TEXAS — The first day of class may be just around the corner, but we are still in the peak of summer. People are dealing with Texas heat across the board, including businesses.
Even with high temperatures, there’s a long line outside the doors of Franklin Barbecue. Long time customers like Dontae Blakemore wanted to get in one more bite before the restaurant temporarily closes up shop.
Starting next week, Franklin Barbecue is putting out the fires for their longstanding summer closure tradition to give their employees a vacation.
“I can’t imagine anywhere else in the world I would get better barbecue than Franklin’s,” Blakemore says, though he admits sometimes the heat keeps him from getting more.
“It’s an interesting dynamic because barbecue is considered a summer treat…In reality, it’s so heavy that you appreciate it a little bit more in the fall or winter,” Blakemore said.
Even those in the business of the other-worldly are adjusting for the long haul of “hot” hitting most of Texas right now. Austin Ghost Tours have guided walks through the oldest areas in town, sharing both historic and supernatural stories of the past for 30 years. This year, tour guide Monica Ballard says she’s had to make some changes due to the soaring temps.
“With the triple-digit heat, naturally, that heat is retained a lot even after the sun goes down. So oftentimes, I will mix up the stops that we make, where we meet, places that we go to,” Ballard says. “Last Friday, was incredibly hot, decided to take my group uptown here because there seem to be more places to stop off and get a bottled water or a sports drink.”
She says even though this summer’s foot traffic has also been slower, it’s nothing they can’t handle.