By Guy Chapman – Navarro County Gazette
Yes We Can
About a year ago, I wrote a piece for my former publication detailing my want to see Corn Dog 7 return to Corsicana. Sure, the world has lost its mind in the last year since, but do you know what isn’t lost?
My want to see Corn Dog 7 return to Corsicana.
Look, I know this is a weird hill to go out on, and I accept that. Hang out with me for a minute, though.
You remember Corn Dog 7. It was one of College Park Mall’s first stores when it opened on Nov. 17, 1983. A lot of memories were built around those signature corn dogs and fries, the fresh squeezed lemonade, and those amazing cheese on a sticks. People still make Facebook posts romanticizing the era of deep fried foods long since gone. I saw one just last week.
The eatery lasted for quite a while, one of the last stragglers near the mall’s main entryway before they closed the mall’s interior to the public and started building storefronts on the outside of the center. There’s still at least four to six of the Corn Dog 7 restaurants out there, depending on whether you believe Google or the official website to be the most accurate.
I remember the feedback my previous article got. I was hoping the powers in charge of inviting new businesses to town might have gotten on board with the idea of extending a proper invite to the franchise. To be fair, they may very well have. A lot of things got delayed due to this weirdo year.
Regardless, I’d like to list a few quick points about my previously mentioned “hill”:
Corn dogs are a Texas tradition, right from the State Fair itself. It simply makes good sense to have another eatery that offers up these tasty batter-dipped snacks. However, I won’t lie: I’m largely here for the cheese on a stick and lemonade.
Corsicana also has a fondness for fast food. Let’s not forget the excitement that came about when Starbucks and Chick-fil-A were announced and opened (I have no updated word on the fate of that mythical Long John Silvers. Sorry). This is about as nostalgic as it gets outside of bringing back Scotch Burger, Humbert’s Hickory House, Bill’s Fried Chicken, or Carpenter’s.
There are plenty of ready to use buildings to drop a new Corn Dog 7 into. Any of these strip centers around town. Southland Center has vacancies. Heck, the original Corn Dog 7 from the mall still has enough of the old decor left up, so it’s already a few steps in for renovation. If College Park Mall can achieve the miracle of bringing in a new store to its fold in 2020, there’s possibility for more progress. Did I mention there’s a website to franchise a new Corn Dog 7?
We need more places to go. To be fair, Corsicana has recently been bringing in some new factory and industrial jobs to town, and that’s a good thing. Anything that offers up new jobs for people here is good. But you can’t hang out or bring the family to a factory or industrial site. Corsicana would benefit from more “hang out” spots. We certainly need them.
We’ve moved on past the era of coffee and chicken. I want to talk about corn dogs and cheese sticks, and I know there’s enough people who feel the same. What can we do to get this conversation moving forward past the “Gee, that sure would be nice” stage, and visiting the Corn Dog 7 Facebook page to share our want for them to set up shop here?
It’s a strange dream to have, but it’s been a strange year to live. I think the two events have the potential to balance each other out.
I’m willing to take that chance.