Czech Stop

"This legendary gas station in West, TX, is home to what many people consider to be Texas’ finest kolaches. Whether or not that is true, the apricot, blueberry, and peach topping tucked into the yeasty dough will undoubtedly keep you satisfied all the way down I-35." - Courtney E. Smith, Amy McCarthy

"One of the sweetest diversions in the 200 miles between Dallas and Austin sits behind the gleaming yellow shell logo of a Shell Gas Station. In West, Texas, just past the gas pumps in a large, wood-paneled building, you’ll find Czech Stop & Little Czech Bakery, purveyor of fresh Czech pastries—along with the coffee, travel pillows, and tamales that make it a Texas rest stop. Many of the pastries that fill the wide deli cases are variations on the kolache (koh-LAH-chee) and klobasnek (kloh-BAH-snik), respectively the sweet and savory versions of a yeasty, stuffed Czech pastry that is one of Texas’s beloved road foods. Kolaches are the pride of the “Czech belt” of central Texas. In 1859, a Czech reverend moved to the state to preach to local German Protestants, seeding a diaspora that now includes more than 200,000 Texans of Czech descent. West, a town of 3,000 people that state officials have named the “Czech heritage capital of Texas,” saw its first Czech residents—farmers drawn by accessible land and a railroad depot—in the 1880s. Today, 75 percent of the town claims Czech heritage, and its residents dance in the Westfest Czech & Polka festival, pray at the Czech Protestant Brethren Church, and buy traditional Czech dresses at a local store. West is also rumored to be the birthplace of the klobasnek. Whereas kolaches—traditionally filled with cottage cheese, poppy seeds, and fruits—were brought to Texas by Czech immigrants, West’s Village Bakery claims that it invented the klobasnek in 1953 by encasing a kielbasa in kolache dough. State officials have since declared West “Home of the Official Kolache of the Texas State Legislature.” In the 1960s, Interstate 35 turned the rural town into a highway stop, and 15 years later, Bill Tolk founded a gas-station convenience store called Czech Stop to cater to the influx of travelers. With time, the convenience store’s pastries outshined the rest of its goods, and Tolk expanded the store’s bakery into the adjacent liquor store, adding “Little Czech Bakery” to Czech Stop’s name. Today, Czech Stop is I-35’s gateway to the Czech Belt’s baked delights, drawing some 600 far-flung visitors daily to this Central-Europe-meets-Central-Texas town. As Czech Stop welcomes visitors from all over the state, so too does it welcome myriad ingredients into its pastries. After filling up their gas tanks, some travelers clamor for the cream cheese kolache the bakery adapted from a local grandmother’s recipe; others for a pepperoni, pulled pork, or jalapeño sausage klobasnek. This is Texas, after all. Know Before You Go Czech Stop is a pilgrimage site for people driving between Dallas, Waco, Austin, and San Antonio, so be prepared to wait in line for your kolache. Also, although the convenience store has historically been a 24-hour operation, staffing shortages have forced them to limit their hours from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. as of July 10, 2022. They hope to go back to offering Czech treats around-the-clock as soon as possible." - Collector of Experiences, mamiefish, samuellinsommer, tvenezia08, Jason Michael Walker, SemiruralYeti

"In Texas, there is perhaps no road trip snack more coveted than the fluffy, yeasty kolaches and klobasniky. Sold at roadside bakeries and gas stations like the famed Czech Stop and Little Czech Bakery in West, and Hruska’s in Ellinger, these pastries have roots in Texas dating back to the 1840s, when Czech settlers found themselves in Texas following years of cultural upheaval in Central Europe." - Eater Staff

"This is a bustling bakery inside of a Shell station about 20 miles north of Waco. If you're road tripping you'll be stopping for gas at some point, so you should make sure to do it here, where you can also fill up on kolaches, cinnamon rolls, jalapeño poppers, and pepperoni puffs. Though there's often a line, the delectable baked goods behind the counter are enticing enough to make it worth the wait." - Tommie Ethington, Diana Oates

"While there are kolaches to be found east of Austin (hello, Hruska’s and Weikel’s), opt for the one-two-three punch of the best kolaches found in West, Texas with Czech Stop, Slovacek's (just across the street) and the nearby Gerik's Ole Czech Bakery (also known for its cinnamon rolls).Distance from Austin: approximately one hour and 45 minutes" - Nadia Chaudhury