THURSDAY, AUGUST 12, 2021

An expanded Bird Creek Burgers & Brew Pub will be located at 8 South Fourth Street in downtown Temple. Developers say the transition from the current location will be complete during 2022. The new location will provide indoor seating as well as a massive beer garden complete with a sound stage and room to play.

Downtown grocery will include meat market and bakery

By DAVID STONE, Our Town Temple exclusive

Loft apartments are popping up throughout downtown Temple — dozens are either under construction or in planning stages.

The old business district is booming with shops, bars and eateries on just about every street. It’s where the action is in Temple, and it’s attracting a growing number of folks who want to call downtown home.

The Professional Building soon will become Central Plaza apartments, and an ambitious renovation project is about to start across the street at the Hawn, converting the old hotel into an apartment community.  And smaller residential projects are scattered throughout the area.

Also, construction is expected to start on two parking garage projects in the next few months. 

Downtown is once again vibrant. But, there’s something missing: a grocery market. That’s about to change.

Two developers — Bruce Bates and Bo Harvey — own about 12 downtown buildings, and they have big plans for a property they purchased last summer — the former In the Mood Ballroom building.

“We bought two buildings at the time,” Harvey said. “One is about 13,000 square feet, the other about 7,000. We initially planned to renovate the space as a restaurant, and we still might. But we got to thinking: ‘What about a market?’”

Harvey, Bruce Bates and Jacob Bates are partners in a company that operates Treno’s Pizzeria and Bird Creek Burger Co., and opening their own grocery store could be beneficial.

“We envision an upper-end neighborhood market with wines, beer, cheese and everyday products,” Harvey said. “But we also want to put in a meat market and a bakery. We are ranchers, and we can provide beef to be processed for downtown restaurants, including ours.”

“The bakery will provide pastries and hamburger buns for restaurants and for our customers,” he said. “We will sell fruits and fresh vegetables, as well as some up-scale items. We want to provide service to everyone.”

Harvey said the architectural process is under way for the neighborhood market, and construction could begin in the first few months of 2022.

“We are moving Bird Creek Burgers from its present location to 8 South Fourth Street, and that project will be done first,” he said. “Bird Creek is expanding into a restaurant and brew pub. We will double the inside space we have now, and we plan to open a 4,500-square-foot outdoor beer garden. It will be a place where families can come and have a good time.”

Residents of the many loft-style apartments under construction in downtown Temple soon will have a place to buy everyday grocery items. The market will include a bakery and a meat counter, according to developer Bo Harvey.

An overview of the downtown grocery store shows seating areas and display cases for meats, cheeses and baked goods. Construction is expected to begin on the store early next year.

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LITTLE KNOWN FACT: BELL COUNTY HAS 27 MOUNTAINS

Dana Peak towers above Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir. But at 853 feet above sea level, it pales in comparison to Sevenmile, Bell County’s ‘monster’ mountain.

Temple gets short end of Bell County terrain

By DAVID STONE, Our Town Temple exclusive

Bell County is known for many things: Fort Hood, great hospitals, barbecue, good football, trains and its majestic mountains. Right?

Not buying the mountain part? OK, maybe not majestic. But according to PeakVisor — a company that, uh, measures mountains — Bell County has 27 really big hills with official names. And, each name ends in Mountain.

Bell County is divided almost in half by I-35, and the land east of the interstate is rolling farmland. The land on the western side is hill country. So, it’s no surprise that most of Bell County’s “towering peaks” are in and around Fort Hood.

So, enough chit-chat. The tallest mountain in Bell County? That would be Sevenmile Mountain on the extreme western edge of the county. At 1,234 feet above sea level, Sevenmile dwarfs nearby Ivy Mountain by 40 feet.

The county’s five tallest peaks are clustered in a circle south of U.S. 190 between Killeen and Copperas Cove. Besides Sevenmile and Ivy, the circle includes Manere Mountain (1,168 ft.), McMillan Mountain (1,119 ft.) and Crossville Mountain (1,106).

Turnbow Mountain near Ding Dong is the county’s 10th tallest at 1,047 feet, but it is probably the most impressive in terms of prominence. In other words, Turnbow really looks like a mountain.

Heading east toward Temple — and eastern Bell County’s rich farm land — it’s no surprise that the mountains lose a great deal of their majesticism (please don’t look that word up). 

The west side of Belton Lake is home to Sparta (843 ft.), Owl Creek (863 ft.) and Tweedle (715 ft.) mountains. North of the lake stands Bland Mountain (715 ft.).

The only Bell County mountain that actually sounds like a mountain is Dana Peak. While it’s a beautiful area, it stands a mere 853 feet.

Only one named mountain can be found east of I-35 in Bell County, and it is the smallest of the 27 — Hartrick Bluff (551 ft.). 

What’s happening, Temple?

August 13, Friday - SmokinMaxx Carter live at Fire Base Brewing Co. 6:30 p.m.

August 13, Friday - Bell County Cutting Horse Show, Bell County Expo Center Equine/Livestock Complex.

August 13, Friday - Karaoke Night at Spare Time, 9 p.m.

August 13, Friday - Love Connection Matchmaking at Corky’s. 7:30 p.m.

August 13, Friday - Broken Time & Midnight Tradesmen at O’Briens. Two hot Bell County Bands! 9 p.m.

August 13, Friday - Bell County Kennel Club, Bell County Expo Center.

August 13, Friday - Hyway Traveler, Bo’s Barn Dance Hall, 8 p.m.

August 14, Saturday - Clear the Shelter animal adoption event. Temple Animal Shelter. Noon to 4 p.m.

Saturday - Downtown Temple Farmer’s Market. 2 N. Main Street. 8 a.m.

August 14, Saturday - Bell County Kennel Club, Bell County Expo Center.

August 14, Saturday - Texas Senior Pro Rodeo, Bell County Expo Center Equine/Livestock Complex.

August 14, Saturday - Name That Tune Bingo at Fire Base Brewing Co. Featuring mixtapes of the 1980s and 90s. 7:30 p.m.

August 14, Saturday - The Damn Moore Boys & Co. at O’Briens. 9 p.m.

August 14, Saturday - Broken Arrow at Bo’s Barn Dance Hall, 9 p.m.

August 15, Sunday - Bell County Kennel Club, Bell County Expo Center.

August 15, Sunday - Texas Senior Pro Rodeo, Bell County Expo Center Equine/Livestock Complex.

August 16, Monday - Short Story Reading Group at Temple Public Library. 6 p.m.

August 17, Tuesday - An evening with winemaker Tom Parmeson of Parmeson Wines. Four-course wine dinner at Pignetti’s. 6:45 p.m.

August 17, Tuesday - Taroks Card Party and Lessons at Czech Heritage Museum and Genealogy Center. Learn and play the 1400’s European card game brought to Texas by Czechs in the 1800s. 7 p.m.

August 19, Thursday - Temple City Council, City Hall. 5 p.m.

August 20, Friday - Coffee with a Cop, Bella Blue Cafe, 7-10 a.m.

August 21, Saturday - Bob Schneider, Texas Music Series,Cultural Activities Center. 7:30 p.m.

September 11, Saturday - Pink Fishing’s Reeling in the Cure, 6th annual bass tournament. Proceeds benefit breast cancer patients and cancer research. Cedar Ridge Park. 6 a.m. Call (254) 681-0102 for details.

September 18, Saturday - Dale Watson, Texas Music Series,Cultural Activities Center. 7:30 p.m.

October 9, Saturday - Shinyribs, Texas Music Series,Cultural Activities Center. 7:30 p.m.

November 6, Saturday - Chris Hillman, Texas Music Series,Cultural Activities Center. 7:30 p.m.

Have an event you would like to promote? Email info to OurTownTemple@gmail.com with “What’s Happening” in the subject line. Keep it short and sweet — what, when and where. You may include a short description. You must include a phone number for verification purposes. The phone number will not be published unless requested by submitter.

BELTON

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 87 Degrees; 0.08 feet high. Black bass are fair on long plastic worms, swim jigs and square billed crankbaits. White Bass are good on the main lake points, flats and humps using swimbaits, jigging spoons and slabs. Hybrid stripers are fair with live bait and swimbaits in the main lake along the channel edges where bait is present. Crappie are fair on minnows in brush piles and timber in water depths 14-25 feet. Catfish are good on chicken liver, live and cut bait.

STILLHOUSE

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 88 degrees; 0.51 feet high. Black bass are good on wacky worms, shad like crankbaits and craws working vegetation, grass lines and hydrilla beds early in the day, then deeper water and timber with football jigs and Texas rigged plastic worms. Smallmouth bass are fair with plastic grubs and small crankbaits near rocky shorelines, rock ledges and drop-offs. Crappie are good on minnows in brush piles and timber. White bass are good on slabs and live bait off main lake points, humps and drop-offs. Channel catfish are good with live bait and punch bait. Blue catfish are fair with fresh-cut bait and live bait.

GRANGER

GOOD. Water lightly stained; 87 degrees; 0.98 feet high. Black bass are good on diving crankbaits, red or purple Carolina rigged plastic worms and pearl swimbaits near points, rocky shorelines, flats and channel edges. Crappie are fair on minnows in brush piles. White bass are good on jigging spoons and slabs near main lake points, humps, ridges and flats. Catfish are good on chicken liver, punch and cut bait. Yellow cats are fair with live perch.

Our Town Classifieds

REMODELING KITCHEN AND MUST SELL KItchenAid Dishwasher. It is in great shape. $100. (254) 913-8309. 

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SELLING YOUR CAR? Post it right here!

BIG MEDICINE BALL — 40-pound soft-sided Rage Fitness medicine ball. Great for Atlas drills. Like new. $40. (254) 624-4010

MAKE GREAT SMOOTHIES — Vitamin. Great condition. Comes with two pitchers. Also great for salsas. $200. (254) 624-4010

LOOKING FOR SOMETHING? HAVE SOMETHING TO SELL? List it here!

PLYO BOX: Soft-sided, 20x24x30 plyometric box. Great condition. $40. (254) 624-4010

Subscribers get FREE classifieds up to 25 words. Email info to OurTownTemple@gmail.com

Our Town Deals

FREE COFFEE WITH PURCHASE OF ANY BREAKFAST ITEM — Easy As Pie, 1217 S 1st St A, Temple. 

To list your business in Our Town Deals, call (254) 624-4010

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