The Bridgeport City Council approved a series of plats, including proposed future sites of a major agriculture retailer and popular chain gas station.
At its Monday meeting, the council unanimously OK'd a final plat for a future Tractor Supply, estimated to be 50,000 square feet (which includes the building and outside sales area) upon completion. It's located adjacent to the westbound lanes of U.S. 380 near Lawdwin Avenue and 15th Street.
According to Robert Parrish, a representative with the developer HBC Interests, the estimated opening date is sometime in Q3 of 2025.
Natalie Bilby, director of development services for Bridgeport, told the city council that architecural plans are under review and due Dec. 12, and public hearings for variance requests regarding parking and an outdoor display will occur Dec. 16. After those items are completed, Bilby said she anticipates construction will move quickly.
The council also unanimously approved a preliminary plat for a proposed QuikTrip at the northwest corner of U.S. 380 and Texas 101, formerly occupied by the Bridgeport Truck Stop. The preliminary plat is just under four acres, which includes a 5,312 square-foot convenience store with 16 auto fuel positions and four commercial truck fueling bays.
The plat also includes a 24-foot access easement, and water and sanitary sewer easements west of the property. The developer will be required to install sidewalks on U.S. 380 and Texas 101 frontages.
Bilby told the council the civil plans for the QuikTrip were recently approved, and said the applicant would soon bring the final plat to the city council.
In other business, the council also discussed requests allowing the sale of alcohol for two proposed downtown businesses. The council approved both measures -- a specific use permit (SUP) for 1005 Halsell Street and a variance request at 1508 Halsell Street -- unanimously.
Though the building at 1508 Halsell Street did not meet the distance requirements from a church, school or public hospital (in this case a Bridgeport ISD facility), Bilby said BISD representatives had no issues with granting the request to sell alcohol. Councilmember Susan Coffman also confirmed with Bilby that the school facility does not currently have students.
The location will be the future home of Dasi Sushi, which wformerly operated at 1902 Chico Highway before leaving the location last spring after six years of serving Asian cuisine in Bridgeport.
"I feel like three positive things here are one, there's not kids there anymore; two, it's Dasi [Sushi], which we hear so much about that [the community] wants them back; and three, it's the Dairy Queen building," Coffman said.
The council noted that Dasi Sushi owner Logan Kim provided the council with a packet full of positive reviews and comments from the community regarding the restaurant.
"Anytime someone says, 'What restuarant do you want?' someone ultimately says 'Bring Dasi back,'" Coffman said.
Regarding 1005 Halsell Street, applicants Diana Perez and Ivon Delao spoke to the council and said their goal is to be similar to the County Seat, a bar located on the Decatur Square.
Perez said they would eventually host live music nights and plan to bring in local food trucks after a back patio is built. She added that in the future, the plan is to offer a full menu of food, but the business will start with just appetizers and beverages.
"We also want to push more of the latin culture into our bar/restaurant," Perez said. "...We want to bring a different vibe to the community, and we also want to open our door to the community to host [latin] events."
Delao said the business plans to be open Thursdays through Saturdays. Perez said eventually the goal is to also be open on Sundays for brunch.