Where to Stay, Eat, and Retreat in East Texas
By Diana Spechler, Texas Monthly
Over the last few years, the Piney Woods region has undergone its own ecosystem upgrade, so to speak: While some are transplants, many East Texan business owners are locals who left town and then returned with cool ideas. They set up camp in Tyler, Jacksonville, or Palestine, and have introduced better, or at least more bougie, businesses than their hometowns have ever seen—a cafe that doubles as an art gallery or a craft brewery with an award-winning sour beer or a boutique reminiscent of Rose Apothecary from Schitt’s Creek. Among residents I meet, I’m surprised to hear consensus about the swankifying of East Texas: growth, they say, is good.