possible designs, but we think the classic black and white makes the boldest statement.

Proceeds from the sale benefit the Alamo Endowment Fund and the state's General Revenue Fund, both of which help keep the Alamo in tip-top shape. The current bid is $1,000, but we shouldn't underestimate Texas pride. The most expense Texas license plate — 12THMAN — sold for a cool $115,000 in 2013.

The auction will close on March 6 at 8 pm. Bids for the ALAMO can be placed online via MyPlates.com.

transportation texas

big business

Houston food giant Sysco will acquire Restaurant Depot for $29 billion

Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images

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Sysco, the nation's largest food distributor, will acquire supplier Restaurant Depot in a deal worth more than $29 billion.

The acquisition would create a closer link between Sysco and its customers that right now turn to Restaurant Depot for supplies needed quickly in an industry segment known as “cash-and-carry wholesale.”

Sysco, based in Houston, serves more than 700,000 restaurants, hospitals, schools and hotels, supplying them with everything from butter and eggs to napkins. Those goods are typically acquired ahead of time based on how much traffic that restaurants typically see.

Restaurant Depot offers memberships to mom-and-pop restaurants and other businesses, giving them access to warehouses stocked with supplies for when they run short of what they've purchased from suppliers like Sysco.

It is a fast growing and high-margin segment that will likely mean thousands of restaurants will rely increasingly on Sysco for day-to-day needs.

Restaurant Depot shareholders will receive $21.6 billion in cash and 91.5 million Sysco shares. Based on Sysco’s closing share price of $81.80 as of March 27, 2026, the deal has an enterprise value of about $29.1 billion.

Restaurant Depot was founded in Brooklyn in 1976. The family run business then known as Jetro Restaurant Depot, has become the nation's largest cash-and-carry wholesaler.

The boards of both companies have approved the acquisition, but it would still need regulatory approval.

Shares of Sysco Corp. tumbled 13% Monday to $71.26, an initial decline some industry analysts expected given the cost of the deal.