Another Local East Texas Restaurant Closes It’s Doors

Another local East Texas restaurant has made the difficult decision by announcing they would be closing their doors for the final time on October 5th.

Just this past weekend I was driving along S. Broadway Ave. in Tyler, Texas with my wife and we were noticing and talking about how empty all the restaurants looked. It was late afternoon/early evening, basically dinner time, and we noticed the parking lots for places like Saltgrass Steakhouse, Razzoo's, Hawaiian Bros Island Grill, and Applebee's were pretty empty.

These aren't the only locations that appear to have a lack of customers, I'll see this during the week while going to lunch too. Restaurants seem to be suffering from a lack of customers and some struggle to make ends meet.

This past Sunday, the owners of Brigitta's Hungarian Restaurant in Kilgore announced that they would be closing for good on October 5th. They say in a Facebook post,

We are honored to be able to serve you for seven years, and create something from nothing. We filled a void of having a unique ethnic restaurant that is much needed in the country. We learned a lot through this journey, went through obstacles, survived Covid, managed to stay open after our roof was blown off (with your help, of course)!

We couldn’t have done it without you! We are so grateful for all these experiences, it made us who we are today!

The owners stated they made the decision to sell the business and told KETK news one of the deciding factors in selling and closing the business was rising food costs in addition to the rise in other operational and supply costs.

There has been a shift in the way East Texans eat out these days, with rising menu prices many East Texans are eating more meals at home.

Brigitta's Hungarian Restaurant in Kilgore isn't the only restaurant or eatery to announce they were closing their doors. The following restaurants have also recently closed:

• Cinnabon in the Village At Cumberland Park in Tyler closed Sunday the 22nd
• Posado's Cafe on Gentry in Tyler
• Which Wich Sandwich shops in Tyler
• Red Lobster Tyler and Longview
• Lola's Handcrafted Kitchen Tyler

If you are a regular of Brigitta's you'll have one final opportunity to enjoy the authentic Hungarian tastes during Kilgore's Oktoberfest on October 12th.