The iconic Sulak’s Cafe in West has closed.

Owners Jerry and Sharon Mazanec have decided to move to Junction in the Texas Hill Country where they will serve their fare in Plumley’s Country Store. They also will start a real estate career there.

Sulak’s has been a thriving downtown eatery in West since 1923, when it was opened by Rudolph and Albina Sulak. It was passed down through two more generations before the Mazanecs bought it in 2007.

Jerry Mazanec said the couple would like to sell the building in West to someone wanting to operate a restaurant or kolache bake shop.

New buffet going in Ryan’s spot

A lease has been signed on the former Ryan’s Family Steakhouse building at Franklin Avenue and Valley Mills Drive that has been vacant since November.

Real estate agent Josh Carter confirmed that a group hopes to open a buffet restaurant and grill there sometime in August. It will be called A-1.

Carter said a local partnership that owns restaurants “in Waco and in other locations in Texas” is leasing the building. He said he’s not yet at liberty to identify the lessee, but said the group has promised to offer a variety of cuisines that Wacoans won’t find under one roof at other buffet restaurants.

Ryan’s opened its Waco restaurant in 1992. It had proved a popular dining destination for years, but a corporate spokeswoman for Ryan’s said the closing of the Waco restaurant was “part of a limited round of store closings involving underperforming locations.”

Grocery prices falling

Grocery prices are dropping.

That’s according to the Texas Farm Bureau’s Grocery Price Watch, an informal survey that evaluates 16 staple grocery items at various supermarkets across the Lone Star State.

The most recent price checks were taken June 21-27, and it showed that nine of the 16 items declined in price from the last survey taken in April, when the quarter began. The total bill dropped from $51.97 to $51.23.

Items showing a price decline were head lettuce, bread, long-grain rice, cheddar cheese, ice cream, turkey sandwich meat, milk, lean ground beef and skinless chicken breasts.

Those showing an increase were grapefruit, tomatoes, dried pinto beans, corn flakes, T-bone steaks and pork chops.

The price of a package of cake mix remained unchanged.

Homebuilder wins ‘green’ award

D.R. Horton, the largest homebuilder in America, has won a prestigious award for the “green” work it has been doing in the Central Texas market.

The Temple-Waco-Killeen office of D.R. Horton received the 2009 Excellence in Energy Performance Award from the Environmental Protection Agency.

The award recognizes homebuilders who construct the largest volume of homes with the lowest average index rating. The lower a home’s rating, the better its energy efficiency.

Energy Star homes, like those built by D.R. Horton, are typically 20 to 30 percent more efficient than standard homes.

Chamber of Commerce mixer

Wardlaw Claims Service, 2725 Texas Central Parkway, will host Business After Hours from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday.

Anyone with a business card is invited to this Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce mixer.

mcopeland@wacotrib.com

757-5736