Big Shot Coffee House planned its last day around a party. The shop told customers its final Saturday would bring live music, a vendors market, a food truck and a birthday celebration for a cat named Toast, who was turning eight, CBS19 reported. That Saturday was Oct. 24. The shop sat at 16700 FM 2493 in the Gresham community, on the road many Flint households drive into Tyler.
Owner Lydia Baskin gave three reasons for closing: more competition, a Texas Department of Transportation project, and rising costs, according to the Tyler Morning Telegraph. The road project is the reason that will still matter in 2029. The work running south from Flint has an estimated finish of Fall 2029, and the separate widening north toward Loop 323 isn't expected to start before 2030. For several more years, the businesses along this road will be operating on the construction calendar, and that calendar was set long before anyone opened a door here in 2026.
The year on FM 2493, in order
So far in 2026, the stretch between Tyler and Flint has changed month by month. Lined up by date, the openings and the road news overlap:
- Jan. 12: At a public meeting, the Tyler Area Metropolitan Planning Organization explained why construction on Old Jacksonville Highway from Loop 323 to FM 2813 in Gresham had moved from 2028 to 2030.
- May 26: The Telegraph reported two recent openings: The Curious Cat, a vintage shop at 17644 FM 2493 in Flint, and Likewise Coffee's second Tyler café, at 7596 Old Jacksonville Hwy.
- June 10: The Telegraph listed this as the opening day for Ruby's Mexican Restaurant's sixth location, at 15902 County Road 165 north of Loop 49.
- Oct. 7: The Telegraph reported Big Shot's planned closing and the reasons behind it.
- Oct. 12: TxDOT scheduled a traffic switch on the FM 2493 widening south of Flint to end that evening.
- Oct. 24: Big Shot's announced last day.
- Week of Nov. 2: TxDOT's weekly update says crews are scheduled to continue work throughout the Flint-to-FM 344 project limits and asks drivers to use caution.
In the same ten months, the corridor got a new coffee option and lost an established one. Through all of it, the road work stayed on the schedule TxDOT and the MPO had already announced.
Three projects, one 14-mile road
TxDOT treats Old Jacksonville Highway from Loop 323 in Tyler to US 69 south of Bullard as one corridor of about 14 miles. It is building that corridor as separate projects that are "in various stages of completion," according to the agency's Flint-to-Bullard project page. Set side by side, they show how long this road will be under construction:
| Segment | What it builds | Cost | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loop 323 to FM 2813 in Gresham | Four lanes to six, raised medians, bike and pedestrian accommodations | About $225 million | Construction as early as Fall 2030 |
| FM 346 in Flint to 0.3 mile south of FM 344 | Widening the existing roadway; contractor Longview Bridge and Road LTD | $78.5 million | Underway; estimated completion Fall 2029 |
| 0.3 mile south of FM 344 to US 69 | Overpass with ramps and FM 2493 realignment; contractor East Texas Bridge, Inc. | $68 million | Estimated completion Spring 2029 |
The Flint segment is the one residents are driving through now. TxDOT's plans from FM 346 south take FM 2493 from a two-lane road to a four-lane divided highway with curb and gutter and a continuous center left-turn lane. They also add sidewalks and bicycle lanes where applicable. The agency says the project requires buying new right-of-way from adjacent property owners. The final schematic and project map are posted for anyone who wants to see the plans for a particular stretch.
The northern segment hasn't started, and its date has already moved once. "The reason for that delay is to accommodate the time needed to acquire a right-of-way along the corridors and to be able to move the utilities that are needed before the construction can begin," MPO Director Michael Howell said at the January meeting, as quoted by the Tyler Morning Telegraph. He described 2030 as "the best estimate for what it is right now." The Telegraph also reported that about 32,000 vehicles a day used that northern stretch in 2019, citing TxDOT.
Taken together, the Flint work ends around Fall 2029 and the Tyler-side work starts around Fall 2030. That puts construction on one part of this road or another for the rest of the decade.
What Big Shot is keeping
Baskin opened Big Shot in January 2021. Along the way she launched the Tyler Coffee Crawl and the East Texas School of Coffee, the Telegraph reported. The shop won't be sold or moved. Her coffee catering continues as Big Shot: Espresso Catering, and she plans to keep running the Tyler Coffee Crawl and latte art competitions and to offer coffee training and consulting.
Her goodbye note asked that the shop be remembered for "the conversation with a barista that left you smiling, or simply as 'that Rosie the Riveter' coffee shop," the Telegraph reported. She also urged customers to keep supporting locally owned businesses. Anyone who knew Big Shot from the Coffee Crawl can still find that event on the Tyler calendar.
The stops that opened into the construction window
Every business that opened on or just off this corridor in 2026 did so with roughly three years of road work still ahead in Flint. Here is what the year has added, from Tyler south to Flint:
- Likewise Coffee, 7596 Old Jacksonville Hwy., Suite 400. This is the locally owned shop's second café, after its original in Tyler's Mosaic District. It serves coffee, tea, matcha and fresh lemonade. The Telegraph listed its hours as 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday, in May. Menu and details are at likewisecoffeetx.com.
- Ruby's Mexican Restaurant, 15902 County Road 165. Just off FM 2493, the regional chain picked this spot north of Loop 49 to serve Gresham, Flint and Bullard, the Telegraph reported. The menu matches its other locations, including brisket tacos, birria doblados and aguas frescas.
- The Curious Cat, 17644 FM 2493, Flint. A vintage shop selling home decor and nostalgic gifts. It calls itself "a cozy little haven for the nostalgic at heart." The Telegraph listed its hours as 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, closed Sunday through Wednesday.
Older businesses are here too. Blakeney Hardware at 16885 FM 2493 posts hours of 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday. This fall its owner publicly asked the community to support the store, KNUE reported in the same story that covered Big Shot.
That puts the corridor's 2026 businesses in two groups. The newcomers came in with the construction schedule already published. The longtime shops are getting through the long stretch between the first cones and the finished road. Both groups depend on customers on this road showing up through work that, by TxDOT's estimates, ends in Flint in Fall 2029.
For drivers, the practical tool is TxDOT's weekly Tyler District update, which posts the current status of the Flint-to-FM 344 work. For the week of Nov. 2, crews are scheduled to continue work throughout the project limits.
If you own along FM 2493 or near the new right-of-way and want to know how the widening could affect your property's value, The Agency Tyler follows this corridor closely and can talk through it with you. You can start with a free home valuation.
