Sold! New owners, new life for Parker County’s landmark 1950s-style burger drive-in
Two Parker County business owners have bought the 1950s-style Malt Shop hamburger drive-in and will keep it open regular hours through a remodeling, David Hart posted Sunday night on Facebook.
“Weatherford, it’s time to get to work,” Hart wrote, saying that he and fellow Parker County native Shawn Allen bought the restaurant and that owner Janie Alice Harrison will stay as general manager.
Harrison wrote on Facebook last week that she was selling the restaurant due to her health.
The Malt Shop, 2028 Fort Worth Highway, opened in 1958 on U.S. 180 between Weatherford and Hudson Oaks. It remains one of few genuine roadside-Americana drive-ins in America.
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The news comes the same week that Hutch’s Pie and Sandwich Shop, 145 College Park Drive, closed after 90 years of making commercial fried pies and 40 years as a breakfast and lunch restaurant.
“The Malt Shop of Weatherford has been a part of this town since the 1950s when two brothers built it for their wives before heading off to war,” Hart wrote.
“ ... But lately, it’s been at risk of closing for good. That’s not happening.”
Allen has owned a Bahama Buck’s shaved “sno” location.
Hart, owner of Hart HVAC, wrote that he and Allen are looking for painters, electricians and remodeling crews to help restore the Malt Shop, offering two years of advertising in trade.
The Malt Shop is open Tuesdays through Saturdays; 817-594-2524.
