Texas Tom's (US 40, Independence)

Texas Tom’s on 40 Highway is the newest unit to carry Kansas City’s oldest fast-food name — a burger, tender and catfish stand at 10690 E US 40 in Independence, Missouri, that appeared in early 2025 and had residents of the Independence community Facebook group asking whether “the new Texas Tom’s on Forty Highway” was open yet. Tom Nigro’s chain had 26 stores when he sold in 1983; the survivors are independently run, and this one — open until midnight most nights and 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays — is the first new Texas Tom’s in Eastern Jackson County in the modern era. Reviewers single out the chicken tenders, “big, crispy, meaty,” and prices lower than the other units.

Description

The store is on US 40 in Independence, east of the I-70 interchange in the highway-commercial strip that also holds Charlie D’s Express at 12323 E US 40 a mile and a half east.¹² It is a carryout-first stand with the family’s late license — midnight Sunday through Thursday, 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays — and third-party delivery through DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub.¹ Yelp files it as “Fast Food” with a listing updated July 2026; the Better Business Bureau opened a file on it in March 2025 and rates it C-, citing one unanswered complaint and, tellingly, the short “length of time business has been operating.”³⁴

Roadtrippers describes “a fast-food fried restaurant offering chicken tenders, catfish baskets, and burritos,” and relays reviewers’ verdict that the tenders are “big, crispy, meaty” and the pricing competitive with other Texas Tom’s units; delivery reviewers report food “fresh and still hot.”¹ The Facebook page’s early promotion led with cheesy tater tots, and the Instagram account — twelve followers, posts through May 2025, bio promising “the delectable flavors of American fast food, freshly prepared with the finest ingredients” — has highlight reels in Spanish alongside English.⁵⁶ No first-party menu or price list exists online; see Menu.

Ownership and history

The chain. Tom Nigro created Texas Tom’s in 1953; the first store, at 8401 Winner Road, was conceived as an ice-cream shop and briefly called Frigid Cream, and by the 1983 sale the chain numbered 26 stores in and around the metro.⁷ Since then the name has been carried by independent operators — the Chaudhris on Linwood (texas-toms-linwood), Ali Nazam on Prospect (texas-toms-prospect), unnamed owners on Independence Avenue and in KCK — rather than a company; who bought the chain in 1983 and how the name is used by new entrants like this one is not documented. The fuller lineage is on the 7th & Quindaro page.

This store. The US 40 unit is the only Texas Tom’s known to have opened in the 2020s. Its Facebook page, created with a 2025-series page ID, was promoting the store by February 11, 2025; the Independence Community Awareness Facebook group carried a thread titled “Is the new texas toms on forty highway open?” around the same time; the BBB opened its file on March 11, 2025; and the store’s Instagram account posted daily through late April and early May 2025.⁵⁸⁴⁶ Who owns it, whether the operator is connected to any other Texas Tom’s, and what occupied 10690 E US 40 before it are all undocumented. A separate two-store operator now runs Texas Tom’s units in Liberty and Gladstone under the domain texas-toms.com; no source links it to this store.⁹ The 2013 memory thread places a long-gone Texas Tom’s “on Blue Ridge,” but not on 40 Highway; this appears to be a new site for the name rather than a revival.¹⁰

Links

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Texas-Toms-61572979373515/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tomstexas/
• Roadtrippers (address, hours): https://maps.roadtrippers.com/us/independence-mo/food-drink/texas-tom-s-independence-mo—0
• BBB profile: https://www.bbb.org/us/mo/independence/profile/restaurants/texas-toms-0714-1000066911
• Sister pages: texas-toms-linwood · texas-toms-prospect · texas-toms-independence-avenue · texas-toms · texas-toms-leavenworth-road

Menu

Not verified. No website, first-party ordering page or menu board for the US 40 store was findable; items above are drawn from directory descriptions and the store’s own social posts (cheesy tots), and prices are not recorded. The Leavenworth Road and Prospect units’ sites list the family’s standard board (Texan Burger, Taco Burger, double junior cheeseburger, chili cheese tots, gyros, catfish baskets, wings, milkshakes), which is likely close to what is sold here.¹¹¹²

Sources

Footnotes

1. Roadtrippers — “Texas Tom’s, Independence.” Retrieved 2026-08-29. https://maps.roadtrippers.com/us/independence-mo/food-drink/texas-tom-s-independence-mo—0 — Confirms: 10690 E US Hwy 40, Independence, MO 64055; (816) 469-5003; hours Sun–Thu 10 a.m.–12 a.m., Fri–Sat 10 a.m.–1 a.m.; “fast-food fried restaurant offering chicken tenders, catfish baskets, and burritos”; reviewer verdicts (“big, crispy, meaty” tenders; competitive pricing vs. other Texas Tom’s). ↩ ↩² ↩³

2. Charlie D’s Seafood and Chicken — official website, “Our Locations.” Retrieved 2026-08-29 — Confirms: Charlie D’s Express at 12323 E US Hwy 40, Independence, MO 64055, on the same highway strip. ↩

3. Yelp — “Texas Tom’s — Updated July 2026 — 10690 E US Hwy 40, Independence, Missouri — Fast Food.” — Confirms: address; category; listing active 2026. Body not machine-readable. ↩

4. Better Business Bureau — “Texas Tom’s | BBB Business Profile,” Independence, MO. Retrieved 2026-08-29 — Confirms: address; phone; BBB file opened 2025-03-11; not accredited; C- rating for one unanswered complaint and “length of time business has been operating”; principals listed only as “Owner/Manager, Owner.” ↩ ↩²

5. Texas Toms — Facebook page “Texas Toms | Independence MO.” — Confirms: a page for the Independence store (page ID in the 2025 series); a post of 2025-02-11 promoting the store and cheesy tater tots surfaced in search-engine results. Page body not machine-readable on 2026-08-29. ↩ ↩²

6. Texas Toms (@tomstexas), Instagram, “Independence, MO.” Retrieved 2026-08-29 — Confirms: bio (“Indulge in the delectable flavors of American fast food, freshly prepared with the finest ingredients”); 12 followers; posts dated 2025-04-25 through 2025-05-02; Spanish-language highlight reels. ↩ ↩²

7. Charles Ferruzza, “Texas Tom’s is back! Linwood location reopens,” The Pitch, 2014-03-03 — Confirms: Tom Nigro, 1953; 8401 Winner Road / Frigid Cream; 26 units at the 1983 sale (Michael Bushnell); the Chaudhris’ Linwood reopening. ↩

8. Independence Community Awareness (Facebook group) — thread “Is the new texas toms on forty highway open?” — Confirms: the store was “new” and its opening a question among residents; date and replies not machine-readable. Companion thread: facebook.com (“Texas Tom’s location on 40 highway”). ↩

9. Texas Tom’s — texas-toms.com, a two-location site. Retrieved 2026-08-29 — Confirms: units at 600 Rte 291, Liberty, MO 64068 ((816) 222-4057) and 6250 N Oak Trafficway, Gladstone, MO 64118 ((816) 503-6033); “classic American fast food with a touch of Texas flavor”; online ordering disabled at both; no mention of the Independence store. ↩

10. Yelp Talk — “What Happened To Texas Tom’s? | Kansas City,” thread of 2013-07-07 to 07-12 — Confirms: remembered closed units including one “on Blue Ridge”; none on 40 Highway. Anecdotal; used only as labeled. ↩

11. Texas Tom’s — official website of the Leavenworth Road unit. Retrieved 2026-08-29 — Confirms: a separate site and operator for 3800 Leavenworth Rd, KCK; the family’s standard board. ↩

12. Texas Tom’s Prospect — official website. Retrieved 2026-08-29 — Confirms: a separate site and operator for 6950 Prospect Ave; the family’s standard items. ↩