Strolling previous Betty’s Previous Style on Hillsboro Avenue, it is not unusual to see a crowd of individuals patiently ready to obtain their order of one of many restaurant’s well-known burgers or ice cream sundaes.
Nonetheless, the crowds on Thursday, two days earlier than the El Dorado landmark closed for good, have been relentless. A Information-Occasions reporter stopped 3 times throughout and after lunch Thursday, every time to a packed parking zone and two strains of hungry clients, lots of whom knew full nicely that this is able to be one among their final probabilities to consuming in a spot that apparently has at all times been there.
The restaurant initially introduced on social media that at present could be its final day open, however introduced Thursday afternoon that it’s going to open for the final time on Saturday.
“I will miss it, that is my third time coming right here at present,” mentioned Betty Lacey, a neighborhood buyer who was ready in line Thursday for ice cream.
“They’ve the most effective ice cream round… They need to go [Betty’s] proper the place it’s,” he continued.
Betty’s has been round since 1934 and is a staple for a lot of in El Dorado, notably those that grew up close by. Proprietor Betty Schaub was employed on the restaurant in 1957 on the age of 19, and he or she purchased the enterprise 10 years later, in accordance with earlier Information-Occasions reviews.
“Hate [that it is closing], is a part of El Dorado and a part of the group. I have been coming right here for about 30 years… I hope they’ll discover a new place as a result of I will miss them,” mentioned buyer BT Thompson.
A number of clients who spoke introduced up the truth that they’ve been visiting the restaurant for many of their lives.
“It is unhappy, however they must do what they must do. They are going to be missed,” mentioned Walter Sanders, who has been consuming at Betty’s for at the very least three many years.
“I bear in mind it was at all times right here. I am 42, so do the maths,” mentioned Connie Lacey, one other longtime buyer.
Betty’s is closing as a result of Arkansas Division of Transportation’s deliberate venture to widen and enhance Hillsboro Avenue/US 82-B/Junction Metropolis Street, which is a state freeway.
Land acquisition has been underway for at the very least a 12 months for the venture and, because of this, many companies in Hillsboro might want to regulate, relocate or, in some instances, shut.
One other buyer, Willie Mason, even remembered the restaurant when it was run by the unique proprietor, Phil Schaaf.
“I grew up in Betty’s… I hate to see it go,” Mason mentioned.
Mason mentioned that in her childhood, members of the family would order orders through the week and stroll to Betty’s to choose them up. On the finish of the week, he mentioned, his dad or her grandpa would go and settle the invoice.
“It is a landmark… ‘Final of the Mohicans’ proper right here. I am right here to get yet another greasy burger earlier than they shut. That is their model: if the bag ain’t greasy, I do not need it.” Mason mentioned.
“I’ve many reminiscences right here,” he concluded.
The approaching closure of the restaurant even impressed at the very least one pilgrimage.
Joseph Armor, an El Dorado native, hopped into his automobile Thursday to make the drive from Houston, Tex. to El Dorado for one final meal at Betty’s.
Armor mentioned he deliberate to fulfill up with childhood pals Shane Hendricks and Jason Ponder for a visit to the Spudnut Shoppe on Friday morning earlier than heading to Betty’s for lunch.
“We name it ‘bof’: the strawberry sundaes that come within the white Styrofoam cups. After we had one thing to rejoice, we might leap within the truck and roll over there. It is one thing we did quite a bit,” Armor mentioned.
Armor mentioned the go to will likely be fast: everybody will return to their properties in Dallas, Houston and Little Rock at present.
“Hopefully they have not bought out of strawberry sundaes…My son mentioned ‘you drive 12 hours only for strawberry sundae?'” Armor mentioned.
‘We’re going to miss our pals’
Schaub’s niece, Susan Blanchard, a 1987 graduate of El Dorado Excessive College who grew up working alongside her aunt at Betty’s Previous-Style, mentioned lengthy strains and heavy site visitors clogged the intersection of East Hillsboro and Martin Luther King, the place Betty’s is conserving the northwest nook, because it posted the pending closure on March three on Fb.
Blanchard mentioned ArDOT had issued a number of notices to vacate since paperwork to promote the property was signed in mid-2022.
“That they had been conserving us knowledgeable and final 12 months, they instructed us we needed to be out in September after which December after which January and February and now, they instructed us March 1 and that is it, so, yeah, we They’ve mentioned we’ve got to get out of the way in which,” Blanchard mentioned.
Blanchard mentioned the enterprise will shut its doorways on Saturday, noting that many individuals suppose at present would be the final day.
Betty’s will function regular enterprise hours of 5 am to 7 pm on Saturday earlier than lastly closing at its common location.
Based mostly on info he acquired from ArDOT, Blanchard mentioned demolition is scheduled for early April.
As he has for the previous 65 years, Schaub will likely be on website till the final minute Saturday, serving and saying goodbye to clients who’ve turn out to be household over time, Blanchard mentioned, including that his aunt is holding up nicely throughout such an emotional time.
“He is doing nicely and he is speaking about how he will miss everybody and he will sit in his recliner just a little bit,” Blanchard mentioned with a smile.
Schaub will depart with a lifetime of friendships, group help and his standing as a finalist for the Arkansas Meals Corridor of Fame Class of 2023.
Though the state’s oldest dairy bar did not make the lower as a member of the AFHF, Blanchard mentioned the couple is thrilled with the nomination, which, she added, is bittersweet contemplating the timing.
The bodily location of Betty’s Previous Style could also be closing down, however her legacy, and hopefully a brand new iteration, will nonetheless be round.
Blanchard will take over the enterprise beginning Saturday.
“Betty gave me all of the gear and instructed me to do it and I am going to do every part I can to seek out one other constructing,” Blanchard mentioned.
Blanchard manages lots of the enterprise’s affairs and, for practically two years, has been exploring different potential areas to reopen the restaurant.
“Nicely, I have been in search of a property close to the place we’re at proper now and I’ve heard about it and to this point it has been a optimistic,” he mentioned, including that he hopes to have extra particulars as talks progress.
To assist with the hassle, a GoFundMe web page was created for Blanchard with a objective of $200,000. By Thursday afternoon, $1,335 had been raised.
An account for donations has additionally been opened at Simmons First Financial institution. The account quantity is 136902806.
Blanchard’s Fb saying the pending closure of the enterprise on March three reached greater than 45,000 individuals, a testomony to the recognition and widespread affection for Betty’s Previous Style.
If Blanchard can reopen the enterprise, Schaub mentioned he’d be comfortable to assist, even when it is going to drastically reduce on the 18-hour workdays he is maintained for practically seven many years.
She fondly mirrored on her years within the enterprise and what Betty’s Previous Style and the group have meant to her.
“To remain in enterprise so long as I’ve, you need to love your clients they usually have to like me,” Schaub beforehand instructed the Information-Occasions.
“There are lots of people who’re upset that I’ve to maneuver. I’m too,” he continued. “That is the draw back of going out of enterprise. My purchasers are like household. I have been blessed and I need to give again to the group.”
Blanchard echoed these sentiments Thursday, saying she and Schaub have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of help from the group.
“Traces have wrapped across the constructing. Individuals have been parking throughout the road, up the road, down the road, wherever they’ll,” Blanchard mentioned.
“We actually respect everybody who has come by way of right here over the past three weeks or the final three many years. We love you all and we’re very appreciative of you all. We’re going to miss our pals,” he added.
Betty Schaub is at her burger stand/dairy bar, Betty’s Previous Style at 1334 E. Hillsboro. Schaub, who has labored within the enterprise since she was 19 and owned it since she was 29, will quickly shut the enterprise because of an upcoming Hillsboro/US 82-B enlargement and enchancment venture. (Tia Lyons/Information-Occasions File)