History on Carmine Cafes, Restaurants

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A piece of Carmine history about cafes and restaurants.

In the “History of Carmine” by Tony Buban, there are photos of Siebel’s Café in 1936, owned by Edgar Siebel and also Highway Café in 1948 showing Mr. and Mrs. Leroy Levien and Peggy Ponfick. Both located at what is now the Firemen’s Annex, 201 Centennial. Then later, it was Branch’s Place, owned by Branch and Nelita Neutzler, which closed in the late 60’s.

Paul Wolff had a café on the east side of Hauptstrasse about halfway between Hwy. 290 and Augsburg Ave.

Jim Jaster opened a café and beer joint in the 1930’s which was located in the strip center on the south side of Hwy. 290. Leroy Levien and brother Smokey Levien owned it for a short while. Then Bennie Weber owned it the 1950’s and 1960’s. Quite a few years later it was called Horsefeathers. Ronnie and Donna Mueller opened it as Cafe Carmine and served food there from 1993-1995. Years later food was again served there for a short time and it was called The Crooked Floor Café.

On the west side of Hauptstrasse, south of Hwy. 290, Leroy and Lucille (Toodle) Levien built a café in the early 1940s or 1950s and called it Levien’s Café. In the mid 1960s, they sold it to Melvin and Alida Zwernemann and they renamed it The Village Café. Max and Ira Bell Bathe bought it in the early 1970s and called it The Village Restaurant. In about 1978, a couple, Alex Klepack and partner Norma, operated the restaurant. Then in 1979, Jack and Jo Littlejohn were the proprietors. They sold it to some young people from Houston in 1981 who called it The Lone Wolf. Dolly and Steve Armatys served food there beginning in 1982. Then it became Rheinlander, where German-style food was served. It closed in the mid 1980s.

The Spur was in the Ullrich Chevrolet building. Evelyn and Vernon Plueckhahn served food there in the early 1970s.

Melba and Randy Zingelmann built Zing’s Restaurant on the south side of Hwy. 290 East in 1984 and operated it for about six years. Patti Mertz ran it from 1990 until about 2000. Then a Mexican Food restaurant was there for about a year.

The Coop, owned by Cindy Adamcik, opened in the early 2000s and was open for several years. It was located in the building that Otto and Trena Ullrich built in 1969 and was known as Ullrich’s Drive In, along Hwy 290. Elmo and Bernice Eichler opened Eichler’s Drive In about 1974 and later served burgers for a short time.

The Heritage Haus Tea Room was located in the twostory Herbert Noak house, located where the Village Market is today. It was owned by Betty and Lyndon Sommer in the early 2000s.

The Pie Shack, owned by Vickie and Darrel Neutzler was open from August 2016 until November 2018 on the north side of Hwy. 290 at 115 Thigpen.

JW’s Steakhouse opened in 2008 by Jeff and Kristi Wunderlich, and still serves meals today. Food is also served at the Village Market and 4-G.

Carmine Cemetery Decoration

The Carmine Cemetery Decoration service will be held this Sunday, May 15 at 2 p.m. at the cemetery pavilion. Rev. David Tinker will lead the service.

RT-C School News

Round Top-Carmine High School Baseball team’s bi-district playoff game with High Island was held at Waller High School on May 6.

RT-C Girls Track Team participated in the Region 4 meet at Challenger, Columbia Stadium in League City on April 29 and 30. They were the third-place team in class 1A.

Congratulations to Ilse Salinas who will be participating at the state 1A track meet the second week of May. She qualified in four events – 100m, 200m, long jump, and triple jump. She was first in the long jump and triple jump, second in the 200m, and third in the 100m. Good luck at state.

Other results are as follows: 4x200 relay runners Egypt Woods, Ilse Salinas, Mallory Krause, and Tess Eilers placed 3rd; 4x400 relay runners Bailey Pitts, Daylin Pitts, Jill Eilers, and Mallory Krause placed 8th; Kennedy Flinn placed 6th in the 800m, 8th in the 400m, and qualifier in high jump; Maggie Salinas placed 7th in both the 1600m and 3200m; Fernanda Cerda-high jump qualifier; Jill Eilers-400m qualifier; Kinsley Bage-3200m qualifier; Mallory Krause-triple jump qualifier; and Tess Eilers-triple jump qualifier.

The letters and forms are now available on the RTC ISD website concerning transfer students. If you are unable to access the online forms, please call (979) 249-3200 and a hard copy will be provided.

New-student Enrollment Packet is also currently on the rtcisd website for print out.

Mark your calendars for May 17, when the High School Band Spring Concert will be held at Festival Hill in Round Top at 6:30 p.m.

Carmine VFD

Carmine Volunteer Fire Department drill night will be Thursday, May 12 at 7 p.m.

To rent the Firemen’s Annex, contact Jennifer Mohr at 979- 716-1377.

Blood Drive

A Blood Drive is scheduled for Sunday, May 22 from 9:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. in the Martin Luther Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall. Appointments can be made by contacting khardin@giveblood.org or by logging into your established Digital Donor account.

The drive is in conjunction with Bethlehem Lutheran Church of Round Top. Each donor will receive a beach towel. Walk-ins are encouraged and welcome in vacant sign-up slots.

Memorial Day Ceremony

A Memorial Day Ceremony will be held on Monday, May 30 at 9 a.m. at the Carmine City Park.

For any veteran with Carmine connection who are buried in Fayette or Washington Counties, to be added to the roster, call (979) 278-3070.

Martin Luther WELCA

The Martin Luther Lutheran Church Women of the ELCA will host a salad pot-luck supper on Wednesday, June 1 at 6:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. It will be a salad potluck meal with the theme “Celebrate Children.” There also be food that is “kid-friendly,” as children are encouraged to attend with their mother and/or grandmother.

First Communion

Four young persons received their first Holy Communion at Martin Luther Lutheran Church on Maundy Thursday, April 14. They were Brenner Bishop, Seth Kelley, Reese O’Malley, and Emily Ortiz.

Waldeck Lutheran Picnic

Waldeck Lutheran Church Annual Picnic is Sunday, May 22. There will be a hamburger meal, homemade ice cream, cake walk, country store, corn hole, and a bounce house/water slide. There will also be a drawing at approximately 12:30 p.m.

Meal tickets are $10 and tickets for the drawing are $20 each or three for $50. Both are available in the Martin Luther Lutheran Church office.

Bunco Group

The Bunco Group of Carmine and Round Top met April 28 at the home of Leonita Sanders.

The results were: Colette Wunderlich-Most games; Nancy Eilers-Second most games; Cathy Gau-Most Buncos; Marie Loewe-Least games; and Linda Levien-Consolation.

Other players included Becky Dunham, Debbie Jacob, Debbie Eckert, Lanette Williams, Darlene Etzel, and Susan Bathe. All had an enjoyable evening.

MLLC News

Rebekah Group meets Thursday at 2 p.m.

The Crossroads Shared Ministry Meeting will be at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Round Top Saturday from 9-10:30 a.m.

Saturday worship with Holy Communion is at 6 p.m.

Sunday School is Sunday at 9 a.m.

Worship with Holy Communion observing the Fifth Sunday of Easter is at 10 a.m. Four youth will be confirmed. The service will also be on the mllccarmine.com website. The Rev. David Tinker is the pastor.

There will be a brunch reception honoring the Confirmation class and all ages of graduates (Pre-K, Kindergarten, High School, College, Trade School).

Quilting for Lutheran World Relief is Monday at 9 a.m.

Recycle Trailer

The Recycling trailer is at the Carmine Hall on Thursdays from noon until 4 p.m.

Attendants are available to help unload dry newspapers, telephone books, magazines, cardboard, paper, junk mail, clean no. 1 and no. 2 food grade plastics (milk cartons should be separated from other plastic), all colors glass, steel food cans, and aluminum cans.

The trailer is in Ledbetter from 8:30-11 a.m., also on Thursdays, behind the Ledbetter Fireman’s Hall.

Carmine Chamber

Carmine Chamber of Commerce Visitors’ Center at the restored Train Depot is open on the second and fourth Fridays and Saturdays of the month from 10-2.

Birthdays

Birthday wishes are extended to Ava Kelley-May 10; Bev Cucuzza and RaChelle Kuecker-15; and Sierra Richard and Mary Zajicek-16.

Have News?

If you have news for the Carmine column, you may email me at w5ten@industryinet.com or call (979) 278-3645, or send it to P.O. Box 95, Carmine, TX 78932.