In tiny Spur, the goal of opening new restaurants after the town’s three eateries closed during the Covid-19 pandemic has been more of a marathon than a sprint. And customers are glad to see some crossing the finish line.
Over the past year several enterprises announced plans, but due to uncertainties in labor and materials couldn’t pinpoint a target date. Now, with some supply chain problems smoothing out, and a long stretch of clear weather, progress is becoming clearer.
The appropriately tiny Marvel Bucks Coffeeshop and Deli at 201 Burlington Avenue claimed the gold, opening for take-out breakfast and lunch during the July 4 holiday weekend. A Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting was held the afternoon of July 4. Since then, hours have had to adjust due to severe heat, according to social media posts by owners Karen and Hubert Marvel.
Find Marvel Bucks on Facebook at www.facebook. com/groups/2335331716636375, where changing menu offerings are posted regularly.
On July 29, the Ole Town Cafe in the 400 block of Burlington Avenue reopened under the management of the Molina family, after a hiatus of five years. The popular sit-down diner next door to the Spur Ex-Students building held a ribbon cutting July 30 and served meals Friday and Saturday before closing again for repairs August 1.
Regular operating hours, according to a City of Spur social media post, will be Monday–Friday 11 a.m. –9 p.m; and Saturday 7 a.m. -9 p.m. with breakfast served till 11 a.m.
As of press time, the restaurant did not have a social media presence or posted phone number. (Don’t be confused by the Marietta, Texas, restaurant with the same name on Facebook!)
Making great strides after an extensive interior and exterior renovation is the Turnaround Top Café, under the new ownership since 2021 of Kevin Walkup and Shawna Little of Lubbock. The Spur weekenders have upgraded equipment, furnishings, and dining rooms and installed a new sign on the front of the former Gulf service station building a couple of weeks ago.
In a conversation with The Texas Spur August 1, Little said that the team is working on a website launch that will reveal their menu and dining hours, and that they’ll be able to announce their reopening soon. They expect to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.
“We will be featuring a West Texas cuisine,” said Little, who added that the restaurant will be looking to start hiring help soon.
Also making steady progress in the long haul is the Mix’d Café in the 300 block of Burlington Avenue, between the Masonic Lodge and the Diversions arcade. The Rutledge family enterprises—which have been expanding into short-term rentals of historic homes and restoring Spur’s “skyscraper” building across the street for larger inventory of retail goods—are eager to bring their retaurant expertise to downtown.
Two longtime favorites in the county don’t appear to be coming back any time soon. The Dixie Dog, one of Spur’s landmarks due to its prime location on Hill Street, its nostalgic Borden Ice Cream sign and its decades of fond memories, remains closed after being leased out to operators for a while in 2021.
The Espuela Land and Cattle Steakhouse on Highway 82 in Dickens, closed for half a decade, announced intentions in early 2022 to reopen, but soon posted on Facebook that their plans had changed. The property remains for sale, according to signs posted on the property.
Other restaurants in the area have curtailed hours due to shortages of help—an ongoing challenge in the relay race to serve hungry customers in the Big Empty.
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