Originally appearing on the "Interstate 35 in Waco" page and later on Numbered Exits we have Melodie Drive and Czech Inn Drive in West, Texas.

While KD's Smokehouse and its replacement, the Slovacek's Travel Center (Exxon) is still covered on the page, Melodie Drive acts as a two-way road for the businesses behind it as the frontage road itself became one way, with Czech Inn Drive connecting it to said frontage road. The first of four businesses that we will cover is 114 Melodie Drive. The hotel opened as Czech Inn in January 2006, built by Jerrell Bolton (who owned the car dealership behind the hotel), with its address, 114 Melodie Drive, named after his late wife Melodie, murdered in a 1985 robbery. In the first half of 2013 it was rebranded as a Best Western amidst the construction of I-35 and around 2018 or 2019 was rebranded as a Holiday Inn Express & Suites, which it still is today.

The second of the businesses we'll cover is the restaurant in its parking lot, 100 Czech Inn. The first business according to tax records was "Mexspressos" but I can't find a business operating under that name (2005-2009), then Las Palmas Taqueria (2009-2011...possibly the same business as the former), then Montes Mexican Restaurant (2012 to 2021), then Smokin' Buns (not sure when this one existed, but it came and went) and vacant at that point forward (currently as of this writing, August 2026).

Next, we have the new 7-Eleven, not to be confused with the long defunct 7-Eleven catty-corner. This one legally has a Czech Inn address (200 Czech Inn) and opened in 2019 but uses the address of 21735 N IH-35.

Finally, we have Golden Trails Senior Apartments that opened around 2021 at 314 Melodie Drive. Not much to say about that one.

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