Martin's Place

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Martin's Place, out in Brazos County. Now settle in, because this one's about a road, a pit, and a family that just kept showing up. In December 1924, a man named Martin Kapchinskie purchased land along a one-lane country road.

Not a highway, mind you. A one-lane country road, running between Bryan and Texas A&M University, near the communities of Union Hill and Midway. And on that land, Martin opened a store for travelers.

He called it Martin's Place. Simple name. Honest name.

The kind of name that tells you exactly what you're getting. He offered groceries, a public telephone, gasoline, and barbecue. Out there on that lonesome road, that combination was about as welcome as a cool breeze in August.

The original building was a wooden, screened structure. A small pit inside. Tables outside.

A large pit outside too. You can almost smell it already. Then the 1930s arrived, and with them the Great Depression.

Martin sold off some of the surrounding land just to keep the doors open and the smoke rising. That's not defeat. That's stubbornness dressed up as strategy.

By 1939, he'd saved enough to build something more permanent. A red brick structure, with a kitchen inside and a barbecue pit attached at the back. The interior was designed like a café, and it included a tall bar.

Martin's Place was growing up. Then came the war. And after the war came Albin.

Martin's son Albin Kapchinskie had served during World War II as a butcher in the Navy, and when he came home, he brought those skills right through the front door. In 1951, Albin added a meat market to Martin's Place. The horseshoe-shaped bar came in too, replacing that original tall bar.

And in 1955, Albin purchased the business from his father, who retired to Michigan. The torch passed. The smoke kept rising.

Now, no story about Martin's Place is complete without a word about Steve Holik. Longtime patrons called him Uncle Steve, and he served tables there from 1946 until 1987. You do the math if you want, but the point is: that man was a fixture.

Meanwhile, for decades, area residents came for daily domino games and to shoot pool. As Bryan and College Station grew, and as the automobile changed the way people moved through the world, Martin's Place became more than a rest stop. It became part of local life.

Generations of Texas A&M University students have their own memories tied to that red brick building on what used to be a one-lane country road. The world around it has developed rapidly, the marker says. But Martin's Place has changed little from its early days.

Still in the Kapchinskie family. Still a popular stop for rest and refreshment. Martin bought that land in December 1924, and somewhere along the way, a barbecue stand on a country road became a piece of something people actually hold onto.

That's a long run for a wooden screened shack with a pit inside and a dream of feeding travelers.

What the marker says

In December 1924, Martin Kapchinskie purchased land at this site, along a one-lane country road connecting Bryan to Texas A&M University, near the communities of Union Hill and Midway. Here, he opened a store for travelers and named it Martin's Place, where he offered groceries, a public telephone, gasoline and barbecue. The original building was a wooden, screened structure, with a small pit inside, and tables and a large pit outside. During the 1930s, Kapchinski sold some of the surrounding land to maintain the business during the Great Depression. By 1939, he had enough money to build a more substantial building, a red brick structure with a kitchen inside and a barbecue pit attached at back. The interior, designed like a café, included a tall bar. Following World War II, Kapchinskie's son Albin joined him as partner. Albin, who had served during the war as a butcher in the Navy, added a meat market to Martin's Place in 1951. A horseshoe-shaped bar replaced the original tall bar. In 1955, Albin purchased the business from his father, who retired to Michigan. As Bryan and College Station grew and the automobile greatly changed the way people lived, Martin's Place became more than a rest stop for travelers. Still in the Kapchinskie family, the restaurant has become part of local life and a place of fond memories for generations of Texas A&M University students. Longtime patrons of Martin's recall "Uncle" Steve Holik, who served tables from 1946 until 1987, and for decades area residents came for daily domino games and to shoot pool. Although the world around it has developed rapidly, Martin's Place has changed little from its early days, remaining a popular stop for rest and refreshment. (2005)