Dallas, Texas- Mark your calendars, The Texas Bucket List 11th season premiere is just a few days away on September 8th! You will also want to carve out some time to make a quick trip to today’s stop. You see, we are in Dallas, right next to the Highland Park at an old soda shop that has been here since 1912. However, you will want to come in fast because it is just about to shut its’ doors.
We are going to check out the Highland Park Old-Fashioned Soda Fountain.
“Generation after generation comes here,” Gretchen Williams said. “Five generations. Someone told me six. That’s a long time.”
To say the Highland Park Soda Shop is a fixture might be putting it lightly.
“This is the kind of food that does not go out of style,” Gretchen said.
Gretchen Williams and her husband Sonny have owned the business since 2006, and they did not change much. All they have had to do is simply keep up with what the diner has been known for all these years.
“Grilled cheese and milkshake are the number one sellers,” Gretchen said.
Despite their long-storied history, the doors are about to close at the sought-after soda shop.
“It’s very bittersweet for a lot of people,” Gretchen said. “They don’t want you to leave. And it’s not that we want to leave. It’s we don’t own the building. It’s been redeveloped. We understand progress. It’s a business. And so it’s one of those where people are like, “You’ve sold!” And it’s like, “No. We didn’t sell. But nothing stays the same forever.”
While the grilled cheese sandwiches and milkshakes will still be available at the state fair, you only a few days to get your last taste of this over 100 year old business.
“Well, they need to come here quick because the bucket’s going to go down,” Gretchen said.
So be sure to check off this Texas treasure, the Highland Park Old-Fashioned Soda Shop, before it kicks the bucket on September 9th. Also, be sure to check out our season premier September 8th on a television station in your area.
“Sunday, September 9th is the last day,” Gretchen said. “We’re not saying that we’ll close at six. There will probably be some people in line and we’ll try and serve all those people. But get in here and have that last taste of, you know, fun, classic American food.”