Back in November, I wrote a blog about the closing of the Elm Grove Inn. Even though I didn't visit the restaurant, which provided a fine dining experience for decades at 13275 Watertown Plank Rd. in Elm Grove, I was bummed that it closed.

I don't know how often I'll visit its replacement, the Silver Spur Texas Smokehouse BBQ, but I'm glad to have the chance.

You may remember hearing about the Silver Spur last year, when a massive fire destroyed the building at 19990 W. Greenfield Ave. That was on April 30. The new Silver Spur is slated to open April 27, with several members of the original staff and some art work making the move to the new location.

"We looked at many sites, but really wanted to find a building that had the perfect "feel," a message on the Silver Spur Web site says. "As all of you know, the Spur was more than just a restaurant, it was a gathering place for all our friends and family, a place where memories were made. The minute we walked through the doors, we knew we had found our home."

According to the Web site, the building was built in 1855 by Frank Reusch as a stagecoach stop on the historic Watertown Plank Road and also housed a blacksmith and livery stable. Two years later, a mercantile was added and it became the first post office in Elm Grove. Known as the Elm Grove Hotel, rooms were rented upstairs and horses stabled on the basement level. the Elm Grove Hotel remained in the Reusch family, operating as Reusch's Tavern in the fifties, until it was sold in 1963 and became the Elm Grove Inn. The building is the second oldest restaurant in the state.