You know what they say about Texas weather—wait five minutes and it’ll change. That couldn’t have been more true yesterday.
I had plans to attend the ribbon-cutting at Pride Rock Wildlife Refuge north of Terrell, but thanks to a classic Texas April forecast (aka totally unpredictable), the event was canceled. The forecast had been calling for “iffy” weather all the way from Thursday through Saturday, and—surprise!—it delivered.
Before checking on my horses, I made a quick detour into Terrell and ran into my friend David from Kaufman County Emergency Management at QT. If anyone knows when to take weather seriously, it’s him. He mentioned the storm would likely get nasty around 4 PM. That sealed the deal for me—I had a networking event on my calendar for that evening, but I made the call to cancel and play it safe.
Good thing I did.
By 2:15 PM, the skies opened up, and I shut down my computer and headed to bed with my pups Twix and Cuddles. Within the hour, tornado watches and warnings were blowing up my phone—texts, emails, calls… all of it. And not long after, the reports came in: a confirmed tornado had touched down northeast of Canton. It was one of those days where you thank your past self for making smart choices.
But here’s where this story takes a turn—from weather chaos to community magic.
Once things cleared up, my friend Lea texted: “You up for dinner at 3 Knocks?” I wasn’t exactly dinner-ready, but I said YES and got there in record time, we’re talking showered, dressed, at the restaurant in 18 minutes! (The restaurant is 5 minutes drive from my house btw)
And here’s the kicker—3 Knocks in Wills Point had just suffered a massive sewer flood the night before. An illegal sewer line (that no one even knew existed!) caused a major backup and flooded the entire restaurant with several inches of nasty water. They had to shut down immediately and send guests home with to-go boxes.
It was heartbreaking. This restaurant had just relocated from Van two weeks ago. The owners were devastated, and it looked like they’d have to close indefinitely. But y’all… this community showed UP.
By morning, local businesses and neighbors came together, rolled up their sleeves, and helped the owners clean, repair, and rebuild. And by 5 PM that same day, 3 Knocks reopened.
And let me tell you—the steak? 🔥 Absolutely phenomenal. One of the best I’ve ever had, and that’s saying a lot. So juicy, so flavorful, so worth every minute of the wild 24 hours leading up to it.
To Ryan and the team at 3 Knocks—thank you for the food, the resilience, and the reminder that Texas communities are as strong as Texas storms are unpredictable.
If you’re ever in Wills Point, do yourself a favor: go to 3 Knocks. And maybe bring a wheelchair to roll yourself out after dinner… you’ll be that full and that happy. 💯
