Now serving: Square becoming the spot for food and fun

Here in West Texas, a good day includes a plate full of barbecue followed up by a sweet treat. Mornings are more delightful with a hot cup of coffee and evenings more pleasant with a good meal and live music. What if you could find that all in one place?

With new restaurants popping up around the square, the Snyder downtown area is on its way to becoming a restaurant hub. Although the square has been a ghost town of sorts over the last few years, the opening of new businesses has been a draw for out-of-town visitors. 

“People come straight in from out of town and comment that the square is cute,” Brooke Proctor, Times Square Frozen Yogurt & Coffee House manager, said. “People here don’t appreciate it.” 

Times Square Frozen Yogurt opened three years ago and is located in the historic Manhattan Hotel. It is owned by three couples: Doc and Brooke Proctor, Max and Valerie Drum and Gary and Empress Terrell, who were inspired to open the shop to create a family spot and give the community something fun to do. 

“The atmosphere of our restaurant is welcoming, friendly, fun, a good place to hang out and it’s a place for all ages,” Proctor said. “We have a meeting room, free Wi-fi for customers, board games and cards, and a fantastic porch.”

Even with all of these perks to visiting Times Square Frozen Yogurt, Proctor comments that local customers still do not take advantage of them. 

“We want Snyder to know that we provide a quality product, and we’re trying to provide this quality product in a hometown atmosphere,” Proctor said. “Our ‘why’ (we started) is to show people how good, quality coffee made the right way tastes. We also researched our yogurt producer and decided on Honey Hill Farms in Arkansas because of their quality.”

Another restaurant on the square that provides quality product is Mrs. Kathy’s Apple Of My Pie. 

“Everything is homemade,” Kathy Wofford, owner of Apple Of My Pie, said. “All of the dough is handmade and the filling is from scratch. Nothing is coming out of a can.” 

Apple Of My Pie has been open since April and is Wofford’s second restaurant in Snyder. 

“I was doing fried pies periodically, and people would ask for them so much,” Wofford said. “They were popular.”

One day, Wofford got the feeling that it was time to launch a second business.

“I felt like I heard the Lord say, ‘You can launch those fried pies now,’ and the Lord put everything into place,” Wofford said. “I started thinking about different pies I could make, and then pot pies came to mind. Pot pie is something you can’t get in a typical restaurant.” 

According to Wofford, the pies have created “an atmosphere that you can’t get anywhere else but Snyder,” which has been a draw for out-of-town visitors.

“People come in from out of town, looking for something to eat on the square,” Wofford said. “Opening more restaurants on the square would be good for business because the square is the heart of the city.”

Not only would opening more restaurants be good for business, but it would also give people something to do.

“People are looking for something to do,” Wofford said. “I hear chatter from people who want to rebuild the square — remodeling old buildings and opening new businesses. That’s what people want. It’s great to see people on the square, out and about, going in and out of shops.” 

This is one reason why Suzanne Swiney decided to open her restaurant, The HornyToad Pub and Grub. 

“I opened The HornyToad for lack of anything to do in town,” Swiney said. “It’s always good to have a place in a small town for people to go.” 

In addition to its full menu, the key feature of The HornyToad is its live music. 

“I love live music, and live music is what makes The HornyToad unique,” Swiney said. 

Like other restaurants on the square, The HornyToad receives a lot of business from out-of-town visitors.

“A lot of out-of-town people hear about us and drive to Snyder specifically to come to The HornyToad,” Swiney said. “It has a friendly atmosphere, and we want it to be good place for people to come and relax.”

While some restaurants have already opened on the square, plans for several new restaurants are in the works. 

One is Uncle A’s BBQ, which is currently located in a food trailer at Cash n’ Pay on College Ave. The on-the-go restaurant will soon have a permanent home next to Times Square Frozen Yogurt, where Big Apple Deli was once located. 

“I’ve always wanted a food trailer or a restaurant, and I had been searching for a barbecue food trailer for a while when this one popped up,” Aaron Lindsey, owner of Uncle A’s BBQ, said. “Once business picked up, I started outgrowing the trailer and needed more room.”

Lindsey found the building on the square and took the opportunity to expand his business.

“I want to open a place that is family-friendly, a place where people can come and be engaged with one another,” Lindsey said. “I want it to be a family environment, so no alcohol will be sold.” 

Lindsey also plans to have live music on Friday and Saturday nights and is aiming to be open on Aug. 1. He feels that the addition of new restaurants on the square is helping business to pick up.

“The square seemed dead for a couple of years, but it’s picking up,” Lindsey said. “I would like to see a lot more restaurants, and people off the streets are looking for more restaurants.” 

Because of the demand for new restaurants in Snyder, Lindsey is looking forward to his restaurant being “something new and different.”

Another new restaurant in the works will be located in the old First National Bank on the corner of the square. It will be run by PSI owner Kim Robertson, who would like to have it open in about a year and a half. 

“I’m wanting to do something unique that you would want to drive from Midland, Odessa or Abilene to come eat,” Robertson said. “I want to keep the building close to the original, but I want the restaurant to be unique.” 

Like other restaurant owners on the square, Robertson also understands the importance of bringing in new business.

“Any new business on the square will bring more business,” Robertson said. “More business on the square will do good.”

Robertson said that “we have a nice courthouse and a nice square,” but we also have “a lot of old buildings.”

“As a community, we need to patronize them,” Robertson said. “We need to keep Snyder from boarding up old buildings and preserve their history.”