The El Paso Truck Terminal is closing. Next month, or thereabouts.
Which begs the question, because I shot a roll of film there, once I figured out it was closing. When did 40 years old mean the end-of-the-line?
I can’t tell how long the place has been there. I’ve only been stopping there for the last decade or so. But some of the counter tops, in places, some of the Formica is worn from repeated use. Places in the booths, the table settings have been wiped clean with strong abrasives, over and over. That plastic laminate, it’s pretty indestructible.
The article said it opened in 1966. It looks like, to me, just a tourist, that there will be a new style service station, same brand, on the next corner. I suppose, for the local economy, this is going to be labeled “progress,” and to be sure, the restaurant suffered a death-blow to its business when the local smoking ordinance routed the long-distance drivers to the truck stop past the city limits.
However, I will still consider the robust meal, the Manchaca Plate at the El Paso Truck Terminal, I still think that it’s the meal by which all other Tex-Mex breakfasts should be judged. Big in size, fresh in composition, and better than anything else – especially with its unique “El Paso” flavor.
Maybe nothing lasts forever, but one of those breakfasts would stick with for a whole day of work.
“Only a short time left. Live as if you were alone – out in the wilderness. No difference between here and there: the city you live in is in the world.”
Marcus Aurelius (Book X, chapter 15)