The Legend of Tomball’s Green Giant:
If you wander through the historic streets of Tomball, Texas, you might stumble upon a towering, peculiar figure that looks like it belongs in a quirky storybook. It’s the Pickle Man, a local landmark with a history as layered as a deep-dish pizza. To get the real scoop on this briny mascot, I went to visit Michael Dean Pierce at his shop, Cloud Chief & Co.
As it turns out, the story of the Pickle Man is a mix of small-town charm, a 30-year identity crisis, and a midnight “heist” that didn’t go exactly as planned. The Birth of a Briny Icon The story began in the late 1980s when a gentleman moved to Tomball to open a pizza joint. His specialty? Fried pickles. Long before fried pickles were a staple on every pub menu, this entrepreneur was handing out samples to commuters waiting for the train. He became a local fixture, and to cement his brand, he commissioned a giant fiberglass pickle statue. The statue was handcrafted by a local auto detailer and pinstriper, based on a sketch drawn by the owner’s nephew, Vinnie. For a few years, the green Pickle Man reigned supreme. But between city red tape and the struggles of small business, the original owner eventually “gave up the ghost” and moved on.
From Pickle to “Doobie”
When a new owner took over the building, they weren’t quite sure what to do with a giant green vegetable. Their solution? A patriotic makeover. They painted the statue red, white, and blue. However, the color scheme had an unintended consequence. Because of its shape and the new stripes, the statue began to resemble a “left-handed cigarette.” For the next 30 years, the Pickle Man was rebranded by the public as the “Doobie Man.” While local kids and counter-culture fans found it hilarious – even sparking a wave of “Get Baked Daily” t-shirts and 4:20 pizza jokes – many long-time Tomballians were less than thrilled with their town’s unofficial mascot being a giant joint.
The Midnight Restoration
Michael Dean Pierce decided it was time to bring back the original spirit of Tomball. He approached the current owner with a proposal: Let’s turn the Doobie Man back into the Pickle Man. But Michael, having a flair for the dramatic, added a twist. “I said, ‘Well, do it, but we only do it if you allow me to pretend that we did it in the middle of the night without your permission,'” Michael laughs.
The goal was to stir up a little harmless chaos. They wanted the town to wake up, see the change, and get fired up. They expected a local scandal; instead, they got a standing ovation. “The exact opposite happened,” Michael says. “Everybody was elated. We became heroes. We ended up making about 20 stoners mad and the entire town happy.”
A Legacy Preserved
The restoration did more than just clean up the statue’s reputation; it reunited a family. After the repaint, the children of the original owner traveled all the way from Pennsylvania to see their father’s creation restored to its former glory. Today, the Pickle Man stands tall and green once again. If you look closely at his pizza, you might even see a few pennies tucked away -local tradition says if you make a wish on the Pickle Man’s pizza, it just might come true.
As for the million-dollar question: Is Michael Dean Pierce a pickle fan? Despite his shops embracing the Pickle Man, Michael admits “I’ve never actually liked pickles. I’ve spent my life picking them off burgers.”
But even if pickles aren’t your thing, the Pickle Man could become your new favorite piece of Tomball history too. The Pickle Man is a piece of Tomball history that proves some things are worth preserving – even if it takes a midnight paint job to do it.
