Are El Paso Village Inn’s Converting Into Butter Smith Eateries?

Are Butter Smith Kitchen & Pies slowly taking over Village Inn restaurants here in El Paso?

Village Inn is synonymous with our region, as is Whataburger and Luby's, and now it seems that the iconic restaurant may become a Butter Smith Kitchen & Pies.

Over the weekend, a friend and I were looking for a place to eat after 10 p.m., so we decided to hit up the Village Inn in East El Paso.

Much to our surprise, the Village Inn had been replaced by Butter Smith Kitchen & Pies. Apparently, the new eatery just opened a few weeks ago, so we decided to give it a try, but unfortunately, it was already closing for the night. Curious about whether this new joint was local or a national chain, I began to do some online sleuthing.

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It turns out that the company Verlander Enterprises LLC owns both Village Inn and Butter Smith Kitchen & Pies. And upon further discovery, all Butter Smith Kitchen & Pies are registered with the Texas Comptroller under the same physical address of all Village Inn El Paso locations.

On Instagram, Butter Smith Kitchen & Pies describes itself as:

Butter Smith is your neighborhood Café for comfort food, beer and wine set inside of a casual updated American Diner.

From what I can tell, Butter Smith Kitchen & Pies offers various breakfast, lunch, and dinner options, very similar to the Village Inn menu but also offers beer and wine selections.

Even though there is no confirmation that all Village Inn locations in El Paso will be converting to Butter Smith Kitchen & Pies, I suspect that at least one other site may be popping up.

If you look closely at the address list below, it shows that the Village Inn currently sitting empty on N Mesa is listed as a Butter Smith Kitchen & Pies location, which makes me believe the west side of town could soon see the new eatery.

But until that happens, I'll be more than happy to drive to East El Paso one more time to get a taste of what indeed looks to be a new favorite hot spot for comfort food, and a slice of gooey pie.

Village Inn Locations:

• El Paso – Airway: 1500 Airway Blvd., El Paso, TX 79925
• El Paso – Balboa: 6040 N. Mesa St., El Paso, TX 79912
  
• El Paso – Crossroads: 7801 N. Mesa St., El Paso, TX 79932
• El Paso – Gateway: 7144 Gateway E., El Paso, TX 79915
• El Paso – Hondo Pass: 4757 Hondo Pass, El Paso, TX 79925
• El Paso – Joe Battle: 3464 Joe Battle Blvd., El Paso, TX 79938
  
• El Paso – Trawood: 2275 Trawood Dr., El Paso, TX 79935
• El Paso – University: 2929 N. Mesa St., El Paso, TX 79902
• El Paso – Zaragosa: 1331 N. Zaragosa Rd., El Paso, TX 79936 (Now a Butter Smith Kitchen & Pies)
  

Butter Smith Kitchen & Pies Locations:

• Butter Smith Kitchen & Pies: 7144 Gateway Blvd E, El Paso, TX 79915
• Butter Smith Kitchen & Pies: 5863 N Mesa St, El Paso, TX 79912 (The old VI sits empty for now)
• Butter Smith Kitchen & Pies: 1500 Airway Blvd, El Paso, TX 79925
• Butter Smith Kitchen & Pies: 2275 Trawood Dr, El Paso, TX 79935
• Butter Smith Kitchen & Pies: 4757 Hondo Pass Dr, El Paso, TX 79904
• Butter Smith Kitchen & Pies: 2929 N Mesa St, El Paso, TX 79902-2532
• Butter Smith Kitchen & Pies: 7801 N Mesa St, El Paso, TX 79932-1623
• Butter Smith Kitchen & Pies: 1331 N Zaragoza Rd, El Paso, TX 79936 (Open location in El Paso)
  
• Butter Smith Kitchen & Pies: 3464 Joe Battle Blvd, El Paso, TX 79938-2638