There’s A Strange New Cult Gaining A Foothold In Texas

There's lots of curious things out there on social media, if you know where to look.

One of the best places to get the "scoop" on what's happening locally tends to be in Facebook groups--for me, anyway. Every town has a few local groups that seem to be the hub for gossip, news, events, and so much more. A Facebook group is actually where I witnessed the birth of a movement dedicated to bringing back Long John Silver's to Amarillo, Texas.

Yes, you read that right.

Movement? Or a Cult?

See, if you don't already know, the last Long John Silver's location of Amarillo closed down four years ago. As a result, anyone with a craving for the crispy bits, battered fish patties, or trademark hush puppies would have to make a two-hour trek south to Lubbock, or west to Clovis, New Mexico.

And trust me, they do. And when they do, they post their visit and pictures of their delicious battered prize in AMARILLO RESTAURANT REVIEWS.....AT YOUR OWN RISK to evoke the green-eyed monster of jealousy that lies within all mankind (or in this case, the people who are in said group)

I've always been fascinated by this united front of people from all walks of life who are loud and clear in their desire for the dying fast food chain's return to our fair city.

However, I had always operated under the assumption that this ethnographic phenomenon was unique to Amarillo.

You can imagine my surprise then, dear reader, when I saw this post pop up on one of my very favorite satire pages out of Grayson County in North Texas--a good five hours away!

A post on Grayson County Tea features a photo of building in Sherman, Texas that has a sign photoshopped to show Taco Bell and Long John Silver's logos. I couldn't believe my eyes. Surely this would be taken for the joke it was intended to be.

But going through the comments on the post gave me a spooky sense of deja vu.

Don't play with my emotions! We need a Long John Silver's again!

And some even speak to the woes of driving a distance for LJS.

Better than driving to McKinney!

It's a fascinating parallel to the Amarillo movement....cult...whichever you may call it.

An Eastward Spread of Hush Puppies?

I'm unsure of how recently residents of Sherman, Texas have began to call for a glorious revival of Long John Silver's and the search box on Facebook was absolutely worthless for me. But I can't help but wonder if this is in fact a sign of an eastward spread for the cult of LJS.

Did someone from Amarillo move to Sherman and speak the gospel of golden crispy bits? Was this seed of marketing genius planted by the restaurant's corporate PR team? Is it a deep-seated desire within all of us to see the vanishing franchise have a triumphant return?

Lord only knows.