We love local spots. There are few things better than hitting up a local eatery or drinking establishment that you know was built from the ground up by someone in your community. But we also have those spots from chains beyond our backyard that we just gotta have, whether it's a place to relax and have fun or grab a bite to eat. So keep scrolling and you'll see what Buddy Logan, Mandee Montana and other Townsquare radio folks in East Texas want to see show up in the area.

Oh, and be sure to sound off in the comments on what you'd like to show up in the area.

Krispy Kreme

Photo courtesy Krispy Kreme
Photo courtesy Krispy Kreme
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All we have are ghetto-ass donut places. It's time to step up our morning pastry game. Tylerites love fresh donuts in the morning more than anyone. All the the big cities that have Krispy Kremes are going vegan and don’t even appreciate what they have. We will truly appreciate Krispy Kreme. - Buddy Logan, Radio Texas Live

AMF Bowling

Logo courtesy AMF Bowling Co.
Logo courtesy AMF Bowling Co.
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I would love to see another bowling option in Tyler or Longview. Tyler has Green Acres Bowling but it's sometimes impossible to get in or the wait times are too long. Longview has Oil Bowl. Another option for either city would be nice. Something like an AMF Bowling Center would be great to give some options and some competition. - Michael Gibson, KNUE producer

Pole Position Raceway & Top Golf

Mandee Montana during her Pole Position excursion.
Mandee Montana during her Pole Position excursion.
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The 2 franchises that I would like to see come to Tyler are Top Golf and Pole Posisiton Raceway. I experienced Top Golf on a Spring Break trip to Austin a couple of years ago, and I loved it! It’s a lot like a driving range, but you score points if you hit specific targets, and there’s a bar! Pole Position Raceway I discovered in Las Vegas a few summers ago. It’s an indoor Go-Kart track desgined by NASCAR drivers, and it’s not exactly for children. The karts move really fast. They let you run multiple laps to get your fastest times, and you’re really racing yourself instead of the other people on the track. It’s an adrenaline rush, and loads of fun! - Mandee Montana, Mix 93.1 and 101.5 KNUE

Dave & Busters

Photo courtesy Dave & Busters
Photo courtesy Dave & Busters
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Although it’s been quite a while since I’ve been to Dave & Buster’s in Dallas, I think we need one in Tyler and Longview too!  I hear the commercials on the radio and see them on TV, they’re teasing us, come on now!  It’s about time we have a place for adults to go hang out, play some games, have a couple of drinks and just have a great time.  I believe it would be a great place to just hang and chill with some of my friends and challenge them to some friendly competition on the billiard tables, air hockey, basketball toss or to one of the many different video games!  Dave & Buster’s need to bring it to Tyler and Longview too! - Lucky Larry, Mix 93.1

I would like to see Dave & Buster show up in the ETX market for serval reasons. Number 1, there is no night life here and unless you want to just eat yourself away, there is nothing else to do. Dave & Buster would be a great edition because it caters to all people. Family’s, kids, singles and it’s a great place for ‘happy hour’ after work. - Shani Scott, Hot 107.3 Jamz and 101.5 KNUE

Biscuitville

Photo courtesy Biscuitville
Photo courtesy Biscuitville
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There are few things in life that are better than freshly baked, warm, fluffy biscuits. Slather them with melting butter, drizzle some honey on there, maybe spread some jelly. Stuff bacon and eggs in there, smother it with sausage gravy. Pair it with some crispy fried chicken. Or maybe just all by their lonesome. Doesn't matter. Biscuits are quite possibly the most perfect food ever. So when I heard that there's a regional chain of restaurants in Virginia and North Carolina called...wait for it...Biscuitville. Well. I about lost my mind. A restaurant dedicated to nothing but biscuits? Be still my heart. Then a friend of mine described his experience eating there and I about booked a plane ticket to North Carolina right then and there. Then again, maybe it's a good thing that we will likely never get a Biscuitville here. I might never leave. - Stewart Smith, Digital Managing Editor

Monical's Pizza

Photo courtesy Monical's Pizza
Photo courtesy Monical's Pizza
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I am originally a Midwesterner  (Central Illinois native) and the chain I’d most like to see move to the area is Monical’s Pizza.

I’ve now lived in the South for half of my adult life.  Radio has landed me in both Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and now Texas.  I have learned that there are numerous foods that Southerners just do better than anyone else.  BBQ?   New Yorkers have no idea what they’re missing.  Fried chicken?  No one can hold a skillet to a southern chef.

But…pizza?   Yeah.  No.  You guys are doing it wrong.

I’ve yet to find a pizza shop in the South that can match the legendary Monical’s Pizza.  It’s a special thing.

Just as there are distinctly different kinds of barbeque  (you’ve got that vinegar based stuff in the Carolinas vs. brisket here in Texas vs. the red sauce dripping BBQ in St. Louis) – there is also a regional uniqueness to pizza.   In Chicago, we like ours deep dish.  In New York, they want it greasy and folded with hardly any sauce.  California does whatever California does with their ovens and tofu or something.

Monical’s forgoes all of that and makes theirs with a special, thin cracker crust.  If you’re lucky, you’ll get a pie that has been slightly burned a bit on the edges.  Their sauce can’t be duplicated; although there have been websites and forum posts by pizza chefs the world over trying to replicate it…no one can figure out what makes it so perfectly tangy yet sweet.   Couple that with plenty of gooey cheese, peppered peperoni, perfect Italian sausage and your favorite add-ons and you have the perfect pizza.

I’m quite convinced that should a Monical’s Pizza open in East Texas, they will quickly drive Domino’s and Pizza Hut and Papa John’s and all those other posers running out of town. - Brian Rickman, Classic Rock 96.1

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