- Spurlock's Malt Shop, a family-run diner since 1951, will close permanently on November 6, 2024, after losing its leased property.
- The closure reflects wider restaurant struggles in 2025: rising ingredient costs, reduced dining-out, and multiple chain shutdowns.
- Community mourning and last-ditch efforts—extended hours, BOGO malts, hopes for relocation or crowdfunding—underscore the cultural loss.
ANNA, Texas — In a quiet corner of North Texas, where the flatlands stretch out like an endless drive-in movie screen, a piece of postwar Americana is about to flicker out.
Spurlock’s Malt Shop, the last outpost of a family-run burger and ice cream joint that’s been slinging Super Dogs and thick malts since 1951, will serve its final order on November 6, 2024.
The closure isn’t due to fading recipes or empty booths — it’s the harsh math of real estate. The building’s owners sold the property, and after months of hunting, the Spurlock family couldn’t find a new spot to call home.
The FrankNez Media Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here.
“It’s with the heaviest of hearts that we share some incredibly difficult news,” read the announcement on the shop’s Facebook page last month, a post that’s since drawn hundreds of heartbroken comments from locals.
“The owners of the property where our restaurant is located have officially sold the building, and we’ve recently learned that our time here is coming to an end on November 6th.
We’ve known about the possibility of the property being sold for a few months, but we never expected things to happen so quickly.
We’ve been unable to find a new location to relocate to and are praying for a miracle so we don’t have to close down our business completely.”
For the Spurlocks, this isn’t just a restaurant — it’s a legacy etched in grease-stained aprons and faded photos.
History of Its Inception
It all started in the dusty town of Lamesa, about 350 miles west of Anna, when Gilbert Spurlock, a U.S. Navy veteran born in 1921, bought a modest drive-in with his wife, Vida Jo.
They rebranded it Spurlock’s Super Dog Drive-In, keeping the menu simple: handmade burgers, crispy fries, footlong Super Dogs, and those old-fashioned malts that could make a hot Texas afternoon bearable.
Gilbert ran the place until the late ’90s, passing the torch to his son Doug, who kept the original Lamesa spot humming until his retirement in 2013.
The chain — if you can call a two-spot operation a chain — got a second wind in 2012 when Doug’s daughter, Kristi Spurlock Perez, opened the Anna location in a charming 1959-era building on N. Powell Parkway.
It was a nod to grandpa Gilbert’s vision, complete with the same no-frills charm.
But now, with the original Lamesa drive-in long shuttered and Anna’s days numbered, an era ends.
Community Reactions to the Restaurant Closure
Fans have flooded the comments with memories: one regular, Andrew Carlson, wrote simply, “So sorry this is happening. We love you and we will support you however we can.”
Others floated ideas like a food truck pivot or a pop-up at the county fair, clinging to hope amid the nostalgia.
Spurlock’s story feels painfully familiar in 2025, a year that’s been brutal for the restaurant world. Inflation has jacked up ingredient costs — beef up 5% year-over-year, dairy edging higher still — while diners tighten belts, opting for grocery runs over greasy spoons.
According to a recent Ipsos survey, 33% of Americans are slashing their dining-out budgets across the board, hitting everyone from drive-thrus to family diners.
And in Texas, where barbecue joints and burger shacks are practically sacred, the pain cuts deeper.
Dair Queen and Red Robin Closures
Take Dairy Queen, the soft-serve giant that’s been a Blizzard beacon since 1940. Just this spring, nearly 40 locations across the Lone Star State slammed shut, from small-town stands in Amarillo to urban outposts in Houston.
Auctioneers swooped in, hawking everything from walk-in freezers to those iconic Blizzard machines.
A Dairy Queen rep called it “an isolated event” tied to a single franchisee, but the optics sting: empty lots where kids once chased dips cones.
“Multiple Dairy Queen locations are closing their doors and must liquidate the assets,” one auction listing bluntly stated, a far cry from the chain’s heyday with over 7,700 spots worldwide.
It’s not just ice cream suffering. Burger chains are feeling the squeeze too. Red Robin, the tavern-style burger spot famous for bottomless fries, announced it’ll shutter up to 15 underperformers this year as part of a broader plan to axe 70 over the next few years.
Foot traffic’s down, and “over 40% of low-income U.S. adults claim to be visiting quick-service restaurants less often,” noted Ipsos exec Wendy Wallner.
Meanwhile, Wahlburgers — the celeb-backed joint from the brothers Wahlberg — is waving goodbye to 79 in-store spots inside Hy-Vee supermarkets this year, leaving just 34 U.S. locations limping along.
Hy-Vee’s refreshing its dining lineup, swapping burgers for simpler Market Grille fare, but loyalists mourn the loss of those boozy shakes and family-recipe patties.
Even heavyweights aren’t immune. Jack in the Box closed six spots in early 2025 but countered with five new ones in high-traffic zones like Detroit, betting on drive-thrus to outlast sit-down slumps.
And over in Florida, Swensen’s Grill & Ice Cream — a 48-year-old Coral Gables fixture since 1977 — locked its doors for good in January, ending an era for University of Miami students and weekend families.
“From grabbing dinner after class to families going out for ice cream on weekends, Swensen’s has been a staple,” lamented local reports.
The chain, born in San Francisco in 1948 with its exacting recipes for sundaes and gourmet burgers, now clings to life mostly overseas, with the original Hyde Street parlor soldiering on amid a U.S. footprint that’s shrunk to whispers.
The List of Restaurant Closures Grows
These closures aren’t isolated blips; they’re symptoms of a industry in flux.
Fast-casual spots like Noodles & Company are trimming 15 to 20 underperformers, while broader chains like Applebee’s and IHOP eye co-branding to survive.
“The year 2025 has turned out to be an unfortunate period for a lot of iconic restaurant chains,” as one analysis put it, pointing to everything from staffing shortages to delivery apps stealing thunder from brick-and-mortar charm.
Back in Anna, Kristi Perez and her team are bracing for the end with a farewell push: extended hours, buy-one-get-one malt deals, and a scrapbook of customer Polaroids lining the walls.
Will a miracle materialize — a sympathetic landlord, maybe a crowdfunding hail mary?
For now, it’s burgers today, memories tomorrow.
As one Facebook commenter put it, echoing the ache of so many fading favorites: “Places like this don’t just serve food; they serve stories.”
In a world of ghost kitchens and apps, that’s a flavor you can’t swipe right for.
Also Read: A Massive Convenience Store Now Closes 500 Stores
