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A Wish List of New Businesses and Activities in Tyler TX

February 10th, 2011

We’ve spent a lot of time and words here at Tyler TX Directory, discussing old and new businesses and cultural goings on, and giving them our thumbs up and or thumbs down. We’ve covered a lot of territory sometime in triplicate and occasionally disagreeing even amongst ourselves. For instance one of our writers once wrote a positive review of Cici’s Pizza, and I on the other hand expressed a preference for Totino’s frozen pizza over that particular establishment. Point being we’ve offered sometimes numerous opinions on a lot of Tyler area businesses. This got me to thinking, what new type of business / activities do we need here? What are the missing pieces in our socio- economic and cultural lives that would make our community more complete? I think we can eliminate Banks, Churches, Schools and Mexicans restaurants right from the start. So here is my personal wish list of new businesses and things to do in Tyler. These are not in any way scientific, and based simply on conversations and personal preferences.

A new water company: If you’ve visited this site before you may know that I’ve written quite critically about Southern Utilities (SU) in the past. I’d say this company has terrible customer service but that would imply they do have it. SU has been able to operate as a completely unapproachable entity, due to a complete lack of area competition. Not to mention their prices are quite high. Customers immediately outside the Tyler city limits simply have no other options. I have no idea how the infrastructure for water supply works but the Tyler area is certainly ripe pickings for any new water utility company. Big- city delivery Chinese food: One thing I really miss about living in a big city is the ability to have nearly any type of food delivered to my front door. To my knowledge the closest thing we have to delivery Chinese food is Peaking, which is a terrific restaurant, but their delivery area doesn’t cover the entire city of Tyler, at any rate they don’t deliver to west, south west side of town. Fewer buffets and more local take- out and delivery would be great for our area I think.

An authentic Indian food restaurant: Far be it from me to suggest another eatery for this town but so long as it’s not another faceless corporate franchise that we have “got to have,” personally I’m open to greater variety. Indian food would be a great new addition to our restaurant repertoire. While I love Pizza and good mom and pop Mexican food, Indian would add a little spice to our culinary lives. As someone who really digs Indian food I would certainly be a regular.

An Imax movie theater:It seems to take about five to ten years or so for the biggest bad-est movie theater in Tyler to get over run by troubled youth and rowdy teens who turn the parking lot into a meeting place for area police. When that happens a newer safer theater is opened and the process begins all over again. So why not try establishing a more upscale theater, that appealed to a greater cross section of people by carrying both entertaining and educational films, in high def of course, a little farther from the city proper, say perhaps off I- 20 somewhere? Area schools would really benefit and it would add a bit more culture to our area.

Minor league Baseball:We’ve tried this twice, and as I understand it, the sticking point has been the same both times. It seems certain groups with certain religious affiliations objected to beer sales at the ball park. The first time around, the team had some real success and brought in good crowds. But when the fun police caught wind of the fact that beer could be purchased (during the 1997 season), protests ensued. Another attempt was made a few years later but baseball in a dry county didn’t equal as much fun or money and the team folded after a single season. Look I’m a practicing Christian but I’m not concerned that the moral health of my community is going to go into a nose dive if folks have a cold beer at a hot summer ball game. But some people seem to have this paranoid mental image of a drunken orgy erupting after hours of binge drinking, and that’s just not reality. I don’t know too many people who go to the ball park with the intention getting hammered, it’s too expensive. The ball park in Arlington sells beer and it’s arguably one of the most family friendly venues in all of sports. There are leagues that have Tyler in mind if we can just work out this one issue. It would certainly be a great draw for our community. Can we all please observe the maxim “all things in moderation,” and just let people be grown- ups?

So there’s my wish list. It was actually a harder list to compile than I expected it would be. I guess if we sit and think about it, there’s not too much that our area lacks. At the end of the day I’d say we’re blessed to live in a city that has a lot to offer and a lot to do. That’s not to say we can’t improve but we’re doing pretty well.

Great Deli and Internet Connection

January 8th, 2010

McAlisters Deli

4325 Old Bullard Road
Tyler, TX 75703-1229
(903) 939-3300

If you need a good place to go to have a free wireless internet connection for your business meeting in Tyler Texas than try McAlisters Deli. They have good food like their delicous chili bowl or turkey sandwich and it is delivered fast. This deli also caters to businesses and events all the time. Next time you need to talk over some business while eating lunch it is hard to beat McAlisters in Tyler Texas.

I am not a big deli sandwich person but if I had to recommend one sandwich from McAlister’s it would be the berry Turkey sandwich. I think it goes by a slightly different name but you will be able to spot it on the menu. The chili bowl is still the best thing they have as they serve it in a home made bread bowl and the bread it is made with is some of the most delicious bread I have had. I think the bread bowl actually tastes better than most rolls I have been served at Tyler restaurants.

The chili that is served at the McAlisters in Tyler tastes homemade and not that disgusting stuff in a can. I have been to Tyler restaurants that when a customer orders chili they will break open a can of chili and heat it up in the microwave. I don’t know if anyone reading this has had chili in a can but it is very bad stuff and the meat tastes more like tofu or soggie bread than real chili. McAlister’s will not serve this type of food product and if you are a chili lover I think you are going to like my suggestion.
If chili is not your think McAlisters in Tyler also has a really good bacon chedder spud. This potato is the best on the menu and you can ask for sour cream and any additional toppings that you would like. Sometimes I will order the chili bowl and the bacon cheddar spud and eat them both.

Finally I would like to point out that they have the booths divided in a way to give each table privacy. McAlisters Deli in Tyler With the privacy and free wifi internet you will find McAlisters Tyler Texas to be a very good location for any type of meeting such as a business meeting or just a place to sit down and finish some homework while eating lunch. McAlisters is right next to Office Depot and the Tyler mall. If you would like to order catering you may speak with Diana Todd who is the manager over their catering side.

Cheap Love from Petsmart

December 15th, 2009

As I sat down to write today’s article for Petsmart, I realized something. Petsmart is much more than a place to get the right type of food to whiten your dog’s teeth, pet grooming or to make your cat poop in the litter box not the clothes hamper, but it’s a place to find and train cheap love. Love ain’t free? No, it isn’t free but it can be bought and taught. When it comes to people love is a difficult issue. Though many women would not like to believe it but the truth is coming out, humans are non trainable. I am not talking about teaching a child to go to the potty or a young boy to throw a baseball correctly, I am talking about training.

Everyday when you come home, that same dog runs up to your door with that same excited look on its face as if it wants to tell you about the squirrel and it chased today or which neighbor’s flower bed it dug up. And no matter how many times you hit that dog over the head with a rolled up news paper because its chewing up your brand new shoes, that dog still greets you at the door. Cheap love.

Petsmart’s theme is that they love to see healthy and happy pets. Even as you walk through the door you may not be greeted but your dog will. Your dog will be shown the newest fashions in the dog world. As the holidays role in you can dress your dog for Christmas is a Santa jacket and hat. You can even find a stocking for your animal, because we don’t want to see the disappointed look on our goldfish when they don’t get a treasure chest for the fish bowl on December 25th.

Petsmart has special training classes for your animals. And this holiday get your animal’s picture taken with Santa! I find it annoying, the fuss over your animals to dress up and get your pictures taken with Santa, almost as annoying as the idea of strollers for dogs, or dogs carried in purses. If dogs cannot walk on a leash I don’t get the point of a dog then.

You will find what you need at Petsmart. Food and cages, birds, fish and hamsters, you can by all your animals needs in this one store. But if you are like me you have to ignore the corky little things the die hard pet-lovers do.