In a move many expected, Concho Minick was named president of Billy Bob’s Texas in Fort Worth, succeeding his father Billy Minick, who, along with wife Pam Minick, has been running the club since 1988.

Concho Minick, 40, says Billy Bob’s is “in my DNA.”

“I’ve been around here all my life, since my dad was working here and I would run around begging quarters off him so I could play video games,” Concho Minick says, adding that he and his father will overlap some now, with Billy relinquishing his leadership role in the coming months.

Concho Minick has worked with his father at the business for the last few years, attending board meetings, and helping to run the business. Pam Minick will remain the head of marketing for the club.

Pam and Billy Minick have stood at the helm of Billy Bob’s Texas since the late 1980s after a coalition led by developer Holt Hickman enlisted Billy Minick to take charge of the then failing Billy Bob’s Texas nightclub. Since that time, Billy has become CEO.

When the Minicks took over the club as general manager (Billy) and marketing director (Pam), they found the nightclub in need of more than a cash-flow infusion. A restoration of paying crowds became the only long-term remedy. Billy, a Fort Worth native and national-scale rodeo entrepreneur, had been a manager seven years earlier with Billy Bob’s. Pam, a former Miss Rodeo America, had developed image-selling confidence as a prominent cowgirl contender.

Since those days, Billy Bob’s Texas has risen from the ashes, a veritable hotbed of country music as the Minicks have cited appearances by Garth Brooks and George Strait as turning points – on the cusp of the 1990s’ country and western resurgence, which in turn gave rise to such artists as Tim McGraw, LeAnn Rimes and Clint Black.

But acquaintances of the Minicks through the years say the second-chance success of Billy Bob’s rests more with confident management than with any name-brand guitar-slingers.

Pam and Billy Minick won the 2010 Goodnight Gala award, a prestigious honor bestowed upon those who uphold western traditions and lifestyles. In December 2010, Pam and Billy spoke candidly about retirement, saying Billy is interested in taking a step back from daily duties at Billy Bob’s Texas. The couple said they have entertained the idea of starting a weekly television show from Cowtown Coliseum.

“…When I retire I’m going to spend my time making tee times and roping dates,” Billy Minick told the Fort Worth Business Press in December 2010.

Concho Minick is president of Billy Bob’s Texas as of March 4. Concho Minick is a 1993 graduate of TCU and he received a dual degree at Yale in 1999: MBA in Finance from the Yale School of Management, and Masters of Environmental Science from the Yale School of Forestry.

Before joining Billy Bob’s, Concho Minick worked in mergers and acquisitions in the power industry for Mirant (now GenOn), and Optim Energy, and thru his consulting practice.

According to a release, Concho has been involved as a consultant in most aspects of the Billy Bob’s business since 2006. He also served six years on the board of directors of the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation, which runs the largest tourist attraction in North Dakota.