Tall City Eattiques gives lunchgoers nostalgic break
by Kathleen Thurber
Midland Reporter-Telegram
Published: Sunday, August 17, 2008 3:23 AM CDT
By Kathleen Thurber
Staff Writer
When even the light over your head is for sale, every dining experience at Tall City Eattiques is likely to be a unique
one, said its owner Dorothy Soles as she walked through the rows of polished furniture, classic children's books and other
dated odds and ends.
Her cafe/antique store opened about a month ago and has already drawn a steady lunch crowd from downtown businesses who
stand in line for one of Soles' famous chicken salad sandwiches or a green salad or deli sandwich they can fix to their
liking.
"Oh I don't like to cook at all," said Soles, as she described the mostly self-serve menu that lets people build their own
creations.
Still, while she's not one for kitchen creations and has little to no previous restaurant experience, when it comes to
simple things like her chicken salad, the blend of unique ingredients has to be just right, meaning even when someone else
makes the day's batch she's the one who has to inspect it for authenticity before it can be served to customers.
To the left of the lunch counter an ice cream station is tucked into the corner and the rest of the open room is filled
with antique tables and chairs that double as a resting place for patrons and a showroom of the latest merchandise for
customers, which means the table and lamp customers eat by today may be sold and in someone else's kitchen tomorrow.
Rustic, shiny and oddly shaped lamps hang above several tables sending sparks of illumination toward the formerly
abandoned building's rafters where dolls, toys and other knick knacks are tucked away to add to the old-fashioned
atmosphere.
"This building felt perfect. When we looked at it everybody said, 'What?' but I could visualize it," said Soles, as she
pointed toward the ceiling she hasn't quite found time to finish painting since opening.
Soles was originally looking for an old house downtown to open up a tea room but when she saw the empty building on Wall
Street her plans changed.
Soles became an antique enthusiast years ago, she said, when she'd been involved with auctions of overstock items in
Oklahoma and her sister-in-law introduced her to antiques. Selling vintage items, she said, was much more meaningful than
the auctions because each piece carried a memory with it, and like her father's old jersey she's planning to hang in the
store, triggers different pleasant memories for everyone.
The back room has been transformed into an antique area with spaces that cater to aficionados like herself. The area has
been filled by more than 20 vendors who sell their own classic furniture, vintage jewelry, lotion, books and other
trinkets reminiscent of a time long since passed.
Linda Brice, Soles' close friend who also acts as a buyer for the store, has a space in the back with her own antiques and
said in just a month, her personal sales have taken off more than any other place she's vended.
The quaint, old-fashioned environment of Eattiques, coupled with modern amenities like air conditioning that aren't always
added to antique rooms, help lure clients to browse, she said. Plus, the downtown location has drawn a new clientele of
professional women who wouldn't have sought out antiques, but often find something for their home while they're eating
lunch.
"The excitement of everybody," she said. "It's different when people come in."
What that new clientele is buying completely depends on the day, said Soles' other close friend and the store's manager
Sabrina Edwards.
One day purses will be the best-seller, she said. Another day they'll sell three china hutches and several other pieces of
furniture and another day it'll be lotion and jewelry.
Even for those not into buying, selling or consigning antiques at the store, it's quickly become a regular spot for some
downtown folks, which is something Edwards said has been surprising as she thought it would take months for the deli and
store to catch on.
One man, she said, comes in and gets his dinner to go nearly everyday. Another couple was in consigning dishes last week
after seeing the store's treasures come and go during their weekly lunches there.
Soles said the deli was meant to help make the venue a comfortable place for people to meet so that even if they're not
hungry they can have a spot as comfortable as their grandmother's home was years ago to sit and chat without interruption.
Tables will be added for outdoor seating that Soles said will help accommodate the school crowd once Midland High is back
in session and other small changes may be in the works.
"It's real close to what I envisioned," Soles said.
As Midlanders talk of revitalizing downtown, the three women agreed Eattiques will hopefully remain fairly unchanged and
continue adding a little nostalgia to each sandwich served.
Kathleen Thurber can be reached at kthurber@mrt.com.
by Kathleen Thurber
Midland Reporter-Telegram
Published: Sunday, August 17, 2008 3:23 AM CDT
By Kathleen Thurber
Staff Writer
When even the light over your head is for sale, every dining experience at Tall City Eattiques is likely to be a unique
one, said its owner Dorothy Soles as she walked through the rows of polished furniture, classic children's books and other
dated odds and ends.
Her cafe/antique store opened about a month ago and has already drawn a steady lunch crowd from downtown businesses who
stand in line for one of Soles' famous chicken salad sandwiches or a green salad or deli sandwich they can fix to their
liking.
"Oh I don't like to cook at all," said Soles, as she described the mostly self-serve menu that lets people build their own
creations.
Still, while she's not one for kitchen creations and has little to no previous restaurant experience, when it comes to
simple things like her chicken salad, the blend of unique ingredients has to be just right, meaning even when someone else
makes the day's batch she's the one who has to inspect it for authenticity before it can be served to customers.
To the left of the lunch counter an ice cream station is tucked into the corner and the rest of the open room is filled
with antique tables and chairs that double as a resting place for patrons and a showroom of the latest merchandise for
customers, which means the table and lamp customers eat by today may be sold and in someone else's kitchen tomorrow.
Rustic, shiny and oddly shaped lamps hang above several tables sending sparks of illumination toward the formerly
abandoned building's rafters where dolls, toys and other knick knacks are tucked away to add to the old-fashioned
atmosphere.
"This building felt perfect. When we looked at it everybody said, 'What?' but I could visualize it," said Soles, as she
pointed toward the ceiling she hasn't quite found time to finish painting since opening.
Soles was originally looking for an old house downtown to open up a tea room but when she saw the empty building on Wall
Street her plans changed.
Soles became an antique enthusiast years ago, she said, when she'd been involved with auctions of overstock items in
Oklahoma and her sister-in-law introduced her to antiques. Selling vintage items, she said, was much more meaningful than
the auctions because each piece carried a memory with it, and like her father's old jersey she's planning to hang in the
store, triggers different pleasant memories for everyone.
The back room has been transformed into an antique area with spaces that cater to aficionados like herself. The area has
been filled by more than 20 vendors who sell their own classic furniture, vintage jewelry, lotion, books and other
trinkets reminiscent of a time long since passed.
Linda Brice, Soles' close friend who also acts as a buyer for the store, has a space in the back with her own antiques and
said in just a month, her personal sales have taken off more than any other place she's vended.
The quaint, old-fashioned environment of Eattiques, coupled with modern amenities like air conditioning that aren't always
added to antique rooms, help lure clients to browse, she said. Plus, the downtown location has drawn a new clientele of
professional women who wouldn't have sought out antiques, but often find something for their home while they're eating
lunch.
"The excitement of everybody," she said. "It's different when people come in."
What that new clientele is buying completely depends on the day, said Soles' other close friend and the store's manager
Sabrina Edwards.
One day purses will be the best-seller, she said. Another day they'll sell three china hutches and several other pieces of
furniture and another day it'll be lotion and jewelry.
Even for those not into buying, selling or consigning antiques at the store, it's quickly become a regular spot for some
downtown folks, which is something Edwards said has been surprising as she thought it would take months for the deli and
store to catch on.
One man, she said, comes in and gets his dinner to go nearly everyday. Another couple was in consigning dishes last week
after seeing the store's treasures come and go during their weekly lunches there.
Soles said the deli was meant to help make the venue a comfortable place for people to meet so that even if they're not
hungry they can have a spot as comfortable as their grandmother's home was years ago to sit and chat without interruption.
Tables will be added for outdoor seating that Soles said will help accommodate the school crowd once Midland High is back
in session and other small changes may be in the works.
"It's real close to what I envisioned," Soles said.
As Midlanders talk of revitalizing downtown, the three women agreed Eattiques will hopefully remain fairly unchanged and
continue adding a little nostalgia to each sandwich served.
Kathleen Thurber can be reached at kthurber@mrt.com.
Articles in Local Newspaper - Midland Reporter Telegram www.mywesttexas.com
What's for dinner? TALL CITY EATTIQUES
Eating and shopping -- two of my favorite pastimes. Now, you can do both at the same time in very unique surroundings.
by Joan Huff
Midland Reporter-Telegram
Published: Wednesday, September 17, 2008 11:25 AM CDT
Eating and shopping -- two of my favorite pastimes. Now, you can do both at the same time in very unique surroundings.
Tall City Eattiques (the name alone will grab your attention), located at 621 W.Wall St., is what it looks like: an antique store. In the main room, you can see that there is a
counter for taking food orders and a salad and soup bar.
One of the distinctive features of this restaurant is that all of the furnishings are for sale -- from the tables customers sit at, to the chandeliers hanging from the wall. When I
visited, I was with a large group and we sat at a dining table large enough for 12 people. A winding back room features various booths of antiques for you to browse
through. There is outdoor seating on the side of the building. Parties are welcome here, so keep it in mind for your next meeting or celebration.
Tall City Eattiques, which is similar to a small deli, mainly serves soups, salads and sandwiches. It is up to you to choose the combination of what you want to eat. There are
soup and sandwich combos and salad and sandwich combos. You may pick a sandwich of one to three meats, including turkey, ham, chicken, roast beef, chicken salad or
tuna salad. And there are four varieties of bread -- hoagies, croissants, white or wheat. I had the chicken salad on a croissant, which is served with chips and a pickle for
only $4.50. The service was quick -- it was ready before I had my change put in my purse. I loved it and will order it again.
The salad bar has a wide array of toppings to make the healthiest of salads. You can purchase a small or large plate for the salad bar. Chicken strips can be ordered to top
your salad and you may buy a cup of chicken salad or tuna salad.
The summer soup menu changes each day and offers soups such as tomato basil, beef minestrone, chicken fiesta, chicken gumbo, Mexican enchilada, chicken noodle, split
pea with ham, chili and clam chowder. The menu will be revised in the winter to add more stew-type soups.
On Mondays and Thursdays, Tall City Eattiques offers a special of a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup for only $4.50. You can add an extra sandwich or a small salad
for a nominal fee.
Whatever you order, don't forget to include a dip of Blue Bell ice cream to top off your meal. Also, take some time to walk down memory lane as you look at all the antiques
available for sale.
Eating and shopping -- two of my favorite pastimes. Now, you can do both at the same time in very unique surroundings.
by Joan Huff
Midland Reporter-Telegram
Published: Wednesday, September 17, 2008 11:25 AM CDT
Eating and shopping -- two of my favorite pastimes. Now, you can do both at the same time in very unique surroundings.
Tall City Eattiques (the name alone will grab your attention), located at 621 W.Wall St., is what it looks like: an antique store. In the main room, you can see that there is a
counter for taking food orders and a salad and soup bar.
One of the distinctive features of this restaurant is that all of the furnishings are for sale -- from the tables customers sit at, to the chandeliers hanging from the wall. When I
visited, I was with a large group and we sat at a dining table large enough for 12 people. A winding back room features various booths of antiques for you to browse
through. There is outdoor seating on the side of the building. Parties are welcome here, so keep it in mind for your next meeting or celebration.
Tall City Eattiques, which is similar to a small deli, mainly serves soups, salads and sandwiches. It is up to you to choose the combination of what you want to eat. There are
soup and sandwich combos and salad and sandwich combos. You may pick a sandwich of one to three meats, including turkey, ham, chicken, roast beef, chicken salad or
tuna salad. And there are four varieties of bread -- hoagies, croissants, white or wheat. I had the chicken salad on a croissant, which is served with chips and a pickle for
only $4.50. The service was quick -- it was ready before I had my change put in my purse. I loved it and will order it again.
The salad bar has a wide array of toppings to make the healthiest of salads. You can purchase a small or large plate for the salad bar. Chicken strips can be ordered to top
your salad and you may buy a cup of chicken salad or tuna salad.
The summer soup menu changes each day and offers soups such as tomato basil, beef minestrone, chicken fiesta, chicken gumbo, Mexican enchilada, chicken noodle, split
pea with ham, chili and clam chowder. The menu will be revised in the winter to add more stew-type soups.
On Mondays and Thursdays, Tall City Eattiques offers a special of a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup for only $4.50. You can add an extra sandwich or a small salad
for a nominal fee.
Whatever you order, don't forget to include a dip of Blue Bell ice cream to top off your meal. Also, take some time to walk down memory lane as you look at all the antiques
available for sale.
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| Gourmet Gala - A taste of 2009 - Celebrating America's Finest Cuisines Community and Senior Services would like to thank the following restaurants and vendors for participating in Gourment Gala held Thursday March 12, 2009 at the Midland Center. The event benefits Meal on Wheels Cake Artistry, Cancun Grill, Carino's Italian Restaurant, Charla's Restaurant and Bar, Chick-fia-A, Midalnd Park Mall, Clear Springs Cafe, Cocoa Bliss, Gerado's Casita, Harrigans Grill & Bar, H-E-B, Hooters, Jason's Deli, Johnny's BBQ & Diner, Papa Murphy's, Olive Garden Itailian Restaurant, Outback Steakhouse, Susie's South Forty Confections, Stagecoach West Restaurant, Starbucks Coffee Company, Sweet Sould Dessert Bar, Tall City Eattiques, Tampico's Spanish Inn, Texas Roadhouse, Tony's Old Fashion Bakery, Wall Street Bar & Grill and Wing Stop. The following were this year's winners: * Best Appetizer: Cancun Grill (Roasted Corn Chowder Quesso) - Honorable Mention: Stagecoach West (Stagecoach West Nachos) * Best a la Carte: Tall City Eattiques ( Chicken Salad) - Honorable Mention:H-E-B * Best Entree: Outback steakhouse (Ahi Tuna, Steak, Srimp) - Honorable Mention: Charla's Restaurant & Bar * Best Desert: Tony's Old Fashion Bakery (Pineapple Petifores) - Honorable Mention: Sweet Soul Dessert Bar * Best Booth: Cake Artistry & Coca Bliss - Honorable Mention: Susie's South 40 Confections People's Choice Award: Tall City Eattiques Published Sunday March 22 and Monday March 23 __________________________________________________________________________________________________ |