Tomball pickle man: The story behind the mysterious statue
TOMBALL, Texas (KTRK) -- If you drive down Main Street in downtown Tomball, you can't miss it.
Maybe you notice the hat first. There's a vest, too. No pants, but some big shoes.
And, a pizza pie?
"It's an icon, seriously," described one Tomball resident.
It may not look like it, but it is a statue of a pickle.
And, it is, in fact, iconic.
Fifth generation Tomballian Mitchell Holderrieth owns the statue.
His family used to operate a furniture store in the same location.
In the 1990's, they leased the property to an Italian restaurant who built the statue to advertise fried pickles.
"He created the pickle man," Holderrieth laughed. "So, no matter the stories you've heard or the names, it's a pickle."
Holderrieth said the statue was originally painted green and the jacket was black, to resemble a tuxedo.
"The gloves were white," he explained while pointing to the statue. "That was a pizza, this disc, and the top hat was black."
Since then, the property has been home to a lot of businesses, with a lot of ideas for the statue.
One business owner's request to paint the pickle in patriotic colors was granted.
Another request to add a fog machine to make the pickle look like a marijuana joint was not granted.
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