Pandemic didn’t halt investment into area

Back on track: Businesses

Pandemic didn’t halt investment into area

BY SHANE MONACO

TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER

While the pandemic strained many local businesses, it did not stop some from setting up shop or expanding to the area.

Temple and its surrounding areas have continued to see investment and growth of new businesses that planned to come previously, and those that only recently made the decision.

Many of the new businesses have come to Temple’s downtown, renovating its historic buildings and giving them a breath of new life.

Treno Pizzeria and Taproom, which opened during the pandemic after renovating its building, initially had been delayed from opening due to COVID-19 and sold pizza from a food truck.

The restaurant, at 110 S. First St., later opened in July 2020 alongside its adjoined coffee shop First Street Roasters.

“I think (our delays were) a bit of a blessing in disguise, because if we had opened and been shut down this quickly I don’t know if we would have been able to rebound,” owner Jacob Bates said. “We got those couple (of) months to get the brand out there and do that trailer, that was brilliant. We’ve (now) got a lot of people who have tried our pizzas and that is a nice place to be because you normally don’t get that opportunity.”

Other businesses only recently moved into downtown such as Mexiko, a restaurant serving a menu of fusion foods taking from Mexican and Korean cuisine.

Owners Diana Zavala, who is half Korean, and her husband, Julio, who is Mexican, have merged their cultures to create a unique set of flavors. The restaurant, at 116 S. First St., features a range of food from Korean dumplings to unique tacos and wings.

“If people come in here thinking this is going to be another Mexican restaurant, we could not be any more different than that,” Diana said. “There are just parts of the culture of the two that we are combining, to create our own experience.”

Downtown also welcomed Ras Kitchen, a new restaurant serving Jamaican and Caribbean cuisine that moved to the city from Killeen. The menu features food such as jerk chicken, whole red snapper and a variety of juices.

The restaurant, at 17 S. Main St., took the space formerly occupied by Benny’s Ristorante Italiano with the aim to attract more customers from along Interstate 35.

The city also helped provide more options during the pandemic, opening The Yard, a food truck park with utility connections and seating

Downtown also saw the addition of a new entertainment venue, Tour Temple, which features guided tours of local breweries and wineries as well as having its own bar.

In May the company launched its fleet of electric scooters that visitors can rent and ride around downtown.

During the pandemic work started on the renovation of downtown’s Professional building, at 103 E. Central Ave. The renovation, featured in 2019’s Imagine the Possibilities Tour, plans to turn the historic structure into apartments and retail space.

Areas east and north of the city, on county land, have seen the proposed development of two new solar farms spanning thousands of acres.

The two solar farms are to the east of Troy, called the Big Elm solar project, and to the east of Temple between State Highway 53 and U.S. Highway 190, called the Chillingham solar farm. The Big Elm project is expected to take up about 3,000 acres and cost an estimated $195 million while the Chillingham project plans to span 2,300 acres and cost about $255 million.

County commissioners estimate the area will see more solar farm projects in the coming years due to local infrastructure and available land.

Shane Monaco/Telegram file Jacob Bates, owner of Treno Pizzeria and Taproom in downtown Temple, stands in front of a mural on the side of the building that houses his business.

smonaco@tdtnews.com