Mike Copeland: Waco is only Pignetti's option; New Taco Casa; Te'jun in Keller; Gas prices down (2024)

A roof that leaked and then collapsed during high winds on May 22 destroyed the original Pignetti’s restaurant about 30 miles away in downtown Temple, but thankfully, the owners and operators have a backup venue in Waco.

Clinton Harwell in September 2022 opened Pignetti’s Waco in the former Phoenix Ballroom downtown, bowing to a burgeoning dining scene locally and the cravings of Waco businessman Tom Wright, who owns Built Wright Construction and became a loyal Pignetti’s patron despite the drive. When Wright and Baylor University Regent Todd Patterson bought the spacious Phoenix Ballroom on South Third Street, Wright began to pitch the idea to Harwell of a companion piece, a Pignetti’s North, if you will.

A deal got done, and Harwell turned vacant space into a 6,000-square-foot haven for hardwood, elegant furniture, fine dining and finer wine.

Now the Waco version must shoulder the burden until Harwell decides what to do with Pignetti’s Temple remnants. He has said it will remain closed until further notice, though he is conducting business of sorts, cutting wine prices by 20% during his “tornado wine sale,” and scheduling a wine liquidation sale from June 11 to June 15, according to the Pignetti’s website.

A Pignetti’s food fix remains available at 401 S. Third St. in Waco.

Taco Casa inbound

Remember Zoës Kitchen, which had an on-again, off-again relationship with Waco diners? The chain arrived in 2015 to offer Mediterranean dishes at 1810 S. Valley Mills Drive in a commercial center anchored then by Gander Mountain, a sporting goods and outdoors store. Talk about a blast from the past. Today’s tenants include Chili’s, Bubba’s 33 and Bomgaars.

Anyway, Zoës Kitchen closed during the pandemic, reopened afterward, then closed for good. But a new tenant appears on the horizon, according to multiple sources, including the city of Waco’s Bobby Horner. Taco Casa reportedly will fill the space, offering such menu favorites as the super burrito, super nachos, chilada, frijoles, bean burritos and more.

Taco Casa now operates locally on Hewitt Drive, a long drive for a North Waco family yours truly is familiar with, one that swears by Taco Casa.

Te’jun in Keller

Te’jun, a seafood restaurant with a Cajun flair, continues its growth spurt, announcing it will open a new restaurant in Keller by year’s end, the news so welcome in the D-FW Metroplex that Mayor Armin Mizani described Te’jun as “a great new addition to Keller’s dining scene,” in a Facebook post.

Te’jun has been around since 1997, when Joe and Tammy Reid opened a roving seafood restaurant that made stops all over Central Texas. The city of Robinson proved among its most productive visits, and the Reids opened their first brick-and-mortar location on North Robinson Drive in 2017.

Lydia Baldwin, Te’jun’s director of marketing and the Reids’ daughter, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram the Metroplex is probably as far north as Te’jun will spread its Cajun influence, at least in the foreseeable future. The business has a food truck in Red Oak and a warehouse in Fairfield.

Still on the wish list

Costco and Trader Joe’s appear on most wish lists locals may compile. But it would appear the wait will continue through 2024 and possibly beyond.

Trader Joe’s has confirmed plans to open stores in 24 communities, with Sugar Land and Coppell the only targets in Texas. California will get nine new Trader Joe’s, its list including San Francisco, Sherman Oaks and South Pasadena. Meanwhile, Costco has confirmed a partial list of planned openings that includes the Houston suburb of Richmond. Anchorage, Jiangning, China, and Zaragoza, Spain, also appear among the 10 locations pinpointed.

The website savingadvice.com, where the Costco list appears, notes that the discount club does not confirm information until three months before the opening date, thus its list of openings should be considered incomplete.

Waco does have an Aldi store, 1220 N. Valley Mills Drive, which is part of a rapidly growing chain. The German company has acquired Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarkets, according to trade journals, and has announced it will open nearly 300 stores in both the Northeast and Midwest by 2028. It also plans more locations in the West, including in Southern California, Phoenix and Las Vegas, reports the niche online site, Eat This, Not That.

Christianity, business

Business leaders flocked to Baylor University this past month to learn not about the bottom line but faith in the workplace, according to a Baylor press release.

“Over parts of two days, businesspeople of all levels took part in the first-ever Armes Family Christian Leadership in Business Summit, which featured presentations from a series of keynote speakers along with interactive panel discussions on the integration of faith and topics like innovation, inclusion, and ethics,” the press release says.

The event brought together CEOs, company founders and researchers to talk about living one’s faith.

Gas prices down

At a time of year when gasoline prices typically rise, they are falling locally and nationally. Average gasoline prices in Waco have dropped 3.9 cents per gallon for regular unleaded, averaging $2.89 per gallon for regular unleaded on Monday, according to GasBuddy.com, which surveyed 124 area stations.

Prices in Waco are 28.8 cents per gallon lower than those a month ago, and 7.2 cents below those this time last year, GasBuddy reported. The cheapest gas in Waco on Sunday was $2.76 per gallon for regular unleaded, while the most expensive was $3.37, a 61-cent difference.

“The calendar has closed on May, and so too has the door closed on rising gas prices, with the national average declining to its lowest level since March,” GasBuddy head petroleum analyst Patrick DeHaan said in the press release.

“With GasBuddy data showing gasoline demand plummeting after Memorial Day, and refiners inputting the largest amount of oil into their facilities in years, it’s very likely we’ll continue to see gas prices fall as we approach July 4. Diesel prices also continue to decline to their lowest level in nearly 11 months,” DeHaan said. “The future looks bright for falling fuel prices across the board, though we’ll have to keep our eyes on hurricane season.”

DeHaan said OPEC’s meeting and decision to extend production cuts into 2025 should not dampen projections that prices will continue falling.