Cattlemen's Inn & Steak House

It's a rare color picture specifically advertising the restaurant, but that's about all we'll get from this elusive place.

24 hour establishments are a lot more rare these days thanks to you-know-what from last year, but one even rarer is a place without much 24 hour traffic, like North Texas Avenue, 1805 North Texas Avenue to be exact, north of Highway 21, just beyond the Old Hearne Road intersection.

The above photo is from a 1999 phone book, but nothing of remains of the motel and restaurant today. This is the current view of the property, the sign is still around but it's been gutted and used as an equipment lot.

As BCAD listings for the motel no longer exist (at least no longer publicly accessible), it appears that the lobby/restaurant building predates 1960, while the hotel was added on sometime in the late 1960s or very early 1970s ([1960s] is given as the address tag here). In fact, as late as 1978, the restaurant was called Buona Sera Restaurant (and was still open 24 hours, even back then), and a 1973 article refers to Buona Sera Motel & Steak House (but not does not give the address). It appears that the Cattlemen's Inn name for both appeared around the late 1970s.

The motel itself appeared to be very low end even in 1999, which probably contributed to its ultimate demise, and the poor location meant it was unable to be rehabilitated like others I've covered before, like the Villa Capri Motel in Waco. Villa Capri at least had a modest location at the corner of Franklin Avenue and Valley Mills, not near freeways, but near well-trafficked roads and a healthy commercial base. Not so much here, it was located across from Producers Co-Op.

Much like "Buona Sera Restaurant" and "Buona Sera Steak House" were used interchangeably, it looks the "Steak House" and "Diner" are one and the same, and it appears that the motel closed around the mid-2000s and was torn down in 2009.

Sodolak's on Highway 21

"Where the locals eat" is surprisingly on-point this time, as opposed to some obvious tourist trap. Picture by author, May 2021.

This opened in 1985 as The Red Bandana, a similar steakhouse (I have a late 1990s ad as simply "Red Bandana", as it was later officially known, but that didn't make it into the first edition of this post), but by 2004 it re-opened as Sodolak's Beefmasters.

I'm not sure of Sodolak's Beefmasters relation to Sodolak's Original Country Inn in Snook, but in any case, both operate today (Sodolak's Beefmasters also operated a location briefly in our part of FM 60, where Paolo's currently is, following the demise of T-Bone Jones). Between 2012 and 2016, the Beefmasters name was dropped.

Here is the Google Street View of the building at 3500 East Highway 21, while the photos below are mine from October 2019 presented without comment (though I think the Dallas Police Narcotics badge is pretty cool).

Editor's Note: You can see the Chevron in one of those shots here. Further west (past Bryan), you can see Smetana Grocery immortalized on the website.

Former NAPA Auto Parts, Harvey Mitchell Parkway

Taken by author, May 2021.
Taking a cue from Columbia Closings comes a minor post on NAPA Auto Parts, which moved earlier this year to a new location between Harvey Mitchell Parkway and Highway 6, leaving the former store vacant (and gutted at time of photography). Neither picture in this post is particularly good, but it was opened in 1997 with the original address of 1528 FM 2818 and later became 2144 Harvey Mitchell Parkway after the road changed names. It was also the first in the auto part trifecta near the intersection, of which AutoZone and O'Reilly Auto Parts are part of.

Another picture.

UPDATE 09-15-2021: As of this writing, the next tenant, "Glo by TFO", an auto detailing and finishing company, has modified the exterior (still not finished) and is preparing for a move-in. Removed [Defunct] from the post, as well as making an edit fix.

Smetana Grocery

Picture from May 2021. It's hard to capture this building in one shot.

Smetana Grocery is one of those old rural Exxon stores with the store name in a large red rectangle on the building, and originally opened back in 1972. It didn't become an idea for a post until I noticed an ad copy in a 1989 phone book. I didn't scan it (no logos, just text) but it is reproduced below:

SMETANA GROCERY

SPECIALIZING IN HORMONE FREE BEEF B3-R BRAND

• HOMEMADE POLISH SAUSAGE
• PARTY TRAYS & BEER KEGS
• BIODYNAMICALLY GROWN ORGANIC VEGETABLES (IN SEASON)
• WELEDA HEALTH FOOD PRODUCTS
• CAFE ALTURA COFFEE

775-9337

EXXON & OTHER MAJOR CREDIT CARDS
2 1/2 Miles West of Loop 2818 W Hwy. 21.....775-9337

Well, I was intrigued. Who knew that some rural gas station was selling a bunch of organic health foods and products that regular groceries at the time wouldn't touch? And this gas station is still in business today at 7700 Highway 21? And it's a 12-sided building with two stories? I had to check it out.

With the relatively recent passing of Brazos Natural Foods (mentioned over at this post which is in need of a re-do one of these days), there's no dedicated store for "natural" and "upscale" foods, but even before the situation last year, those types of stores were dropping off, with Earth Fare and Lucky's Market both closing in high-profile bankruptcies.

Sadly, but expectedly, this is not the case here. The merchandise mix is very much ordinary convenience store fare. The few notable exceptions are some bulk items that I'm not sure were meant to be sold as retail, like frozen Hunt Brothers Pizza, but there's no gourmet items, no produce. It also is no longer an Exxon, transitioning to Citgo between 2012 and 2016.

It's dark and dusty up there. The big white glow is sunlight coming in from a window above.

The mysterious upper level only seems to include storage. It doesn't look like living space...or anything finished at all. The current building was built in 1986 and appears to have added the gas station. (The older building pre-dated 1972 and may have a different name originally as it still had a parking area). Oh, and one more thing--it's not great, but here's my attempt at stitching two photos together to make a more panoramic view.

UPDATE 10-05-2023: As for the older one, I believe I correctly ID'd it on Vintage Aerial.