June 3rd, 2011
I read a report yesterday or the day before, confirming what most of us living in Texas strongly suspected. Our state is well ahead of the curve in terms of job growth. The cities of Dallas and Ft.Worth rank above the rest of the nation in terms of job growth. Houston is a close second. The jobless rate in the metroplex is down slightly from eight percent to roughly seven and a half, admittedly a small decline, but a good one considering the national average is nine percent. There are a number of ways to crunch the numbers, obviously, but in terms of both population and job growth Texas is definitely better off than most of our sister states; far better off than some. I’m not suggesting that times are exactly good here, just better.
The category of growth I found most interesting, both for me personally and for Tyler, comes in the area of Education and Health Care. These two fields seem to be growing albeit slowly, with an interesting stipulation: it includes private as opposed to public schools. The article I read cites 6.4 percent growth in the Ft. Worth area, and 5.2 in the Dallas area. While these numbers relate specifically to the metroplex, this category is of course the largest field of employment in East Texas. With the public schools in Texas experience big cutbacks, private schools are growing, and hiring new staff. While its admittedly anecdotal evidence, I can attest to this, as I recently accepted a position at a new private school in our area.
I think the relative health of the Texas economy comes as a result of a generally pro-business administration, and a lack of state income tax, which encourages immigration from states like California (and others), that are incredibly overburdened by regulation and taxation. Incidentally, the Bureau of Labor put San Francisco near the bottom of the job growth list with -0.3 percent growth when compared to last year.
Tags: Anecdotal Evidence, Bureau Of Labor, Business Administration, Curve, Dallas Area, Decline, East Texas, Ft Worth Area, Health Care, Jobless Rate, Metroplex, Private School, Private Schools, Pro Business, Relative Health, State Income Tax, Stipulation, Texas Economy, Texas Experience, Texas Job, Tyler Texas
Posted in Tyler Businesses | No Comments »
February 26th, 2010
Cavenders
2025 W SW Loop 323
Tyler Texas
903 561 2510
Cavenders is a Western store for men, women and children selling hats, cowboy boots, clothing and some jewellery and accessories. Cavenders is a wonderful Texas experience for the tourist and a great place to shop for the local.
As you go in, you will probably be greeted with a ‘howdy’ from the friendly staff at the checkout. The store is well laid out. On the right is the kid’s section and the men’s boots and hats. There is a huge variety and all sizes are available. Helpful assistants will find the right size for you – you have to get hat size right otherwise it will look or feel weird! Then there are shelf after shelf of boots, from the inexpensive but long lasting Justin boots to the more expensive Luccheses and others. There are boots with round toes, square toes and pointy toes, flat boots, heels, and all different colors and some different materials and trims. You will find something you like for sure.
On the front left side of the store is the ladies section – boots and clothes. You can find lots of pretty tops as well as jeans and beaded flipflops as well as cowboy boots. Behind that is the men’s clothing section – lots of Wranglers and checked shirts but a good deal of other stuff too – both work quality and going out stuff. The clothes at Cavenders in general are fairly expensive but the quality of the items stocked is really good and they will last and last.
In the middle of the store are the belts and buckles, jewellery, billfolds and so on. I love the silver jewellery they sell at Cavenders. They also have some Texas memorabilia, cards, key rings and Western style home decor items.
Service at Cavenders is polite and helpful. They will return any unworn item with a receipt and will issue giftcards if you need to exchange but haven’t time to shop. A Cavenders gift card is always a great gift by the way.
Occasionally Cavenders will have a ‘Round-up’ sale with $10 or $20 off certain brands of cowboy boots or something similar but on the whole there are not many ‘bargains’ to be found as Western fashions don’t change a great deal so the stock stays pretty consistent.
Finally, Cavenders is open until 8pm so you can shop after work. They also have a great website and you can order online. This is great for guys that wear out their clothes and just want repeat orders of the same thing!
Tags: Billfolds, Buckles, Cavenders Boot City, Clothing Section, Cowboy Boots, Different Colors, Different Materials, Hat Size, Justin Boots, Key Rings, Ladies Section, Silver Jewellery, Square Toes, Sw Loop, Texas Experience, Trims, Tyler Texas, western, Western Style, Work Quality, Wranglers
Posted in Clothing | No Comments »
February 17th, 2010
Atwoods Ranch and Home
303 N NW Loop 323
Tyler Texas
903-526-6030
Mon-Sat 7am until 8pm
Sun 9am – 6pm
Atwoods is a large store selling farm equipment and animal feed for the cowboys and wannabe cowboys amongst us. You may have seen their ads on TV ‘Come into Atwoods, its just like comin’ home’ However, I think that they would be better off spending some money on updating their store rather than spending it on advertising! It is very old fashioned and not at all family friendly (horrible restrooms, and no baby change) and not very well laid out. It would be a so much nicer experience if there was a café or some place to buy a drink or snack for the kids too. But if you’re a regular customer that might not be a problem to you. It seems that Atwoods does have a following.
Atwoods has some clothing – Wranglers, boots, overalls etc. power tools and garden equipment and chemicals and lots and lots of animal feed. They sell stuff for your truck, fencing for your animals and blocks for your patio. There are even a few ride on toys for kids and of course hunting equipment. They also have seasonal items like Christmas decorations, patio furniture and grills, plants and seeds and live poultry for sale.
The prices are not particularly great at Atwoods but if you catch one of the weekly specials – found in a circular newspaper delivered to most homes in and around Tyler – then you will be able to stock up on food for your cattle, dog or birds, or perhaps fertilizer for your lawn, at low cost.
Atwoods to me is a bit of a rural Texas experience. I understand that there are another 30 stores around here and that they have been in business for 50 years. I guess things haven’t changed much!
Tags: Animal Feed, Atwoods, Cattle Dog, Christmas Decorations, Comin Home, Fertilizer, Hunting Equipment, Nw Loop, Overalls, Patio Furniture, Plants And Seeds, Plants Seeds, Restrooms, Ride On Toys, Ride On Toys For Kids, Sun 9am, Texas Experience, Tyler Texas, Wannabe, Weekly Specials
Posted in Farm and Ranch | 1 Comment »
January 17th, 2010
We went to Sacred Spur Ranch on Friday with relatives in town from Canada to give them a Texas experience. Sacred Spur is unlike anything you may have encountered such as a Texas Roadhouse experience. This place is like a barn in the middle of a real Ranch.
Call for reservations: 903-295-4364
Address:
117 Michel Rd
Gladewater, TX 75647
When we walked in we were greeted with live entertainment. The singer was singing some very good country western music. For a Friday the place was about a quarter of the way full.
The steaks are cooked on a gigantic homemade grill made out of a lot of welded metal. The grill on top of the fire hangs from a chain and seems to do a good job. 
I ordered the Ribeye steak because they were out of T-Bones and it came with a baked potato. The steak and potato were very good. I was sitting next to the metal barn wall so I started to get a little cold in there. As you can see this was an authentic barn ranch style experience. If you are wanting cookie cutter Texas Roadhouse than this is not it.
Sacred Spur Ranch is only open Friday and Saturday’s and is located in East Mountain, population 500. It will take you close to 45 minutes to an hour to get here. Plan on making this an all evening event and prepare for authentic, rustic or whatever you want to call it.
Tags: Authentic Cowboy, Baked Potato, Bones, Canada, Cookie Cutter, Country Western Music, Cowboy Ranch, Evening Event, Gladewater Tx, Good Job, Live Entertainment, Michel Rd, Mountain Population, Ranch Style, Relatives, Ribeye Steak, sacred spur ranch, Spur, Steaks, Texas Experience, Texas Roadhouse, Tyler barbeque
Posted in Barbeque | 2 Comments »
October 14th, 2009
As I get older, I find that I am becoming a traditionalist in nearly every way, and yes this also applies to food. I am a firm believer in patronizing local restaurants who cook foods native to this particular region. In Texas, one of our primary cultural foods is barbeque.
We have numerous barbeque restaurants in and around Tyler, some of which are quite good, but only two are locally owned, with local cooking methods and local pride. The Purple Pig is located on 155 between Tyler and Palestine. When you hear folks talk about out of the way establishments who serve out of this world food, they may well be discussing the Purple Pig. Here is the authentic Texas barbeque you’ve been hearing so much about. This local fav has become an East Texas tradition in and of itself. In fact it has expanded gradually over the last couple of years in order to accommodate more customers and a growing reputation. The atmosphere is rustic, but that is after all, what you want in a barbeque joint. The food takes priority over all other concerns. I have often taken out of town guests there in order to give them a genuine Tyler, Texas experience.
The Pig’s menu consists of all the barbeque favorites from ribs and brisket to sausage and pork wings, yes pork wings, and they cook them like no one else. All the meats they serve are smoky and tender, and (if applicable) fall off the bone. My personal favorite is the sliced brisket. They also serve the old standbys like baked beans and coleslaw.
The Pig also takes a monthly road trip to Canton Trade Days. Events like this no doubt help to spread the gospel of the Purple Pig! For more info on this particular gospel, see their website, located at www.purplepigcafe.com. Better yet, pay them a visit. They’re open seven day week. For more on great Tyler barbeque see the Tyler Blog section of this site, and look for the title “Texas cuisine at a Tyler landmark.”
Tags: Authentic Texas, Baked Beans, Barbeque Restaurants, Brisket, Cooking Methods, East Texas, Local Restaurants, No Doubt, purple pig, Ribs, Road Trip, Texas Barbeque, Texas Cuisine, Texas Experience, Texas Tradition, Town Guests, Traditionalist, Trip To Canton, Tyler Texas, Tyler Texas barbeque, Tyler TX Purple Pig, World Food
Posted in Barbeque | No Comments »
