gnomes on main

My friend had gone downtown to the courthouse to pay a traffic ticket. She told me there was a photo op of elves on the Burrito #2. I work downtown and this didn't ring a bell, so I looked. Lo and behold, J.C.'s Burrito #2 at 814 Main has lined gnomes all along the roof line. I don't know the significance of gnomes - in literature they seem more mischevious than lucky. Maybe it's the influence of advertising on TV.

The burrito shop occupies the site of the former Hot Shot Cafe. The Hot Shot Cafe was established in 1925 and operated until 1983, when the space was turned into offices. Since that time several food ventures have returned t0 814 Main - primarily catering to the courthouse, lawyers and bail bond offices nearby. My dad recalls eating at the Hot Shot, with rib eyes about one dollar -- but paper thin. In the 1930s and 1940s, downtown Lubbock was thriving and Saturdays were big "town" days for outlying communities. Each part of the county had their "spot" with New Deal and others from the north tending to business north of the courthouse and those from communities to the south staying mostly south of the courthouse.

For more details, including photos, on the Hot Shot Cafe, visit www.lubbockcentennial/Reader/HotShotCafe