Pulling onto the dirt and gravel parking lot — nestled under a canopy of live oak trees — the sounds of music and laughter pour out the front doors of the newly-constructed Mercer Street Dance Hall.
Fans have been flocking back to the new facility, just south of Dripping Springs on Ranch Road 12 since it re-opened at the end of 2018.
At a time when the rush has been to preserve aging dance halls across the Lone Star State, the relatively new kid on the block is enjoying its new digs in Driftwood.
“The Dotins have done an amazing job with Mercer Street Dance Hall,” said country singing sensation Kevin Fowler. “They’ve worked tirelessly to keep the Texas dance hall tradition alive.”
In the beginning
Nick and Gay Dotin began what became a wildly popular venue in 2013.
“The dance hall came into existence in an unusual way,” Nick said. “I got hurt playing golf. It was the sixteenth hole, par 5, and I crushed it — right down the middle.”
But something wasn’t right. Nick said he turned to his partner, alarmed at the feeling he had in his neck.
“I finished the round and bogied the hole. When I got home, I told my wife something was wrong,” he added. “The next day I went to a chiropractor who later suggested I get an MRI.”
The result was an exploded disc in his neck.
“The doctor told me he could fix it, but more importantly he told me if I didn’t quit smoking, I’d be dead in three years,” Nick said. “In fact, the doctor attributed the 35 years I spent as a smoker for contributing to my disc degeneration.”
A home builder/remodeler Nick was told he’d need to find a new job. That’s when daughter Shelby stepped in and suggested opening a dance hall.
“So, I was in downtown Dripping Springs, waiting on a doctor’s appointment and thought, ‘why not,’” Nick said. “I drove around and came upon a barn type building and thought, perfect.”
After researching Nick discovered the building was owned by H.C. Carter. It was about 10,000 square feet, but Nick needed only half.
“We spoke — negotiated — and came up with a figure we both could live with. I finished out the building rewiring it; put in plumbing; air conditioning … everything to code. The dance hall was born in February.”
Nick Dotin, the man behind the action.
Transition time
Usually, time and the elements are what takes its toll on most honky tonks. But, a contract dispute in 2018 spelled trouble for the dance hall.
“Unfortunately, Mr. Carter passed away and the agreement was being changed,” Nick said. “We tried to negotiate but we just couldn’t reach an agreement. In May 2018 we surrendered the keys to the dance hall.”
Nick said he and friends came together — he likened it to a “wake.”
“We took off a couple of weeks just to clear our heads,” he said.
After that, he said it was clear what they needed to do.
“I, with my Macedonian/Bulgarian ethnic hardheadedness thought, ‘Let’s build a new dance hall,’” Nick said. “We got our ducks in a row, filed our permits with the county, and began on June 22.”
Luckily Nick was able to cannibalize some of the material from the former location, a 25-ton air conditioner, wiring, etc. He then met with Kevin Herron, an architect who devised a plan.
“We started pouring a slab in July at 2 a.m. We had 17 concrete trucks lined up to pour more than 170 yards. Afterward, I worked alongside a framing crew, I lost 40 pounds during the effort.”
During the time of construction, Nick said they were able to keep their liquor license active with Little Mercer — a 1983 Airstream trailer fully equipped with all the accouterment to operate a bar. Adjacent to it was a picnic table and a taco trailer.
“Of course, we kept the name, changed the address, and my friends would come to play on the weekends,” Nick added.
As fall began to near Nick decided he wasn’t going to miss out on a tradition he’d established at the previous location which was to open the facility on Thanksgiving.
“We’ve always had a band and a Thanksgiving buffet – free to the public. This was going to be my sixth year and I wasn’t going to miss it,” he said.
On Thanksgiving Day, the Mercer Street Dance Hall was re-opened.
“Was this my dream? No. My dream was to play bass for Tom Petty – my favorite artist,” he said with a smile on his face. “One thing for sure. We don’t take anything for granted here.”
He said they appreciated all who stepped up and helped them.
“I think Mercer Street will become another legendary Texas dance hall,” Fowler said. “It’s a wonderful place.”
Other dance halls in the area:
Twin Sisters Hall, Blanco
Twin Sisters Hall, built by German immigrants in the nineteenth century, continues today to host public dances on the first Saturday of every month and to serve the community as a center for family functions, educational workshops and charitable functions.
Twin Sisters Hall maintains these traditional uses and activities to preserve the historic dance hall structure and a way of life in the Hill Country of Texas.
Sisterdale Dancehall, Sisterdale
Sisterdale Dancehall was built sometime between 1867 and 1884.
The property has some of the oldest buildings in Sisterdale. The stone block fort predates the Civil War.
In its early years, the dance hall was an opera house, dance hall and community center. Later it became a full-time dance hall with a community grocery store and post office next door. Music of all kinds flooded the dance hall during its long life. It even hosted George Strait in a Bud Light commercial; and Brooks and Dunn used the hall while filming their classic hit song “Red Dirt Road.”
Kendalia Halle, Kendalia
Several German halls were built in the area during the same time period and Kendalia Halle is one of the best examples of the architectural structure of these historical gems.
Built of red fir lumber, which was shipped from Oregon by train to Boerne, then hauled to Kendalia on horse-drawn wagons, Kendalia Halle is a testament to turn-ofthe-century buildings that stand today.
Kendalia Halle provides a fun and clean environment suitable for the entire family to experience one of the oldest historic dance halls in Texas.
The halle usually hosts dances and live music on Saturday evenings once a month.
Gruene Hall, Gruene
Gruene Hall, built in 1878, claims to be Texas’ oldest continually operating and most famous dance hall. By design, not much has physically changed since the Hall was first built. The 6,000 square foot dance hall with a high-pitched tin roof still has the original layout and open air dancing, a bar in the front, a small lighted stage in the back and a huge outdoor garden.
