Is a long empty Wichita Falls restaurant set to reopen soon? Permits point to ‘yes’

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A long-vacant restaurant building on Southwest Parkway in Wichita Falls may be back in business soon.

Arzhon Lion LLC received a sales tax permit on Aug. 20 for 2927 Southwest Parkway with a first sales date projected to be Nov. 1.

The principal owner is Yadollah Kamami of Wichita Falls, who also operates the Jolly Truck Stop in Clay County.

State permits indicate this vacant former restuarant building on Southwest Parkway may reopen soon.
State permits indicate this vacant former restuarant building on Southwest Parkway may reopen soon.

Kamali could not be reached immediately for comment, but a family member confirmed work is being done on the building for a reopening.

Wichita Appraisal District records indicate the 7,000 square-foot restaurant building was deeded to Arjan LLC in October 2020.  The building has remained vacant.

The location has had a varied history over nearly a half century.

A sign promises the former location of the Jalapeno Tree restaurant will open soon. State permits also hint at an opening.
A sign promises the former location of the Jalapeno Tree restaurant will open soon. State permits also hint at an opening.

It began as a K-Bob’s Steakhouse in 1979. Most locations of that small but popular Texas chain, including the Wichita Falls location, have gone out of business.

By 1990 the address had turned from food to entertainment, first as the Texasville nightclub and then as Shenanigan’s.

Police calls for bar fights and assaults were frequent during that period.

The building was repossessed by the Small Business Administration in 1992. By 1997 it was sold to a new owner and returned to a more sedate existence as Dyer’s Bar-B-Que.

In 2005 it became a Jalapeno Tree Mexican food restaurant, part of a Texas chain. The Wichita Falls location closed in 2017 although the chain still operates numerous other locations in Texas.

The tax value of the building and land is $862,000.

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