Crow's Cafe / Greyhound Bus Station

Crow’s Café, in some form or fashion, has been a Belton fixture since at least 1928, if not earlier, and for many years was in the same building as the Greyhound Bus Station. A Belton Journal ad from 1928 encouraged readers to “Ride the Greyhounds Through the Heart of Texas” and informed them that schedule booklets and tickets were available from the station agent located at Crow’s Lunch Stand. Southland-Red Ball Motorbus Co. and later Southland Greyhound Lines operated the buses.

Marvin Ellis Crow and Minnie Louise Muehlhause married in 1921, and by 1930 the Crows were the owners of a lunch stand as reported in the Census of the United States. In 1931, Mr. Crow built a new building in the Art Deco style just north of the post office on Main Street. The fire-proof building was constructed of concrete and stucco and of sufficient size to accommodate bus patrons. The building features unusual octagonal windows on either side of the entry and large aluminum door handles on the main doors.

Crow’s Café advertised “The Best Dinners in Texas” and served a variety of foods from steaks and chops to fish and oysters. Sandwiches, stew, salads, homemade pies, and ice cream completed the available menu options. Hungry bus passengers could have a quick bite without leaving the building. Crow’s motto was “We never close.”

Mr. and Mrs. Crow divorced in 1941; however, Mr. Crow continued to operate both businesses. During World War II, building activity in Belton picked up in anticipation of better, peaceful times to come. Significant improvements were made to Crow’s Café and the bus terminal. Mr. Crow added a new two-story kitchen and erected a covered driveway with concrete floor for the bus line. Instead of unloading passengers in front of the café, buses entered from an entrance on Second Avenue, allowing passengers to disembark under shelter from the weather and away from city traffic. 

Marvin Crow died in 1945. In 1947 the café was leased to Leeman Melton while Mrs. Crow and L. A. Stringer operated the bus terminal. In 1949, Marvin Crow, Jr., assumed management of the business. Some improvements were made, and more were planned for a later time. A new asphalt tile floor was laid, and a new refrigerator and electric water fountain were added. Mrs. Crow and L. A. Stringer continued to manage the bus station. In 1950, when Marvin Crow, Jr., decided to leave Belton to pursue other opportunities, Mrs. Crow purchased her son’s interest in the business. By 1951, Marvin Crow, Jr., was back in Belton operating a new drive-in on Sixth Avenue. “Marvin’s” served a complete line of hamburgers, hot dogs, Coney Islands, and root beer.

In the 1990s, Marvin Crow, Jr., wrote a column for the Belton Journal entitled "Crow's Cafe" in which he reminisced about days gone by. Crow told of one Independence Day celebration during the war that was rather humorous. When the parade started, the employees of Crow's stood in the street and watched the parade "until the horses came down the hill." Then they went inside the cafe and began cooking hamburgers and chicken fried steak. During the war, each Greyhound Bus schedule had five buses. All the buses had to stop outside town until the parade was over; then, within five minutes of each other, all ten buses rolled into the bus station. All the buses were full, with as many as 50 passengers per bus. Crow's special, "The Best 35 Cent Dinner in Texas" was in demand as well as restrooms at all the nearby gas stations!

Mrs. Crow died in 1975, and her son, Marvin, died in 1999. A new Belton bus station was built at the intersection of Interstate 35 and East Central Ave. On November 28, 1977, R. W. Copeland drove the first bus into the new station. Bus lines served were Southwestern Transit, Greyhound, and Arrow Coach. The Crows passed on, but the tradition of quality food lives on at “Crow’s Burger Shop” in Belton and Temple. The building that once was the Greyhound Bus Terminal and Crow’s Café is now occupied by the Bell County Engineer.

Crow, Marvin. "Crow's Cafe: 4th of July Festivities." The Belton Journal, February 12, 1998.

“More Building Activity in Belton Now Than at Any Time Since War 1.” Belton Journal, February 5, 1942.

“New Bus Station Begins Service.” Belton Journal, December 1, 1977.

“Work Progressing on New Modern Bus Station.” Belton Journal, August 6, 1931.