Customers of beloved Tarrant diner frustrated over losing parking to drive-thru coffee chain

Elizabeth Campbell

Every morning, Joyce duPriest arrives at Bacons Bistro & Café for her breakfast of yogurt and berries, and she often returns for lunch.

DuPriest and other long-time customers see Bacons Bistro as their home away from home.

So they were shocked and dismayed when they saw a fence and construction equipment and learned that the longtime restaurant is losing most of its parking to Scooter’s Coffee, a drive-through coffee chain. Scooter’s is under construction in Mayfair Village on Grapevine Highway. The shopping center is anchored by Tom Thumb and Planet Fitness.

“I’m devastated because I’m older,” she said. “I’m having to walk a long way when the weather’s bad.”

Half of the Bacon’s Bistro and Cafe’s parking lot is a construction zone. The restaurant’s parking spaces have been split in half as a new Scooter’s Coffee is built in the lot.
Half of the Bacon’s Bistro and Cafe’s parking lot is a construction zone. The restaurant’s parking spaces have been split in half as a new Scooter’s Coffee is built in the lot.

DuPriest, who lives in Bedford, said she has been coming to Bacons Bistro just about every day since the owners, Adam Daily and Eva Burrull, purchased the business over 10 years ago.

“This is like my home away from home,” she said.

DuPriest described how she has made friends at Bacons, and they socialize and go places together.

Daily and Burrull, who own Bacon, said they learned they would lose about 40 parking spaces three weeks ago when a contractor stopped by and told them as a courtesy.

“We didn’t get any notice from our landlords,” Burrull said.

Daily and Burrull said they’ve asked the landlord to install railings so that their older customers can walk from the parking lot, which has a steep incline, to the restaurant safely.

A spokesperson for the property owner, Phillips Edison, did not return phone calls seeking comment.

The owners also wrote a petition, which is prominently displayed at the restaurant, protesting the loss of the parking spaces. It has around 1,000 signatures.

The owners of Bacon’s Bistro and Cafe have nearly 1,000 signatures on a petition to save their parking lot in Hurst. The restaurant’s parking spaces have been split in half as a new Scooter’s Coffee is built in the lot.
The owners of Bacon’s Bistro and Cafe have nearly 1,000 signatures on a petition to save their parking lot in Hurst. The restaurant’s parking spaces have been split in half as a new Scooter’s Coffee is built in the lot.

Daily said the parking situation is “a done deal” and the petition shows the support and good will from their guests, but he wished that he would have gotten notice about the changes that are affecting the customers and the restaurant.

In October, the City Council approved the plans for Scooter’s Coffee.

Kara McKinney, a spokesperson for the city, wrote in an email that the development met all of Hurst’s zoning requirements.

“Property owners are evaluating how parking can be best utilized. We are confident the property owners and the tenants will work together to determine the best solution, and city staff is available to offer any guidance,” she said.

Daily said he wished he had known about the October council meeting where the petition “could have pulled some weight.”

Daily described how he and Burrull, who were married at the time, saw a posting on Craigslist that Bacons was for sale. They had restaurant experience and wanted to own a business where they could be home for their children during the evenings.

They started out in a smaller building across from their current location, but quickly outgrew it.

The breakfast concept was perfect, he said.

Diners eat breakfast at Bacon’s Bistro and Cafe in Hurst on Tuesday. The restaurant’s parking spaces have been split in half as a coffee chain is built in the lot.
Diners eat breakfast at Bacon’s Bistro and Cafe in Hurst on Tuesday. The restaurant’s parking spaces have been split in half as a coffee chain is built in the lot.

Other customers upset about the parking said the loss of spaces won’t keep them from visiting their friends at Bacons.

Dr. Peter Sakovich, who lives in Colleyville, stops for breakfast and lunch several times a week.

He questioned why the area needed another coffee chain when Bacons serves espresso, lattes and Americanos at its coffee bar.

Sakovich said he is disappointed by the way the parking situation was handled since the owners didn’t get notice.

Sakovich said he also worries about older customers who will have more difficulty getting inside and said a woman recently fell while walking through the parking lot.

Parked cars are reflected in the window of Bacon’s Bistro and Cafe in Hurst. The restaurant’s parking spaces have been split in half as a new Scooter’s Coffee is built in the lot.
Parked cars are reflected in the window of Bacon’s Bistro and Cafe in Hurst. The restaurant’s parking spaces have been split in half as a new Scooter’s Coffee is built in the lot.

Sakovich also described the family-like atmosphere and how he and his wife befriended du Priest.

Travis Hiser, a Hurst police officer, often comes in with his 4-year-old daughter Hensley for a “daddy daughter” breakfast. His wife also enjoys Bacons where the family can spend time talking and relaxing.

“It’s the perfect place for us. It has that hometown atmosphere,” he said.

Burrull said although the parking situation will create hardships, Bacons is staying put.

“We took over a little hole in the wall place. We never expected it to blossom the way it did.”

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