LOCAL BUSINESS
There is a local cocktail bar that has been serving up stiff, delicious libations for years, which is now expanding their space. The Davenport, located at 194 South Guadalupe Street, has opened their back patio as a cocktail lounge, and owner Duane Bradley will be starting renovations soon to expand the bar’s indoor seating as well.
The city of San Marcos provided Bradley with a Covid-19 relief grant that paid for $12,000 of the outdoor renovations, which provided slightly less than half of the total cost. The now swanky patio lounge was formerly just a concrete square. He had always planned to make the patio a lounge but jumped at the chance when the funding became available. And for the rainy, sweltering or cold days, there will soon be increased indoor seating.
“We’re fixing to remodel that whole side of the bar; We’re removing the kitchen,” Bradley said. “It’ll be all lounge seating. We’re gonna basically move that whole lounge area back 10 feet.”
The new space will still have the signature mid-century modern design that Bradley is so fond of — the type of vibe that transports you straight to a time where the love is free, but the drinks are not.
Bradley has plans to make the time during the indoor renovations a smooth transition.
“What we’re going to do, in the first first stage, is run plastic just across that side from the front of that wall there,” Bradley said. “We’ll tape those windows up. We’ll put some construction tape across that for the construction zone. I’m going to take the plans, and I’m going to stick them to the wall.”
Bradley’s hoping a peek at the construction plans will give the customers a chance to feel involved in the process and get excited about what is to come. During the next stage of renovations, the wall dividing the former kitchen and seating area will be removed and the seating area will be deconstructed and redone. At some point, plastic siding will be installed, so the customers can see the space transform.
“There may be one or two days where we have to close down,” Bradley said. “We’re going to try to keep that as minimal as possible.”
With the kitchen will go The Davenport’s food offerings, a move that was the plan from the beginning. When the city approved their Conditional Use Permit around the time of the pandemic, bars were required to sell food. Now that it’s time to renew the permit, Bradley wants to go back to his original plan — cocktails only.
“A restaurant is designed for that. They want to turn tables,” he said. “A bar — you want the opposite. You want people to stay, so you end up with an expensive albatross.”
There is no need for the hungry Davenport regular to fret though as Bradley intends to partner with another below-thesquare business, Industry, for its food offerings. One will be able to order food while seated at the Davenport, and Industry will deliver it straight to the bar.
