Top 10 Businesses That You Said Made Growing Up In West Texas Awesome

We asked West Texans what businesses made growing up in West Texas awesome. We got some great places. I remember some of them since I grew up here too.

Here are the Top 10 from the comments we got on Facebook:

1. Shakey's Pizza

Shakeys Pizza was located at 3305 Andrews Hwy in Midland, where Midland Family Care is today. I remember going here several times more as a kid than a teenager cause I was more into Pizza Hut when I got into high school, but Shakey's Pizza was an awesome place to go. It is hard to believe it is now a doctor's office.

2. Bob's Better Burger

Bob's Better Burger is still open at 3415 Thomason Dr. in Midland. I loved it growing up and still love it today. Their hamburgers and Vanilla Dr. Pepper are some of the best in town.

3. Wild River Canyon

Now a vacant lot and the hill for the water slide is pretty much gone, but this was the location of Wild River Canyon, which opened in 1978, about a year before Water Wonderland. It was the first water park in Midland/Odessa and had a lazy river that you paddled in boats all around the park. It was a pretty cool water park but was not as popular as Water Wonderland became once it opened. Plus, the location, in the 5300 block of Princeton Ave in Midland, was practically hidden.

4. The Kettle Restaurant

Now the Pre-Owned Center for Roger's Ford, The Kettle Restaurant was a great place to go once you got done partying back in the '80s and '90s. It closed down in the '90s, and because it was surrounded by Rogers Ford, it was inevitable that it would become what it is now.

5. Strike It Rich

Strike It Rich is still there in the smaller building that they made to let Taco Villa build on the street. These days it is just a bingo hall, and not a superstore like it was in the '70s and '80s. Strike It Rich always had the best toys on the planet and rivaled my favorite store, Gibson's.

6. Steak and Ale

Steak and Ale was located where Hooters is currently located on JBS Parkway and University in Odessa. Steak and Ale had really good steaks. I never got the beer gene, so I can't tell you if their ale was all that good, but it was a great place to go if The Barn Door was too busy.

7. Dennis The Menace Park

Still located on Indiana and Garfield in Midland, it just recently got a facelift and a revamp. Dennis the Menace Park had the best things for a young child to play on, including the big airplane, which is now hoisted above the park on the south side as a memento of the former park.

8. Water Wonderland

Opened in either 1979 or '80, I don't remember which, but when it opened, it had a mini amusement park with a small roller coaster and a Ferris wheel. This was the place where many West Texas teens and young people spent many summers. The area has now been leveled, and all remnants of Water Wonderland are gone.

9. Twin Cities Speedway

Twin Cities Speedway was a 3/8 mile oval that hosted many races as well as some concerts before it closed in 1998. The Location is partially used by Key Energy and Big Tex Trailers now after the raceway was closed. The press box and stands were torn down, and the land was leveled for industrial use.

10. Gibson's

Gibson's was the original superstore long before Walmart was even in Midland or Odessa. Gibson's was my favorite place to go up into my teens. First the toy department and then the records and tapes department once I became a teenager. Check out my article for this from 2021.

There are my Top 10 places that made growing up in West Texas memorable, what other places can you think of?