TV Restaurants

Is Mac & Ernie's Roadside Eatery Still Open? Update (Tarpley, TX)

Open verified

As of September 2026, Mac & Ernie's Roadside Eatery is open — confirmed via the restaurant's current website/social account, accessed May 2026.

Primary source
Yelp ·
Secondary source
Tripadvisor ·

Last verified

What the source shows: Yelp's May 2026 update and Tripadvisor's July 2026 update both show Mac & Ernie's Roadside Eatery in Tarpley, Texas posting current reviews and specific weekend hours.

  • Season / episode Season 1, Episode 1
  • Original air date
  • Address 11804 FM 470, Tarpley, TX 78883

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What happened after Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives?

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives' first-ever episode, 'Classics' (aired 2007-04-23), featured Mac & Ernie's Roadside Eatery, a burger stand along FM 470 outside Tarpley, Texas built around a hand-formed gourmet burger and fresh toppings. The eatery is a rural roadside restaurant and holds the distinction of being the first stop the show ever made. Yelp's May 2026 update showed the eatery still posting customer reviews and a Friday-through-Sunday schedule, with hours listed as Friday and Saturday 11 a.m.-4 p.m. and 5-9 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Tripadvisor's July 2026 update likewise showed continuing reviews for the same restaurant. The eatery's own website, macandernies.com, maintains a page listing specific dates it will be closed, consistent with the reduced weekend-only schedule.

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives featured Mac & Ernie's Roadside Eatery, a roadside eatery in Tarpley, Texas, in the episode "Takeout: Goin' Big and Bringin' Home," which aired on Food Network on 2021-03-05 and centered on large takeout orders.

Featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

Season / episode
Season 1, Episode 1
Original air date
Episode title
Classics
What was featured
gourmet burgers at a rural roadside eatery
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
Mac & Ernie's Roadside Eatery
Season / episode
Season 33, Episode 10
Original air date
Episode title
Takeout: Goin' Big and Bringin' Home
What was featured
Mac & Ernie's Roadside Eatery fare, on a big-takeout-order episode
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
Mac & Ernie's Roadside Eatery

Frequently asked questions

Is Mac & Ernie's Roadside Eatery still open in 2026?

As of September 2026, Mac & Ernie's Roadside Eatery is open — confirmed via the restaurant's current website/social account, accessed May 2026.

What happened to Mac & Ernie's Roadside Eatery after Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives?

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives' first-ever episode, 'Classics' (aired 2007-04-23), featured Mac & Ernie's Roadside Eatery, a burger stand along FM 470 outside Tarpley, Texas built around a hand-formed gourmet burger and fresh toppings. As of September 2026, Mac & Ernie's Roadside Eatery is open — confirmed via the restaurant's current website/social account, accessed May 2026.

Where is Mac & Ernie's Roadside Eatery located?

11804 FM 470, Tarpley, TX 78883. That is the address on the record as of September 7, 2026.

What season and episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives featured Mac & Ernie's Roadside Eatery?

Season 1, Episode 1 of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, first aired April 23, 2007. The episode is titled “Classics”.

What do reviews say since Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives?

Yelp's May 2026 update showed the eatery still posting customer reviews and a Friday-through-Sunday schedule, with hours listed as Friday and Saturday 11 a.m.-4 p.m. and 5-9 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m.-2 p.m. We summarise what dated sources report; we do not publish our own rating.

Every status on this site carries a confidence label and a date, and names the source it rests on. Read the Editorial & Corrections Policy for what each label means and how quickly we act on corrections. The questions above are generated from this record's own published fields — we never publish a question we cannot answer from the data.

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Visit info

Address
11804 FM 470, Tarpley, TX 78883
Venue type
restaurant
Official website
macandernies.com

Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.

Sources

  • Yelp — https://www.yelp.com/biz/mac-and-ernies-roadside-eatery-tarpley-2
  • Tripadvisor — https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g56744-Tarpley_Bandera_County_Texas.html
  • macandernies.com — http://www.macandernies.com/
  • Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, S33E10 "Takeout: Goin' Big and Bringin' Home" (Food Network, aired 2021-03-05)

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