
At the front counter at the Traxx Diner, you will find co-owner Megan Watts and employees Kaely Eason and Mollie Colar.
Mark DeLap | Bladen Journal
MAKING TRAXX FOR CLARKTON
CLARKTON – Another small business is springing up in in the small town of Clarkton.
Many have spoken of late as to the possibility of adding another good restaurant in Clarkton, and that rumor has led to a business couple from the area pulling the trigger and adding to their already lucrative Clarkton business.
Paul and Megan watts of Clarkton and owners of Traxx Chic Vintiques located at 104 N. Elm Street in Clarkton recently had the chance to purchase the adjacent building which was already a restaurant.
After thinking about it, they decided to add it to the Traxx family and put an eatery next to their antique mall. The official address and grand opening was held Oct. 11 at 113 W. South Railroad Street in Clarkton.
“We actually own Traxx Chic Vintiques next door which is where the name for the restaurant came from,” Megan watts said. “We opened that business in April of 2021. The restaurant became available and we just decided to jump in.”
The restaurant was previously called Galigo’s owned by David and Reba Little and then it changed hands twice before the watts purchased it. According to Paul watts, the turnover has been a combination of things including the economy, lack of people in Clarkton and “because nobody stuck with it.”
Paul watts has lived in Clarkton pretty much his entire life and then when the couple married, she moved to Clarkton in 2018. She was born in Elizabethtown and is a 2004 East Bladen graduate. He graduated in 1995 from Bladenboro High School. The watts met while working for the Department of Adult Correction in the probation department where they were both probation officers.
The only experience they had in the restaurant business was when Megan watts was in high school and worked at “The Front Porch” which was a Country Buffet in Elizabethtown which now has become El Patron.
After the couple married in 2019, they purchased the antique mall in 2021 and it has been a solid business in Clarkton.
“It’s done well,” she said. “We’ve expanded three times since we’ve owned it and is now about 15,000 square feet. We run the business portion and we have two ladies that work in there during the day. We have vendors in there as well.”
Jumping from retail to diner is kind of the same, but it kind of isn’t. Taking the next step in a small town was an idea that was inspired from their retail customers.
“People would come to the store to shop,” he said. “They were wanting to know a place where they could eat in Clarkton. Rather than send everybody out of town, when we had the opportunity to purchase it, we decided to buy it.”
“I feel that we are trying to bring life and revitalize Clarkton,” she said. “One building at a time.”
Although the couple said that they are not ready to purchase anything more at this time. When the couple first purchased the building, they had a major remodeling to undertake. Old carpet was taken out and one of the unique features of décor is the “yardstick wall,” where many local companies that are now defunct have their names on the yardsticks.
“I’ve been collecting yardsticks for years,” he said. “I probably had 2,000 yardsticks. Together we just did all the remodeling. She knew what she wanted and I just had the stuff to be able to make it happen. When we first walked in the door, we knew we had a lot to do. It was a mess.”
One of the first things you notice when you enter the diner is the antique signs and “back in time” ambiance. It is keeping with the antique theme of their store which sits just north of the diner. They turned the remodeling into a three-week project and one of the biggest things they had to purchase was a freezer. As for the workforce they put together, they now have three cooks, counting Paul watts and three front staff members.
As for the menu, they did not use any previous ownership for a template.
“We just put on the menu what thought would be simple,” he said. “We also wanted to keep the prices reasonable. We brought it what we felt that people would want to order. As we go day by day, and we see that some things aren’t selling well enough, then we will adjust and there may be some changes in the menu.”
In addition to the standard hot dogs and chicken fillets, they feature a daily dinner special that has everything from chicken and rice or beef tips or pork chops or catfish – depending upon the day of the week.
Their most popular items right now are the hamburgers and “Clarkton cheese steaks.” People are already commenting on the incredible taste from the small diner. What makes them different from everywhere else is a best kept secret from Paul’s kitchen.
The small diner also has the luxury of its own baker and featured chocolate layer cake for their opening. They also had honey bun cake and cheesecake.
“We have Janice Thompson, a family friend who does our baking,” Megan watts said. “It’s actually our daughter’s grandmother.”
A day of antiquing can work up an appetite. With diner comfort food with some fine southern sweet tea and a home-baked dessert, you can leave Clarkton full of treasures, hospitality and good food at a good price.
From the Campbell Oil article that the Bladen Journal did a month ago, we again reiterate the miracle rebirth of Clarkton.
“There is a town in Bladen County with deep and strong roots, but the fires of life have tested it and tried it and did its best to destroy it.
The history of Clarkton is rich and full and was founded by John Hector Clark who was a successful resident, business owner and visionary who had high hopes to make this tiny town a thriving community and a beautiful place to raise a family.
He was a local farmer and dabbled in the turpentine business. The growth of the town due to the vision and hard work of this man was a reason that the railroad came and brought an economic stability to the region. Tobacco, cotton, lumber and turpentine were all at one point riding the rails to deliver goods to the nation.
Tobacco was such a thriving business there that there are still who hold fond memories of the stories their grandparents told about the local tobacco festival that was once a big deal in the area and was attended in Clarkton until 1997.
The John Hector Clark house is still there and represents the late 1900s architectural expertise and aesthetics.
Clarkton today is a shell of what it once was, but those who live in the tight-knit community have hope that a resurgence is upon them. As economic decline came by way of new technology and a parting of the ways from the trends and industries of yesterday, population declined. Storms battered the little town and have broken the spirit of many who once lived there.
Those that remain and those who now pass through are seeing almost, as it were, new life springing from the ground up. New and tender shoots are beginning to show signs of life.”
Mark DeLap is an award-winning journalist, photographer and the editor and general manager of the Bladen Journal. To see more of his bio, visit him at markdelap.com or email him. Send a message to: [email protected]