New businesses continuing to spur Downtown Texarkana’s revival

TEXARKANA, Texas (KTAL/KMSS) – Downtown Texarkana’s revitalization is in full swing. One of the new businesses that has recently opened its doors is Tee It Up Golf Lounge.

“The experience is virtual, but you do hit a real golf ball in a real golf club. The high-speed cameras of the foresight technology they capture all the data, and then you get to watch the ball flight on the projector,” says Owner Lance Scott, “You can play major golf courses that the PGA Tour guys play. You can practice. You can hone your skills.”

He says one of the reasons he decided to start his business downtown is that it offers unique opportunities.

“We really like the aspect of like the downtown vibes. We are in the entertainment district, so there are some added benefits that you can have with being in an area that where folks can walk around downtown,” says Scott.

As more and more people return to downtown, you can see how many of the unoccupied buildings downtown are filled with history.

“We were developed beginning in 1873 and we have so much rich history here and that needs to be preserved to tell our story for future generations and the only way to do that is to preserve the current buildings that we have.” says Ina McDowell, Executive Director of Main Street Texarkana.

For the historic buildings, a little extra love is required to get the building ready to open its doors again, which is exactly the route that The Eagle Bourbon and Wine Lounge has taken.

“It’s actually designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It has prism glass on the front and the building owners have recently had the original windows refurbished.” says McDowell, “We always want to preserve the historic integrity of the building, but also we want to serve the purpose of it being a working viable business in our downtown and so both of those things go hand in hand.”

The Eagle is nearly ready to welcome guests, with many more neighbors ready to join them.

“People down here, living down here, walking the streets, coming to the restaurants, supporting the businesses, all that is critical for the success of a downtown, and we’re seeing that more and more.”