By LYNETTE SOWELL
Cove Leader-Press
Over the past several years, the Copperas Cove downtown area which generally encompasses the area surrounding Avenues D and E where they intersect with S. 2nd Street, Main Street, and S. 1st Street, has seen an influx of new businesses which have not only opened – but stayed.
Last year also saw key properties which had been vacant become filled with not new businesses, but businesses relocating to downtown.
On weekend evenings, the lights are on in downtown Copperas Cove and there’s foot traffic on Main Street, with another new dining establishment – Nelson Brew Works which opened in January 2025.
The business, owned by Alex Nelson, offers a lineup of its own beers, as well as pizzas, giant soft pretzels, salads, and soft drinks. The place has become a venue for live music and open mic nights.
Also in January 2025, Refresh Salon & Spa celebrated the revitalization of its new location, 109 E. Avenue E. The locally owned business celebrates 11 years in 2026, having first opened in March 2015 on East Avenue D.
The momentum of businesses opening in downtown Copperas Cove continued in August 2025, when Betina Cash and Andy Remedies, owners of the Cove Theater and the restaurant Herb & Earnie’s, opened the Main St. Mercantile.
The shop features more than 100 local vendors and offers handcrafted items, gifts, and treats made by local cottage bakers.
On the heels of that opening, Stoner’s Pizza Joint opened on the corner of S. 1st Street and Avenue E. Stoner’s is a franchise but locally owned by Kyle Brown. Their downtown opening broke sales records for the chain.
The Copperas Cove Chamber of Commerce relocated in August from Robertson Avenue to 109 W. Avenue D, steps from the iconic Cove Theater.
Chamber President Beth Galick-Carney has noted the changes relocating has brought to the chamber.
“Since relocating downtown, the Chamber has experienced increased visibility and daily engagement through higher foot traffic at the Visitor Center. The move has also positioned the organization to play a more active role in the ongoing revitalization of the downtown area,” she said. “Recent renovations, including Nelson’s Brew Works, Refresh Salon & Spa, and additional buildings currently under development, reflect growing investment and momentum.”
The chamber’s wintertime tourism event – Krist Kindl Markt – brought 15,000 visitors to downtown over its three days, and Galick-Carney note there were an additional 3,500 attending the parade. Number were 30 percent more than when the chamber held the event at City Park.
“There’s real momentum downtown right now, and it’s going to take continued investment, partnerships, and community support to keep that going. We’re excited to be part of that and to help lead where we can,” added Galick-Carney.
Then in November 2025, after being vacant for several years, the site of the former Ledger Furniture store in downtown Copperas Cove gained a new occupant, Five O’L Heifers, which relocated from Cove Terrace Shopping Center.
Co-owners Joan Kelley and Deborah Maaninga opened their first store four years ago. The downtown location features more than 6,000 square feet of home décor, new and refinished furniture, boutique clothing, gifts, and more. The store occupies most of the west side of the historic property.
The historic downtown building was once home to a pharmacy, a mercantile, and a blacksmith shop and is part of the city’s historic downtown.
Another vacant storefront in downtown was filled last fall – 115A West Avenue D, a few doors down from the Cove Theater. The Armament Shop relocated from Belton.
Business owner Jason Stevens likes the foot traffic that comes with his business’ new location – and the literal downtown traffic with vehicles passing through. Stevens sells firearms, suppressors and is also a federally licensed FFL who accepts transfers – so customers can pick up orders closer to home instead of traveling to another city to pick up their order.
In late 2025, another business relocated downtown. With its eclectic speakeasy style, The Bookstore Barber salon had been in Cove Terrace Shopping Center. However, the shop’s lease was not renewed due to Public Storage wanting to turn shopping center space into more storage.
Thus, owners Nikki Whitworth-Reazola and Lupe Reazola were forced to leave but found a welcoming space downtown at The House on Main, a café and salon and shop located at 303 S. Main St.
More new business is on the horizon in downtown Copperas Cove.
Joann and Christopher Courtland are transforming the vacant space at 107 W. Avenue D into Sober Sips, a non-alcoholic bar. They are hoping to open by the end of April.
With all the activity downtown, locals know that there is still much to be done to make more improvements downtown.
The Copperas Cove Economic Development Corporation successfully launched its BIG program – Business Improvement Grant program, which awards grants to businesses – not just downtown – to make upgrades and changes to their shop space.
The CCEDC likewise brought in the Texas Downtown Association last fall to visit with downtown businesses and draft a report on things that could be improved downtown.
City officials, as well as the chamber and the CCEDC recently met to discuss the TDA’s findings and recommendations, and there will be more to come regarding those discussions.
One of the matters to tend to is taking care of drainage issues downtown, something that City Manager Ryan Haverlah acknowledged at a recent city council meeting.
“We’ve already had the discussion that if we don’t address the things underneath first before we start trying to do things above, we’re going to redo what we do above to address what’s underneath,” Haverlah said. “So it’s those utilities that are underground that we really need to for have an initial focus on, and there’s some grant opportunities to try and do some of those things.”
Haverlah said the city bid out the waterline replacement in the 2020-2021 timeframe, and the bid at that time came in when prices “skyrocketed”, so the city rejected that bid.
He said the city council can reallocate funding to actually replace those water lines and it is not a “dead” project.
“We have numerous businesses that have developed, renovated buildings, purchased buildings, put in businesses downtown. It is becoming a very vibrant downtown,” Haverlah said.
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