I don’t know what made me think of this, but here goes.

So many places in Abilene have closed through the years, especially locally-owned restaurants who have given way to the good ol’ corporate chains. What a loss. Here are a few establishments I used to love to patronize, in no particular order:

• The Outpost

Advertised as “A Wild Westaurant,” in its heyday, they were THE place to go for the best steaks, seafood and side dishes around. The exterior looked like, you guessed it, an old western fort outpost. (Abilene is on the Texas Fort’s Trail, and the remnants of Ft. Phantom still exists just outside of town.) The interior was rustic, with taxidermied animals set in real-life Texas scenery (which was a bit startling), alongside Texas sports memorabilia. The food was the standout by far. Oh, and they even had a railroad track that ran around the ceilings of the rooms where a model train would travel. I don’t remember ever seeing it run, but maybe that was even before my time. The food declined in later years due to changes of management and ownership, and they finally closed and tore the building down. I was so sad, I went to the site before they cleaned it up and took a couple of “mementos.” There’s a Chick-Fil-A there now. Bummer.

• Tony’s Pizza Cave

The entrance to the building was a large, cave-like structure. Their pizzas were made using provolone cheese, and were divine! They featured cozy booths, video games (does anyone remember Atari?), and a movie room where you could watch Looney Tunes, The Three Stooges, or The Little Rascals while you dined. They also had live acoustic music in another room on weekends. My dear husband actually played and sang there when he was in his twenties! The decor was art nouveau and very unique. I loved it. After an ownership change, they remodeled and removed the “cave.” It continued as Crystal’s Pizza (under Casa Bonita ownership) for over a decade until it finally closed. It’s been two or three other restaurants since then, which have all failed miserably. I think the building is vacant now.

• Gardski’s Loft

Great ambiance, with plants, booths situated on a small rise, skylights, and the biggest and best fried mozzarella cheese sticks you’ve ever tasted! These suckers were HUGE. They had awesome gourmet burgers as well (mmm, mushroom Swiss!), plus live music at night. Same story, it changed ownership and name and fell by the wayside soon after. Another sad, vacant reminder of the past.

• Pizza America

OK, so I like pizza.

Pizza America was owned and operated by the Ambrosio family, and yes they were Italian! Sal, the owner, had moved to Abilene from Detroit (or Chicago, can’t remember for sure), and his Mama still lived in the old country. The atmosphere wasn’t anything fancy, but it had an open kitchen behind the counter where you ordered, where you’d see the cooks (most of whom were Sal’s relatives) tossing the pizza dough by hand! Oh, the aroma and taste of that homemade pizza….:drool: People would drive all the way across town to “the north side” just to eat there, and maybe play a little pinball while they waited.

I remember going in there one night and Sal’s Mama was in for a visit and was back in the kitchen helping prepare the food. Of course, all of these recipes came from her. She could barely speak English but was as sweet as could be!

Sal’s brother was killed in a tragic car accident in the 90′s, forcing him to close the restaurant and although he tried reopening for awhile, I guess it was just too much for him and he finally closed down for good. I’m not sure what happened to him, but he is definitely missed. My sleep shirt is a Pizza America shirt, a rare little memento.

These are just a few places that come to mind. If anyone out there has any information or photos of these places, please get in touch with me. I wasn’t able to come up with anything on Google. They’re gone but not forgotten!