Last Call on Pecan Street: Saying Goodbye to Two Pflugerville Favorites and What's Taking Shape Downtown

Springhill Restaurant has been serving catfish on West Pecan Street since 1985. Pecan St. Station Deli & Grill has made sandwiches farther down the same street for 26 years. Within five days of each other this month, both will serve their last plates. On East Main Street, crews are finishing a four-story City Hall with a coffee shop built into it. The city picked that shop on purpose to be somewhere people spend their free time.

I've been watching Pflugerville change for close to twenty years, and this October brings that change together. Two of the town's longest-running places to sit down and talk are closing. The city is building the next one itself, and it opens in January.

Two last days, five days apart

Pecan St. Station Deli & Grill closes first. According to Community Impact's Oct. 6 report, its last day of service at 1005 W. Pecan St. is Oct. 11. The story behind it is about loyalty. Brian Hernandez worked at the deli for 18 years. In July he took over from Paul Prestridge, who decided to retire. In a Facebook post, Hernandez said his goal "was to keep the restaurant running, keep our employees working, and continue serving the customers and community who have supported us for so long."

The closing date came fast. "The news came on Saturday for us, that our last day would be the 11th," Hernandez told Community Impact. He said he hopes to relocate the deli, though no new spot has been announced. He also has a separate project in Round Rock, Bed Rock Breakfast & Bar at 114 E. Main St. Updates are posted at pecanstreetstation.com.

Springhill Restaurant closes on Oct. 16 at 2505 W. Pecan St. after more than 40 years. Carroll Humphrey opened it in 1985. The name comes from nearby Spring Hill Lane, and the menu has stuck with shrimp and catfish dinner platters, burgers, sandwiches and peach cobbler. Co-owner Jack Payne said employees heard about the closing on Sept. 9. He also said the restaurant plans an online auction of its memorabilia. As of this writing, no date or platform for the auction has been announced.

Payne thanked the people who kept coming back over the years:

"We appreciate the loyalty of the customers and all the people that have come here for years and years, all the different generations."

To order one more catfish platter or a last cobbler, your window ends Oct. 16. For the deli, it ends Oct. 11. Springhill's website is springhillcatfish.net, and it's the place to check for auction news.

Owning the recipe isn't the same as owning the building

The Pecan St. Station story shows how much depends on who owns the property. Hernandez bought the business but not the building, and he called that "a risk." The building is now for sale. A longtime employee can carry on the recipes, the regulars and the staff. The lease decides how long any of that stays at one address.

I explain this to clients all the time, usually about houses. The same idea applies to Main Street. A restaurant's address and its spot in the neighborhood both depend on who controls the property. Neither report says what will happen to the Pecan St. Station or Springhill buildings. Until someone announces a plan, both sites are open questions on the corridor.

West Pecan keeps filling in, with a different kind of tenant

West Pecan Street isn't going quiet. The businesses that opened there this year just look different from a 1985 catfish house.

• Back Nine Golf, 2606 W. Pecan St., Ste. 202, opened July 6. It's a 3,000-square-foot indoor golf simulator with four bays, open 24/7, and members can play courses like Pebble Beach, St. Andrews and Torrey Pines.
• Graze Craze, 2700 W. Pecan St., opened July 20. It's a charcuterie shop focused on catering, owned locally by Keith Duncan and Tania Pardo.
• Pfun Arts, 401 W. Pecan St., expands on Oct. 24. The visual arts center is growing into four parts: a fine art gallery and exhibition space, an open studio and workspace, rooms for classes and specialty workshops, and an artisan retail shop that's coming soon.

None of these is a place to get a plate of catfish. A golf simulator that's open any hour, a catering shop for party platters and a growing arts center each bring people to West Pecan for something specific. Pfun Arts may come closest to a place to linger. Its Oct. 24 expansion lands eight days after Springhill's final day, which makes it the first new gathering spot to open on the street after both closings. Details are at pfunarts.com.

The city builds its own gathering place on East Main

The most deliberate move this season is the city's. Pflugerville's Downtown East project is set to reach substantial completion on Dec. 18, according to a Sept. 22 presentation to City Council. Deputy City Manager Emily Barron said staff will move into the new City Hall in late December, and the building is scheduled to open to the public on Jan. 4. The four-story City Hall at 605 E. Main St. costs roughly $86 million.

The cafe is planned for the building's public-facing space. City Council gave final approval to a lease with Two Brews LLC, which runs West Pecan Coffee + Beer, and the cafe is expected to open in January. The lease runs from November 2026 through Jan. 1, 2030. West Pecan first opened in 2018, so this will be its second location.

Mayor Doug Weiss explained the choice this way:

"Choosing a local business for City Hall was important to us as we made plans for the building to activate a third space for our community, where people can relax and spend their free time."

Places like Springhill and Pecan St. Station became gathering spots over decades, one regular at a time. The city is trying to create one on purpose, starting in a public building, with a local operator and a lease that runs for about three years.

Downtown East also brings a new recreation center. Staff training at The Monarch starts in November. The current recreation center closes Jan. 10, The Monarch soft-opens in mid-January, and its ribbon cutting is planned for February. If you have a membership, a class or a weekly swim at the current center, there will be a short gap between the old building closing and the new one opening.

There's a change for drivers too. A new traffic light is going in where FM 685 meets the extended Main Street. Council member Melody Ryan said some residents are worried it will back up traffic. Barron said the city and the Texas Department of Transportation are reviewing intersection spacing and signal timing and expect to make adjustments. Community Impact's Downtown East update includes a map of the project.

The calendar from here to spring

These are the dates in order. The January and later dates are the city's current plans and may move.

1. Oct. 11: Last day of service at Pecan St. Station Deli & Grill, 1005 W. Pecan St.
2. Oct. 16: Springhill Restaurant closes at 2505 W. Pecan St.
3. Oct. 24: Pfun Arts expands at 401 W. Pecan St.
4. November: West Pecan's City Hall lease begins, and staff training starts at The Monarch.
5. Dec. 18: Expected substantial completion of Downtown East.
6. Jan. 4: City Hall opens to the public.
7. Jan. 10: Current recreation center closes, with The Monarch's soft opening planned for mid-January.
8. January: West Pecan Coffee + Beer is expected to open inside City Hall, and a City Hall ribbon cutting is planned.
9. February: Ribbon cutting at The Monarch.
10. April: A celebration of the full Downtown East project, held with the Slice of Pflugerville event.

From now through April, the places where Pflugerville gets together are shifting. Two West Pecan Street counters close in October, and a cafe opens inside City Hall in January.

If one of these closings has you thinking about how your own part of Pflugerville is changing, I'd like to hear about it. I'm Edwin Zamora, and whether you're thinking about the building, the block or the next chapter for your home, I'll listen first and walk through it with you in English or Spanish. Let's Start With Your Story.