Wouldn't it be cool (and potentially quite profitable) to have a little food stand next to the new Baylor football stadium? Somewhere right on the way for fans to stop by or congregate on football Saturdays and potentially patronize on non-football days as well, just because they want to be near the newness.
I've heard a few people ponder and fantasize about that possibility since the plans for the new stadium were announced. Whether it's a food truck, some sort of food boat or a brick-and-mortar establishment, it's something interesting to daydream about in the idle hours. For local restaurateurs and entrepreneurs, it's probably more than a fantasy.
For Russell Spicer, it's already reality.
Spicer owns Spicer's Food Store on the corner of Orchard Lane and Spring Street, soon to be in the shadow of the new football stadium. Or as he described it to me on Wednesday "It owns me."
Spicer's is a little convenience store, sans gas pumps. He sells beer and wine and all of those handy food items you usually find in such places. He also sells a little bit of barbecue, though he told me he doesn't consider his store to be a restaurant. I had a tasty sausage wrap from there for lunch today.
Like everybody else in town, Spicer is watching to see how the new football stadium impacts Waco and, specifically, the little neighborhood directly north/northeast of it. He said there are mixed emotions in the neighborhood about the new ballpark.
Baylor has purchased lots in the neighborhood, known as Olive Heights. According to reports by the Waco Tribune-Herald and other publications, it's currently zoned for sing-family residences. But some people who live in the area fear that will change if Baylor buys the majority of the property and decides it wants to develop the area for commercial use.
Spicer doesn't yet have elaborate plans to amp up his barbecue sales on future Baylor game days, though he imagines the area will be a popular place to park for football games.
He's taking a wait-and-see approach with an open mind.
"I'm not looking to sell," Spicer said. "But if someone wants to talk and is speaking the right language, if you know what I mean, I'll listen."
I'll effort the legal specifics on this, but for now I'm going to freelance a little. If the neighborhood is zoned for residences, but Spicer operates a store, then he must have some sort of neighborhood-store exemption. I'm guessing that would carry over if he sold the store. And if that's the case, this is a wide open opportunity for a restaurant to jump in at an established location and prepare to thrive on game days (that's assuming that there is game day traffic on the north side of the river).
Or Spicer could realize the potential himself. Like I said, the sausage wrap was tasty. I could see him paying more than a few bills by firing up a barbecue pit in the picnic area in the yard next to his store on game days.
I've stated this before, but this football stadium deal is one that we're going to follow closely as it's perhaps the biggest thing happening in our town these days. I find the presence of Spicer's to be an intriguing subplot.
One more bite: My friend Shawn Skeen and I were enjoying a beverage at Hemingway's early Monday evening when he brought up Spicer's to me. Skeen wants me to go in with him to buy the place. I haven't completely ruled it out, but I'm betting if it's a real possibility then someone will beat us to it.
