La Grange Officials Discuss What Should Be Focus of La Grange Marketing/Branding Effort

bit hard to plug yourself in,” said Councilwoman Katie Gross. “But if you try hard and put yourself out there, you can plug in easily. La Grange people take care of La Grange people. We saw that after Hurricane Harvey, with the community coming together and taking care of all the people affected by that.”

“I think its getting easier for people to be accepted here,” said Councilwoman Kim Newton. “There are more and more people who’ve moved in who are not from here.”

“I’d say we have a very strong faith base here,” Weishuhn said. “Churches play a central role in most people’s lives.”

Vela asked the Council for other cities they admire. Some of the responses included Georgetown, Sugarland, Navasota, Brenham, Granbury, Wimberley and Fredericksburg.

Vela asked the Council how they think the residents view the city.

“I think there’s sort of a division,” Weishuhn said. “There are people who don’t want to change anything. But we are shifting to more people who are willing to change, but they want to know what that looks like.”

“And the why behind it – why are you doing what you are doing,” Gross said.

“And the money behind it,” Taylor said. “People here work hard and play hard, but they also don’t want to spend money frivolously. If you spend it, they want to know why and what it’s really going to do for them.”

Vela also asked the Council how they think visitors view La Grange.

“We have a great square,” said Councilman Bryan Kerr.

“People who come to town are usually passing through,” Taylor said. “They stop at Weikel’s. If you’re going to Austin or Houston, about 80 percent of them know where Weikel’s is. When I travel and tell people where I’m from, the first thing out of their mouth is Weikel’s.”

“I think people come here for daytrips,” Newton said. “I think it’s a good meeting spot for people.”

“When we have large groups of people, they’re coming for an event,” Gross said. “They’re coming for Oktoberfest or Wine Walk or a wedding. They’re not really vacationing here.”

Vela asked what sets La Grange apart from other cities.

“We’re a clean city,” Gross said. “There are a few pockets that need to be cleaned up. But for the most part, we are clean.”

Taylor agreed, saying the City’s investment in a street sweeper and bulk trash pickup helps greatly to keep the City clean.

Council members spoke a lot about amenities they wish La Grange could offer.

“Back in the day there was a movie theater downtown,” Newton said. “There was a bowling alley, there was a skating rink at the Fairgrounds. I think people want those things back.”

“People want those things, but they want the City to pay for those things,” Wieshuhn said. “They didn’t belong to the City.”

“Yeah, they were private businesses,” Newton said.

“There used to be dances at the KC Hall and the Round Up Club every weekend,” Taylor said. “People quit doing it. The KCs don’t have a dance anymore, because someone gets drunk and gets in an accident, it’s the KCs fault. Same thing with the Round Up Hall. That all went away. But those were activities for the kids who are in the middle, before they go off to college.”

Vela asked about potential pitfalls. No one mentioned the Bohemian Hills fiasco from 12 years ago. But some of the Council members did discuss a controversial topic that La Grange is most known for: the notorious Chicken Ranch brothel.

“(Local) people were ashamed of all that,” Newton said. “When they were in high school, they got made fun of. They got clucked at when they went to other towns.”

Vela said she has already heard from some community members about the Chicken Ranch.

“We’ve heard that the Chicken Ranch is a potential pitfall, especially for community members of a certain generation, while some others might be into it,” Vela said.

“I don’t think you can ignore it,” Newton said. “Some people have tried to capitalize on it in a good way. It’s already out there and people talk about it. We might as well benefit economically from it. But I don’t think we’d want that to be a focus. Millennials and Gen Z don’t know what that is.”

“And they don’t care,” said Gross.

“I think we should let it fade,” Newton said.

The Council also discussed ways to capitalize on the antiques venues in Northern Fayette County. Many visitors stay in La Grange during the antiques shows. The spoke about marketing the Fairgrounds or Courthouse Square as a potential venue for antiques booths during those events.

In addition, Councilman Taylor expressed interest in marketing the Colorado River as an attraction for visitors.

The folks from J.O. Agency took lots of notes during the meeting. They were set to meet with two focus groups on Wednesday to formulate a marketing plan. Vela said her team would also collect feedback from citizens through surveys before coming back to Council with ideas for the marketing and branding effort.