What's Happening in Irving, TX…

As of this month, Big State Drug is back in Irving, this time as Big State Fountain Grill.

Irving residents ate lunch at the soda fountain inside Big State, where they could also shop for groceries and drugs, for 66 years, until May, 2014, when the store suddenly closed.

Among those who flocked to the reopening were people who had been coming here for decades. One such was Arnold Martin, who says he was a member of the self-anointed ‘Sissy Burger’ group—a bunch of five friends who met at Big State each week for 30 years to eat burgers without any toppings except one condiment. Martin's only comments about the new restaurant are that the original was smaller, and didn't have as much “pizazz”.

Big State was saved by a long-time patron, Rick Fairless. Fairless was born and raised in Irving and, like others, had eaten at the restaraunt for years. He runs successful family businesses in Dallas, including a motorcycle shop and ice house near Love Field known as Strokers. However, when he reopened Big State, he went back to the 1950s with both the décor and the style of food served.

Fairless might consider working with a banner printing company to create a colorful banner for the front of the store to invite people back to their favorite restaurant.