A new place has opened up on Broadway in the center of Van Horn, welcoming tourists and locals for light meals, snacks, and a beautiful restful place off the highway. There's a sign up that says, "Elevation, 4010. Blue Quail Coffee Shop. In the Land of the Conquistador, You Be the Explorer, Come Find Your Treasure." Paul Blankenburg, with the help of Van Horn's Economic Development Council and the Main Street program, bought this small adobe building, added a patio and completely renovated the space to give Van Horn a new oasis from the road.Just as with the Heritage Trails Program, communities in the Main Street program participate in the Texas Historical Commission's statewide program, but the local communities organize their own revitalization programs. Successful ventures take an enormous amount of energy, work, and creativity to make a difference in small towns. Van Horn is centering its activity in the historic district--the Blue Quail Coffee Shop is across the street from the Clark Hotel Museum, down the block from the town's bank (a beautiful adobe building that was once the El Capitan Hotel), and near the intersection of highways 54 and 90--the true crossroads of the Texas Mountain Trail.
Sit in the front of Paul's place and you have a lovely view of Turtleback Mountain. Take a seat under the shade umbrellas on the patio, and enjoy a banana split or a wine produced near Marfa, or a broiled spam sandwich, and let your hours on the road melt away!
