The P. Terry's hamburger restaurant at Capital Plaza, a retro-futuristic building designed to catch the attention of drivers along a busy stretch of I-35 in Texas, is set to close due to the state's expansion of the highway. The restaurant, which opened in 2016, was a flagship location for the company, despite being their 11th store. It was built on a triangular property, with a sharp white roof that juts past the dining room, and a support structure painted in the same red as Ferraris. The building was designed to be a billboard for the brand, and it has been a recognizable landmark for drivers on I-35.
The closure is a result of the Capital Express Central Project, an eight-mile rebuild of I-35 between U.S. 290 East and Ben White Boulevard, which includes adding two non-tolled, high-occupancy vehicle lanes in each direction, rebuilding east-west bridges, and lowering the highway from Holly Street to Airport Boulevard. The project requires the demolition of many homes and businesses along the frontage roads, and the P. Terry's restaurant is among the most visually recognizable buildings still standing.
P. Terry's does not own the land, and the property is listed as belonging to the Thurman Russell T Descendants Trust. The company is negotiating with its landlord over what it will receive for losing the location, but Patrick Terry, the founder, believes that any compensation will not come close to replacing the current construction costs and profits the restaurant has generated. The building cost over $2 million to build and would cost about $3 million today, with at least 10 years left on the lease.
The burger chain has 38 locations, with about half of them in Central Texas, and is currently focused on growing in the Houston area. However, finding a suitable replacement property has been challenging, and Terry acknowledges the difficulty of replacing the Capital Plaza location. Despite his sadness about the closure, Terry expresses understanding and acceptance of the situation, recognizing that it is a part of life and that the company has had many lucky breaks in the past.
