The old Pig Stand restaurant on Calder Avenue in Beaumont is the next to last remaining Pig Stand building in Texas and soon, it too, will come down.
The historic restaurant first opened in 1941 and will be demolished after closing its doors in 2005.
Many can't believe this restaurant that use to be the hangout spot in Beaumont years ago will be demolished, but what some find really sad is that the historic building has been vandalized.
In 1941, gas was 19 cents a gallon, artists like Duke Ellington and Glenn Miller topped the US Billboard charts, and the Pig Stand was built in Beaumont.
Randy Welborn is known around Beaumont for painting historic places around town like the Pig Stand, which ended up as the picture on the restaurant's menus. He remembers having a good time back in the day.
"When I got my driver's license, we drive around stop at all the pig stands, had a good time," Welborn said.
It's just as bad for Beaumont Planning and Zoning Commissioner Marty Craig who recalls coming to the restaurant the morning after her wedding.
"My husband told people we would meet them at the Pig Stand at seven in the morning which went over like a led balloon with a new bride, but we had fun," said Craig.
But this historic building will soon be history.
The restaurant closed in 2005 and the building is now no longer worth saving because of asbestos inside.
A convenience store will sit in its spot, once the Pig Stand is demolished.
Wednesday afternoon, Craig called police because she saw evidence the place had been broken into: broken glass, stripped walls and torn seats.
Craig said police will be monitoring the area to keep vandals away.
Craig says whatever they can salvage from the restaurant could be auctioned off by the historical society.
There is no specific date on which the building will be torn down.
