Taste of Texas BBQ, a restaurant located in McCook, Nebraska, has announced something we did not expect… it will close immediately after 23 years of service. Confirmed by its owners on social media, another local classic is shutting its doors.
As you know, it is not the only place that has decided to close because they can no longer handle the financial burden. This is a recurring problem that continues to crush small, long-standing businesses.
Production costs keep rising, inflation is up, rent is more expensive, and there are too many bills to pay. The profit margin is very small. Many are choosing to close their doors for good because they simply cannot cover all the expenses.
Taste of Texas BBQ: more than just a restaurant
They opened in 2002 and stole the heart of the entire neighborhood. Taste of Texas BBQ became one of McCook’s food staples, one of our favorite spots. It was a family-run business that not only offered quality food, but also a space for people to come together!
We’ve all celebrated birthdays and gatherings there, special days or just the usual weekly meet-up with friends. It was a very special place to connect.
A community losing one of its places
Social media quickly filled with messages of love and sadness over the loss. “Taste of Texas was my first job when I moved to McCook 7 years ago. It means more to me than I even knew it did. The people I became close with there became my family, I met my husband there. This place changed my life and I’ll never forget the memories,” said one of them.
Others simply talked about how big the loss is for the community. But above all, there were many, many messages of thanks for their work and presence over the years. The bond with this restaurant was real.
They were not just customers; they were neighbours, friends, family, part of all of us and our happiest memories.
A perfect economic storm
The owners explained in their post that everything kept piling up: the increase in minimum wage, the rising cost of raw materials, inflation… It all became a mountain that made it impossible to continue because the business was no longer profitable. Still, they acknowledged that they lived the best years of their lives running the restaurant. And they were the best for us too!
A sign of decline
Closures like this are becoming common across the country. Small businesses, especially restaurants, are trapped between rising supply costs and legal requirements, without the financial backing that big chains have to survive.
A symptom of something bigger
The pandemic marked a turning point in the hospitality industry. Many businesses barely survived with government help or takeout orders. But just when recovery seemed possible, inflation hit hard. Then came the rise in minimum wage. With no room to maneuver, more and more owners are choosing to shut down rather than take on unbearable losses.
In cities like McCook, losing a restaurant like Taste of Texas is not just losing a place to eat. It is losing local identity, memories, a place that stood for closeness, personal service, and human warmth. A real shame…
The system does not seem to protect or value those who keep the economy running with their own hard work…
If we want our communities to still have a little bit of soul, we need to check the conditions that add pressure to small brands. Each restaurant that says goodbye leaves a hole that’s hard to fill.
