A Famfood employee dices up some fresh pepper Monday. AUSTIN JACKSON | WCMESSENGER
If you order a salad, protein bowl or buffalo chicken wrap at Decatur’s newest restaurant, Famfood, you’re really buying two meals — one for yourself and one for a child in need.
Famfood opened this week at 901 Medical Center Drive inside the Fit-N-Wise gym. The fast-casual spot features indoor seating and a patio overlooking the gym’s outdoor pool, with a menu that can help you avoid sabotaging that recent spin class.
Owner Chase Rolland and general manager/part-owner CJ Kerr said each meal goes further than the customer.
Every purchase supports Impact Others, which provides a day’s worth of food for a child in Honduras, as well as Feeding Wise Kids, a nonprofit that offers weekend meal assistance for students in Alvord, Boyd, Bridgeport, Chico, Decatur, Paradise, Slidell and Northwest ISD’s Wise County campuses.
Feeding Wise Kids fills the gap between school meals and time at home through its Backpack for Kids program, which sends children home with healthy food for the weekends.
While totals weren’t yet tallied as of Monday, two boards inside the restaurant will track the number of children fed through meals purchased at the new restaurant.
The menu features fresh and locally sourced ingredients when possible, with options including customizable bowls, wraps, and salads, as well as soup, smoothies and coffee drinks.
Patio view of Famfood, which looks out over the gym’s outdoor pool. AUSTIN JACKSON | WCMESSENGER
Part of the larger vision for the location is Storehouse Grocery, a nonprofit-owned market that will operate alongside Famfood in Fit-N-Wise. The store’s goal is to make healthy food more accessible while supporting local farmers and families. Kerr said Storehouse will technically be owned by a nonprofit, with revenue beyond operating costs reinvested into community programs.
The Storehouse plans to offer shelf space for area farmers and producers not typically found in big-box stores, like quail eggs, along with fresh produce and other healthy groceries that are available to SNAP/EBT recipients at a further reduced cost.
Famfood is located inside the Fit-N-Wise in Decatur. AUSTIN JACKSON | WCMESSENGER
Additionally, Storehouse may use a donated freeze-dryer to preserve surplus food donations and turn it into ready-to-eat meals like soups and casseroles, according to a social media post from the grocery concept this summer.
Eventually, it hopes to host cooking and nutrition classes, too.
We’ll update you more as the Storehouse plans materialize.
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Downtown parks and parking
You can hear the whispers in Bridgeport as the city prepares to start its Hub on Halsell downtown park project.
“If you build it, they will come, and when they come, they will need a place to park.”
This week, the City of Bridgeport registered a new project with the Texas Department of Licensing and Registration to pave a parking lot to add some new parking options downtown. The lot will be at 1202 Stevens Street.
It’s located just off Halsell Street, adding additional parking for the downtown scene, aligning with the future downtown attraction, the Hub on Halsell, which begins construction later this month.
The project is currently under review, but the parking lot’s estimated completion date is Oct. 31.
The Hub is expected to serve as the city’s central community event spot, with a large lawn, performance stage, pavilion and seating. Plans also include nods to Bridgeport’s history, like coal mine and bridge entrances, and limestone benches, as well as a permanent location for the yearly Christmas tree lighting.
The City of Bridgeport will celebrate the start of construction on the Hub with a groundbreaking ceremony 4:30 p.m. Sept. 22. The Hub will be located at 1102 Halsell Street.
The project is expected to be completed in late 2026. Read more about it here.
POCO Recognized
Members of Decatur’s Entegris POCO team poses for a photo with their recent RTX Premier Awards after earning supplier recognitions for the second year in a row. LAURA BELCHER | WCMESSENGER
Entegris Poco Materials in Decatur recently received the RTX Premier awards for Collaboration/Customer Service and Business Management from Pratt & Whitney.
It’s the second year in a row for the local POCO team to receive these honors from the leading aerospace and defense conglomerate RTX, comprised of Raytheon, Collins Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney.
Entegris Poco Materials produces speciality graphite materials at the Decatur plant that are often used in the aerospace sector. The Decatur location was among 67 businesses worldwide, and one of four in Texas, to be recognized for RTX Premier honors.
Development to bring medical/professional offices
Dirt is moving for the future Decatur Office Village. AUSTIN JACKSON | WCMESSENGER
Dirt is moving on Trinity Street near the Thompson Street water tower in Decatur, and the scope goes beyond the city’s new splash that’s being built a stone’s throw away.
Huffman Builders is currently developing Decatur Office Village — an 11 building space that will soon be home to several medical professionals at the corner of Trinity Street and Thompson Street.
Since work began this summer, Bill Pantuso of Huffman Builders said future tenants have secured roughly 50 percent of the space already.
The Texas Department of Licensing and Registration (TDLR) has one project currently registered for the commercial development at 1801 S. Trinity St., DOV Building No. 7.
The 6,000 square foot space, listed as a building shell estimated to cost around $492,000, is expected to be completed in December 2025.
Decatur Office Village is the latest development branching U.S. 81/287 frontage with the traditional core of the city, with one other recent example including the Reserve at Decatur, an apartment complex off of Chico Avenue.
In terms of its relation to the highway, Decatur Office Village is located behind the James Wood Chevrolet Buick GMC dealership.
Decatur Chamber celebrates milestone
The Decatur Chamber of Commerce celebrated 75 years of helping shape the Decatur business community Saturday with a big, old-fashioned street dance.
Families danced the night away on the Decatur Square to the beat of live tunes from The Pony Express Band.
The event also included a kid’s zone with inflatables, free hotdogs and the temporary revival of an iconic sign.
A few folks said a good time was had by all, and I don’t disagree.
Here’s to the next 75 years, Decatur Chamber of Commerce!
Antique store to change hands
Nooks N Crannies, an antique store that has stood the test of time on the Decatur Square, will soon reopen under new ownership.
After 25 years of owning and operating the business, Jerry and Barbara Bethurum have sold the business to Meagan Linder of Alvord.
The shop has been closed temporarily, but Linder plans to reopen soon.
Market swings
Decatur Farm to Market, the fresh produce market located in the quaint building off Walnut Street in Decatur, announced this month that it will be closing.
The building at 709 W. Walnut Street has been home to a farmer’s market/fresh produce spot since 2008, changing hands and names a few times in the process. Decatur Farm to Market does not own the building.
In May, Sabra Chrisawn of Decatur Farm to Market and Michelle Smith spoke with the Messenger about partnering on a project to open a larger produce and grocery store, Wise Roots Farm to Market, off U.S. 287 Business, behind Decatur ISD’s Eagle Stadium. That partnership has apparently dissolved, but it appears there is still a plan to open Wise Roots, according to social media posts.
Recent Facebook posts addressed plans publicly.
Lunch with some pros
The Decatur Lowe’s Home Improvement store plans to host an event 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 19 to share appreciation for local professionals. The event will include food and games, as well as live music from local musician Kade Smith.
The home improvement store is located at 1201 US-380 Business in Decatur.
Filling up
Karl Klement Ford kicked off its “Fill a Ford” food drive in Decatur this week.
All collected nonperishable food donations will be benefiting Wise Area Relief Mission (W.A.R.M.)
The donation drive will take place through Sept. 25 at the dealership. They’re collecting:
• Canned meats • Canned fruits • Canned vegetables • Boxed pasta • Boxed meals • Nut butter • Brown or white rice • Canned soup
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