Spanky’s Homestyle Cooking is one of thousands of Freestone & Leon County businesses and homes that are part of Spectrum’s upgrades.

FREESTONE COUNTY, Texas — The lunch rush at Spanky’s Homestyle Cooking is marked by a packed gravel parking lot and plenty of people packed into the booths at the small diner located just south of the Richland-Chambers Lake in the town of St. Elmo in Freestone County.

The lunch special for the day: Chicken Quesadillas, Rice & Beans with guacamole is written on a white board and served cafeteria style by Ms. Joy as she’s known to the customers.

For almost ten years, Spanky’s has been a staple.

“We are blessed to have the customers that we have and to be a part of this community,” said Co-Owner Vanesa Solis.

“Spanky” is the namesake.

“It’s not a nickname,” said Spanky Solis. “It’s on my driver’s license. I have to show it every day to prove it,” he laughed.

His parents John & Joy Solis sat in a corner booth to explain how John’s love for The Little Rascals tv show ended up becoming the inspiration.

“I can tell you we fought over it the waiting room. He [John] was determined,” said Joy, Spanky’s mother.

“It stuck so that’s what we named him, “Spanky Roberto Solis,” said John.

Beyond the name, is the family behind the business that cares about each customer.

“My mother-in-law, my mother, my friend’s mom…they help run the show here and keep everybody fed,” said Vanesa.

“We actually call them the Golden Girls. We want it to be a family-owned business,” said Spanky.

But a small business shouldn’t mean a disconnected business.

For years, Spanky’s internet service couldn’t keep up.

“Our internet kept crashing. Which hurts our business because our registers run off wifi,” said Vanesa.

“It was constant. Three or four times in a month and that’s not good. We were out a week and a half one time. Once Spectrum came on board, we were like, let’s try it. It’s been amazing,” said Spanky.

As part of a multi-year, $7 billion rural initiative, more than 100,000 miles of fiber optic network infrastructure is being constructed by Spectrum across the country.

Including nearly 3,000 homes and businesses across rural Freestone and Leon Counties.

“It really changes the lives of the people in the communities in a major way,” said Spectrum’s Scott Horne.

“This is a cutting edge technology that goes right to the homes and businesses. That type of infrastructure in and of itself opens the doors to businesses who would like that have their business there,” said Horne.

Horne says the project is ahead of schedule and will wrap up in 2026.

It allows Spanky’s crew to focus on what they do best.

“We have a good time here,” said John. “We have a lot of people in the neighborhood that support us. It’s a close-knit group of customers and friends. Come on down! Join us. We’ll welcome you,” he said.