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New Life for Bandera's Cabaret Dancehall

To many in Bandera, the Cabaret is a national treasure, an historic landmark, having been on Main Street for 70 years. Many a young man and woman had their first dance there, their first kiss, their first longneck. Well, it has been sitting empty for at least 2 years now (seems to be more) while new drinking and dancing establishments have cropped up to take it's place. But not in the heart of the Bandera faithful, the Bandera Community Foundation recently met to discuss the possibility of a purchase by the foundation to give it new life as a museum and multipurpose facility.

The Foundation has 60 days to raise the $315,000 to purchase the 12,000 square foot building, by having fundraisers, soliciting donations from the community or securing grants. Sounds like a monumental task, but not for the foundation, with their "can do" attitude. The cause is great, the plans large, a western swing music museum, a local radio station, a hall for special events and entertainers- a huge draw for the town and a magnet for tourists. May they suceed in their endeavor!

Posted by Mary Jo Schaffer Bandera Texas Real Estate on 02/13/2008 08:21 PM

Comments (8)

bandera cabaret, bandera saloons, tourist attractions in bandera texas, bandera real estate

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8 Comments on New Life for Bandera's Cabaret Dancehall

FEB

2008

Mary Jo-my husband and I have visited Bandera many times and always enjoyed going to the Cabaret after a round of golf at the Flying L accross the river.

Shirley, Hopefully soon you will be able to again visit the Cabaret after golf at the Flying L. I think it won't be too hard to raise the money they will need.

FEB

2008

Hi Mary Jo, I hope they get the money. I love the Cabaret. It has so many memories for so many people that have come to Bandera over the years. It needs to be saved and turned into something worthwhile. Wishing y'all success.

APR

2008

What is the status of the effort by the Bandera Community Foundation to purchase the Cabaret? It would be wonderful if they or someone could bring it up to code and make it a viable venue again. As a Helotes native I have been to the Cabaret many times over my 64 years. I like to see these historic places preserved. Good Luck to the Foundation.

Ann

Ann, The latest information that I have is that an individual has bought the Cabaret and plans to rent the Dance hall to the Foundation for the events that they have planned. What exactly are the financial details, I'm not aware of, but the fact that it will continue to be used for musical events is just great! I will keep you posted on the progress of the endeavor.

MAY

2008

Hi Mary Jo -

You and I met a while back. I am Mary Schenk and I am the recorded owner of the Cabaret. I found your comments and the responses to it in an Internet search and wanted to leave one of my own. Unfortunately, there has been a lot of information put out in newspapers (not to mention on the street!) and some of it has been incorrect. There is indeed an individual buying the Cabaret and I will leave it to him to make any and all announcements once we get to closing. There were articles in the BULLETIN and the COURIER this past week and some of that information was just slightly off center as well. We will close this month. I fought the misconception that the building was closed due to code violations for sometime. That was never true. Nor were there at anytime plans to tear it down - at least not on my part! I had no intention of reopening or running a business like that again, but I also wanted to find a buyer who was capable of doing proper renovations and bringing the building back as befits this Texas music icon. I believe that will now be done, altho what his ultimate plans for it are, I can't say. As always, there is a lot more to the story than rumor and innuendo would indicate, but you now have the bottom line directly from "the horse's mouth."

Mary A. Schenk

MAY

2008

Mary, Thanks so much for the update! I am hoping that things work out for everyone concerned, and that Bandera preserves the rich history of the Cabaret.

FEB

Please visit the web site below for the ltest update on the Cabaret. The plans and timescales are all there.

www-bandera-cabaret.com

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