Chuy’s, an Austin-based Tex-Mex restaurant chain, will open Dec. 6 in Longview at 208 E. Loop 281, across from Longview High School.
Brandon Hurdle, local operator for the new restaurant, previously said Chuy’s in Tyler had received many requests for a location in Longview.
The restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner seven days a week, from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday or 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Mall toy store
A new toy store is open in Longview Mall, just in time for the Christmas shopping season.
Toy World opened near the mall’s main entrance as a new venture by the owner of Quilt World, which has been in the mall since 2019.
David Seaman is owner of both stores, said Manager Mary Parham.
Quilt World began in a 10-by-10- foot tent at Canton’s First Monday Trade Days and has grown to three “huge locations” there, as well as locations in the Longview Mall and Pierre Bossier Mall in Bossier City, Louisiana. The quilt stores also carry sheets, purses, blankets and jewelry and had been stocking toys, too.
Seaman started the toy store out of necessity, she said. They were out of room in the Longview store.
“This is the only toy store we have. We’ve got something of everything,” Parham said.
That includes electronic toys and tea sets, Ty merchandise, hair bows, baby dolls and lots of dinosaur merchandise.
“We’re real big into dinosaurs right now because the kids love dinosaurs,” Parham said.
Baking supply shop
Shealynn and Jonathan Smith offer gourmet chocolate in expanded colors for treat makers and bakers, as well as cake drips, customizable sprinkles and more at Candy Kaleidoscope in the Longview Mall.
Located next to the Buckle and across from Journeys, the store will follow normal mall hours, except that it is closed on Sundays. Shealynn said she has been a baker and treat maker for five years, creating “edible art.” She created her own product line to expand the colors and options of chocolate, sprinkles and other items used by bakers and treat makers.
“There was a need in the community for chocolate sprinkles and fondants in different colors,” she said.
She said everything is made from scratch, by hand, with custom sprinkles — teddy bears for a baby shower, for instance, available to order in the store or online at www.candykaleidoscopebytcc.com/ .
“When they come (to the store) they’ll see all 50 colors of the chocolate. The cake drip and the sprinkles will be out as well — just about everything we offer,” Shaelynn said.
“The store is created mainly as a supply shop,” featuring her products. she said. “There are so many different things out in the treat world that are hard to find, especially in Longview.”
The store also will offer other tools and supplies, such as cake boards, boxes and edible glitters.
General store opens
Top Homestead General Store and Market celebrated a soft opening Thanksgiving weekend.
“We’re trying to have an old fashioned general store where we offer a little bit of everything,” said Trent Durst. He and his wife, Leah, opened the store at 9999 U.S. 259 North, north of Satterwhite Log Homes at FM 1650.
The store’s name is a play on the name of the family’s longtime business, Topp Office Supply, which will be relocating to the same location as the general store in the coming weeks. Topp Office Supply has been in business since 1936.
“A few years ago, Leah and I starting dreaming and praying about something new and different for our family,” Durst wrote in a Facebook post announcing the store’s opening. “We decided that we wanted to build a new family business that felt more like home than a business. We wanted to create a welcoming place where people could come, sit a while and chat. God has taken our dream and manifested it into Top Homestead General Store and Market.”
The store, Durst said, has “a little bit of everything” — toys, cookware, farm and ranch supplies and more. The family also later plans to have cows and chickens and other animals on site and a vegetable garden so that people can see where their food originates, Durst said. The store eventually will sell meat and vegetables the family raises on site.
Regular hours are still to be set, but Durst said it’s likely the general store will be open Fridays and Saturdays throughout the holiday season.
For information, visit the store’s Facebook page at facebook.com/tophomestead .
