Beehive featured by Country Reporter
The latest episode of “Texas Country Reporter” features the local Beehive restaurant and owner Ali Esfandiary, along with Cactus Book Shop owner Felton Cochran, Buffalo soldier painter Bob Snead, and the show’s host Bob Phillips.
Episode 1652 aired on Abilene’s KTXS (channel 12) at 6:30 p.m. last Saturday and is scheduled to be broadcast on RFD TV at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, May 3, repeated at 12:00 a.m. early on the morning of Saturday, May 4, and rerun another time at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 5.
The Beehive segment was filmed at the restaurant in Albany on Thursday, Feb. 28.
“They called ahead of time,” said Esfandiary. “They showed up with a whole crew around 10:00 a.m. and stayed until 4:00 p.m. We just sat down and visited.”
Phillips wanted to know about Esfandiary’s life story as an Iranian immigrant who decided to make his home in a small Texas town, as well as about the Beehive.
Even members of the TCR crew who had not been to Albany before had heard about the Beehive, according to Esfandiary.
“We had no idea where Albany is located, but we’d hear ‘Albany...the Beehive...dollars on the wall...shrimp night...prime rib night...lamb night’,” they told Esfandiary.
Esfandiary said they were pleased with the dollars on the wall and were very surprised to find out that the restaurant does not have a gas grill.
“No,” said the owner, “it’s all done on a mesquite grill.”
Esfandiary said that film crew documented the entire meal preparation process.
“They watched me cut steaks and make the specials,” he said. “They ordered a couple of our signature dishes and were very pleased.”
Esfandiary said that he thinks the show will help out the local economy.
“Hopefully, when people come to town to eat, they’ll also go downtown and shop,” he said.
“Texas Country Reporter” has been on television since 1972. Every week Phillips travels the back roads of the Lone Star State and shares the stories of real Texans. From artists to cowboys, hobbyists to musicians, “Texas Country Reporter” explores the passions, interests, and lifestyles of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
