By KALIN KROHE
Panhandle Post
A-Town Zesto has been an Alliance staple since 1950. It's hard to miss the neon-lit glow of the building in the evening.
A-Town Zesto is located at 711 West 3rd Street.
"It has multiple owners, but we bought it in August of 2018 and opened it in May of 2019," Zesto owner Tearza Mashburn said. "And then COVID happened, so that made things interesting. In 2020, we had supply chain issues, so that made it interesting. But the business has been here and it's just a part of the community. You know, when you think of summertime, you think of the Zesto's and you think of the blue goo [ice cream]. We've had multiple people come and take pictures with the neon [lights] or tell us stories that they came for ice cream when they were little. It's interesting to hear those stories from the people that came when they were younger."
Mashburn said the decision to purchase Zesto was made because of the business history in Alliance.
"Okay, that is tough," Mashburn laughed. "We sell a lot of cheeseburgers and people love our cheeseburgers, but we also have a jalapeno burger where it has jalapenos and onions minced into the meat. And then topped with jalapenos and pepper jack cheese, and your choice of condiments. People that like spicy food, they absolutely love that and order doubles and I don't even know how to get it in their mouth. It's so big. And then we have the house burger, which is flavored with apple wood liquid smoke and topped with onion rings and barbecue sauce."
Mashburn said her favorite thing about the Alliance community is that people help each other out.
"With the Westco fire and stuff, we closed our business to keep people away from the area," Mashburn said. "You know, with being right next to that gas station and the fertilizer, so we didn't want anybody down here for their safety. And like with supply chain issues, the Eagles works with us to get stuff if we can't. It's just a small town. We're there for each other. And that's what Zesto's has been known as to. So that's what I love about our community."
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