Nickerson Farms Restaurant New Braunfels,TX
Former Nickerson Farms Restaurant located at 7570 North I-35 (Frontage Rd.) in New Braunfels,TX. The building was undergoing asbestos abatement at the time of my visit to the property which is a likely indicator that the building will soon be razed. Note the building was most recently occupied by an antique store which operated under the name Hillcrest Antiques Gallery.
Note, Nickerson Farms was founded by Ivan Nickerson who was a franchisee of Stuckey's Pecan Shoppes. After numerous disagreements on how his Stuckey's franchise was to be ran, Ivan Nickerson dropped his affiliation with Stuckey's and opened his own roadside restaurant under the name "Nickerson Farms. Due to the tension between both companies, the two chains started opening locations right next to (or nearby) one another.
There were about sixty Nickerson Farms restaurants in operation throughout the Country in the early 1970s however, by the mid 1980s the chain experienced financial difficulties and locations began closing their doors. By the late 1980s the chain ceased operations and the buildings with their bright red slopping roofs and tudoresque style architecture were shuttered. There are still a few dozen of the buildings standing although only a handful of the buildings are occupied. The majority of the restaurants are vacant and because of their unique design and rural locations have proved to be difficult to reuse. I should note that aside from the iconic design of the restaurants, one of the major selling points of Nickerson Farms were the beehives INSIDE of their restaurants. The company prided itself on its "fresh honey" and built functioning hives in their restaurants so customers could watch the 40,000+ bees make the "freshest honey available". The exterior of the restaurants had a small pipe coming out of the roof where bees would come and go throughout the year. Remarkably there were never any documented incidents of the bees escaping into the restaurants nor any noted reports of bee stings in the parking lots (although I'm sure some happened). The is one location in Morengo,OH that continues to operate under the name Farmstead Restaurant and while the menu and interior decor is similar to its predecessor but the beehives are long gone.
Nickerson Farms Restaurant New Braunfels,TX
Former Nickerson Farms Restaurant located at 7570 North I-35 (Frontage Rd.) in New Braunfels,TX. The building was undergoing asbestos abatement at the time of my visit to the property which is a likely indicator that the building will soon be razed. Note the building was most recently occupied by an antique store which operated under the name Hillcrest Antiques Gallery.
Note, Nickerson Farms was founded by Ivan Nickerson who was a franchisee of Stuckey's Pecan Shoppes. After numerous disagreements on how his Stuckey's franchise was to be ran, Ivan Nickerson dropped his affiliation with Stuckey's and opened his own roadside restaurant under the name "Nickerson Farms. Due to the tension between both companies, the two chains started opening locations right next to (or nearby) one another.
There were about sixty Nickerson Farms restaurants in operation throughout the Country in the early 1970s however, by the mid 1980s the chain experienced financial difficulties and locations began closing their doors. By the late 1980s the chain ceased operations and the buildings with their bright red slopping roofs and tudoresque style architecture were shuttered. There are still a few dozen of the buildings standing although only a handful of the buildings are occupied. The majority of the restaurants are vacant and because of their unique design and rural locations have proved to be difficult to reuse. I should note that aside from the iconic design of the restaurants, one of the major selling points of Nickerson Farms were the beehives INSIDE of their restaurants. The company prided itself on its "fresh honey" and built functioning hives in their restaurants so customers could watch the 40,000+ bees make the "freshest honey available". The exterior of the restaurants had a small pipe coming out of the roof where bees would come and go throughout the year. Remarkably there were never any documented incidents of the bees escaping into the restaurants nor any noted reports of bee stings in the parking lots (although I'm sure some happened). The is one location in Morengo,OH that continues to operate under the name Farmstead Restaurant and while the menu and interior decor is similar to its predecessor but the beehives are long gone.