Next time you’re in downtown Lubbock, you’ve got to stop in and check out Colbert’s General Store. It’s located on the ground floor of The Metro Tower (arguably the coolest building in town) and certainly the tallest!
If you’re from the Hub City, you may know The Metro Tower as the “old NTS building”, or the “building with a slight twist from the tornado that smacked us in 1970″. I remember my dad taking me to see the twist when I was little and listening to him recount what it was like when the busiest part of Lubbock was torn to shreds.
The Metro Tower survived the tornado and was recently remodeled, revamped, and turned into totally badass lofts and condos with an unbeatable view of the city.
Charles “Chuck” Colbert opened Colbert’s General Store last May. He had a vision to bring convenience and a sense of community to the residents of The Metro Tower and, he also wanted to give the people of Lubbock another great reason to visit downtown.
He knew it wouldn’t be easy. Downtown developed a terrible reputation during the decades following the tornado. It’s almost like the entire city just walked away from the wreckage and never looked back. Dilapidated buildings eventually became hotspots for criminal activity. When I was a teenager, I was warned it was a dangerous area and not somewhere I should be after dark.
I fed into the idea it was a no-go zone until I took the plunge and moved downtown to check it out for myself…