Denton contains businesses exploring the whole gamut of desires and needs. Here are some of the best coffee shops, restaurants and stores located conveniently close to Texas Woman’s University.
Recycled Books
Recycled Books is located on the Denton Square and sells the best in used books, music, movies and more. With an estimated 500,000 books, 20,000 CDs and 15,000 records, the bookstore has a vast selection of products for the average bookworm or music aficionado.
Recycled Books, started by Lucy Lovely in 1983, began with humble beginnings in a small 405 square foot storefront off University Drive. The store eventually moved into what current owner Don Foster described as a “slightly larger hole in the wall” on Oakland Street next to TWU. Finally, Recycled Books found its home at the historic Wright Opera House in 1990.
The store is a family business started by someone who wanted to start their own cozy little bookstore, Recycled Books employee Axel Severs said. Severs created the vintage section of the store called “Rosie’s Corner,” named after his dog Rosie. The tiny, old chihuahua can sometimes be seen populating the Recycled Books counter, hoping to receive the affection of shoppers.
Severs described the store as somewhere where there’s a culture for everyone. All of the activities people can do in their spare time such as playing video games, movies, listening to music or reading books all come through the store. So on any given visit, any given person can find something that is exciting, which is the magic of Recycled Books, Severs said.
Recycled Books does not have any upcoming sales, but they do have 10% off discounts for librarians, teachers, educators, veterans, senior citizens and people who wear their merch in the store.
Jupiter House
Also located on the Denton Square, Jupiter House is known for its bagels and Costa Rican coffee. Customers here can expect house-made scones, bars and cinnamon rolls made by owners Joey and Amy Hawkins. The cinnamon rolls are decades in the making, as Joey started working for a cinnamon roll company when he was 16 years old.
In Dec. 2017, the Square suffered a large fire that was described as the most significant property loss on the Square in 23 years, with Jupiter House suffering severe smoke and water damage. The business was unable to reopen until 2019 because of the damage.
Among their extensive menu, some specialty drinks are the peanut butter mocha, caramel nut nebula and dirty chai. Beyond drinks, the business started offering cinnamon rolls, bagels and sandwiches after their other business, Royal’s Bagels, closed in 2018. Some of their signature dishes include their French toast bagel, asiago bagel, garden shmear, Texas heat shmear and many others.
Burger Time Machine
With the self-proclaimed “biggest burgers in Texas,” Burger Time Machine provides burgers for all of the burger lovers in Denton, conveniently less than a mile from TWU. The restaurant aims to feel like a time machine, with walls plastered in movie posters and the interior adorned with a pool table and arcade games.
Among the attractions in Burger Time Machine, there is a cork board with the header “If you had a time machine, what year would you go back to and why?” , where customers have adorned the attraction with their answers on note cards. There is also a map where customers can identify where they traveled from across America.
Some of the most unique burger options are the Country Peanut Butter Burger, which is served with a half-pound patty, American cheese, bacon, mustard, mayo, BBQ sauce, lettuce, onions, pickles and its namesake: peanut butter! The Draccula is doused in Red’s hot sauce and topped with French fries drizzled in ketchup.
Other than wacky burgers, this restaurant also serves appetizers such as onion rings, fried pickles and funnel cake sticks. Their sandwiches include the Time Machine Hamburger Philly and the Terminator Hot Dog, among others.
Burger Time Machine offers vegetarian burgers and kid’s baskets as well as their creative burgers.
Maddie Ray can be reached via email at mray10@twu.edu.
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