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By KIT WEST Keeping the original rookarchitecture extensive repairsIa Bazaar del Artes, a were made to the buildingsblock-wide arcade of arts,crafts, foods and boutiques located at 225 W. Main, isbeginning its third season as a tourTST meeca and a familycenter for browsing, eating and shopping.The mall-type arcade isowned by Mr. and Mrs George (Connie) Rubak who purchased it from G.E. Lehmann and Gordon Monroe in July of last vear.Described as unique and “a place with atmosphere byhundreds of guests from over the United States, the mall shops are housed in rock buildings which once comprised Kerrville’s first tourist court.According to local historians, the site first was known as Loeb Courts which were built in the late 1920s or early 1930s The court had tiny collages with a carport barely large enough to accommodate a Model T Ford. The location was then at the extreme edge of town As the years went by, the place changed hands and the properly was allowed to run down...becoming somethingless than a beauty spotAll that changed when l^eh mann and Monroe purchased the site, three years ago. renovated it and made it into a show placethemselves An extended cedar-shake roof was added to one side of the block-long area and 12 by 12 timber supports from the old Kerrville ice house which had been torn down were used The ice house had been built in 1874 and some of the yellow pine timbers actually have 115 “tree rings which can be counted todav bv anyone willing to take the lime to do soHock used to build the wishing well fountain came from the old telephone building and the fountain head of the wishing well, with the dale 1886 plainly visible, came from a well on the former Louis Schreiner ranchMr and Mrs. R C. Totten served as the first general managers of I,a Bazaar del Artes Totten had served as senior preparator of exhibits at the Los Angeles County Museum in California for many years before coming hereOriginally there were 22 shops and renters designed the interiors of the various boutiques to their own tastes. In the past two vears, several of the places have been linked together to make additional room for other types of firms.Former Dallas residents, Mr and Mrs. Bubak had never heard of Kerrville until eightyears ago when they visited friends here for Thanksgiving, and they “fell in love with the area,” From then on. they made six trips to the Hill Country each year and finally bought some land here near the river because it was so beautiful. Also, they were tired of big city life and wanted lheir six-vear-old son tow 'grow up in a smaller city.Bubaks first change in La Bazaar was to combine and remodel three smaller shops into one large one where he has opened the “Steak Haus, a restaurant and cocktail lounge Fronting on the Main Street side of the mall, the new glass-walled restaurant looks out into the semi shaded courtyard provided by overhead latticework The column supports of the extended deck are coveredwith trumpet vinesBubak decided to featureauthentic German food along with regularAmerican dishessuch as steak and some of the old-country recipes for pork chops, dumplings, sauerkraut, sauerbraten and wiener schnitzel which have been in his family for generations.Bubak’s mother is a native of Czechoslovakia and his father's parents came to the United Slates from Germany, setting in the Victoria area “Anyone with the name of Schiller in that part of Texas is a relative. said GeorgeThe Bubaks (George's brother. Frank) is a partner in the Steak Haus have plans forthe new dinery which go “straight up! This involves opening the upper deck of the restaurant to create a new outdoor lounge where bright awnings and tables will create afirst ,. a second-storysidewalk cafe and loungeThere are several special“touches in the Steak Haus such as a fire-engine-red cash register that is 60 years old A huge mirror reflect s t he colorful decorations, and newel posts separate the cocktail lounge tables from the red-leather-upholstered bar areaThe lounge features a wide assortment of champagne and imported brandy, as well as all kinds of beer including “Lowenbrau, which was firstbrewed in 1383Other immediate plans callfor strolling musicians and other family-type entertainment .Oiher firms now operating in 1-a Bazaar include JamesAvery, Craftsman, MexicanIndian Curios, Cantina Mexican Restaurant. Taylor's Closet, The Clothes Horse, The Potter’s Wheel. Ken and Mary’s Now Shop. I^a Bazaar Gifts and Decorative Things, Marguerite’s Massage Parlor,, The leathery. Studio M-3 Antiques and Price Real Estate.Wednesday, May 31, 1973 KERRVIILI Trr- DAILY TIMES—3BKERRVILLE 'S LA BAZAAR DEL ARTES
Newspaper Details
Kerrville Daily Times
Kerrville, Texas, US
Wed, May 31, 1972
Page 15
Full Page
Clipped by
Belinda F.
TX, USA 15 Feb 2020
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