Hallmark Restaurant in Killeen reopens fully staffed after temporary closure

KILLEEN, Texas (KWTX) - After a six-month temporary closure, the Hallmark Restaurant is back in business. The beloved restaurant has been around since 1984 and was one of the first to open in the area.

“It was an emotional day yesterday when we reopened back up,” manager Courtney Greene, who has been with the restaurant for 10 years, said.

The business officially reopened on Monday, but on Tuesday the restaurant still saw a packed crowd.

“Reopening and seeing the same faces and seeing new faces felt like coming home,” Greene said.

Issues like rising food prices and staffing shortages closed the restaurant in June. “Nobody wanted to show up to work and we were extremely short-staffed,” Greene said.

Since reopening, the restaurant is now fully-staffed with 30 servers and 30 cooks.

Loyal customer Carol Malone has been coming here for the past 20 years.

“I mean the people here are friendly,” Malone said. “They would always come up here and have me a plate fixed.”

Being back reminds her of her husband who recently passed away from cancer.

“For the past 11 months up until he passed we would come here before we go shopping,” Maloney said.

Frank Ward started coming to the restaurant in the 80s after retiring from the military.

“The real estate agents and builders and subcontractors would come here to eat and it was busy like this all day long,” Ward said.

But if customers like Maloney and Ward continue to pack the restaurant that may mean a need for more servers and kitchen staff.

“With the way things are looking we’ll need more,” Greene said.

Originally the plan was to revamp both the menu and the restaurant during the closure. But after hearing feedback from customers, the owner decided to keep things the same.

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