Sunbird Barbecue owners Bryan Bingham and David Segovia have expanded their Longview-area business with the addition of a new pit that doubles their cooking space.
Luling-based Cen-Texas Smokers delivered the 1,000-gallon pit the day before Thanksgiving to their food truck’s location, parked at Heritage the Market at Green Top, at 7486 U.S. 259 just outside of Longview, Segovia said. The business partners, who previously worked together at Bodacious Bar-B-Q on Mobberly Avenue, started their food truck earlier this year.
Bingham said they fired the pit up for the first time Monday.
“Having a professionally built (pit) has made a whole world of difference,” Bingham said, with Segovia adding that the new pit allows them to better regulate temperatures and other factors that affect the quality of the food.
They had started their business with one pit in their food truck and had already added two other outdoor pits.
They sell out of food every day, Bingham said, but a lot of that has been because they just didn’t have space to cook that much meat.
“This one just ups the game for us,” Segovia said.
Sunbird is open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, with outdoor seating and cornhole games available.
Steel distributor expands
Steel and Pipe Supply’s Longview distribution facility began an approximately $2 million expansion in November.
The privately owned carbon steel distributor’s growth in Longview follows the company’s closure a couple of years ago of its Houston facility, which local General Manager Mark Ledkins said had been doing the same thing as the Longview location.
He said the expansion includes the addition of 370-feet of crane rail to an existing crane at the facility that will allow the business to store products under the crane, as well as the addition of a third crane. An existing warehouse will be expanded by 30,000 square feet, increasing the warehouse size by 25%.
The expansion will increase the distribution facility’s volume to better serve customers, Ledkins said.
The construction project should be completed in March, he said, with city of Longview building permit information placing its construction value at almost $2 million. Transet Co. of Longview is the contractor.
Steel and Pipe Supply employs 47 people in Longview, Ledkins said.
Sharman’s announces Tyler closing
The Longview Sharman’s Sewing Center will remain open after its Tyler store closes at the end of the month.
The Longview store will celebrate its 38th anniversary next year, while the Tyler store has been open 25 years. Owner Sharman Dorsey said she is downsizing her business to simplify her life, and a “huge store closing” sale is being held in Tyler to show appreciation for her customers there. Denver-based RFM Retail Consulting will conduct the sale and liquidate all merchandise, including all sewing machines, quilting machines, embroidery machines, cabinets, supplies, fabrics and accessories. The sale will include a prize contest.
“I am thankful, grateful and very blessed to have always had wonderful caring staff/friends at both locations, double blessed by the countless friends Richard and I made over these 37-and-a-half years and the opportunity we have had to be of service to the awesome sewing and quilting community in the Tyler area for 25 years,” Dorsey said in a statement the store provided.
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