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| The sign for the new Church's (Texas) Chicken store at 15th and Cherry. And the windshield crack on my 2008 Camry Hybrid. And probably the Church's manager's red truck. And, in the background, the former sign for Derwood's service station, now a convenience store/gas station (off-brand). The former Derwood's Drive-In building next to the convenience store has gone through several food service incarnations since the original, so convenient to PBHS students on their 30-minute lunch hour, closed about 45 years ago. It's closed now, probably permanently. |
A Church's Chicken fast-food franchise take-out-only location opened in Pine Bluff in 1973, at Cherry St. and 16th Ave. It didn't have a drive-thru window, but that wasn't uncommon at the time. Or at least the drive-thru's were not yet the standard way to get a to-go order. But as you know, convenience marches on. Drive-Thru's and national franchise fast-food restaurants are the way of the world (or at least the US) these days.
The demolition of the old John Allen building at Pine Bluff High School also occurred in 1973, coincident with the year of Church's Chicken opening. So it's another coincidence that a new PBHS campus--same location, new buildings--opened this year soon after the new Church's Chicken opened.
(I recall, also in 1973 or maybe '74, ordering at the new Sonic Drive-In on Olive St, my first time to order from a disembodied voice. After uncomfortably placing the order, I joked with the voicebox, maybe even patted it with my hand, by saying, "how've you been, haven't seen you in a while." The girl who'd taken the order could still hear me, and said, "I'm sorry sir." I sure didn't expect the mic would still be on. My friends in the car got a big laugh out of that.)
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| A quick pic of the new Church's Chicken. |
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| It has drive-thru window of course. |
Old Church's Chicken remnant viewed from Cherry Street.
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New main entrance (it faces west, toward Olive St.) of PBHS, near where former student parking lot and cafeteria and band and choir buildings were. The old PBHS black-and-white metal sign that was in front of the cafeteria seems to be waiting, upside down and backwards, to be installed somewhere. Photo taken in September. |
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| The east side of the building, still being worked on in July of this year. The Grand Opening of the new PBHS campus was scheduled for October 15 but has been postponed. |
