DUANE
Duane's take
Now, I'm telling this one straight from the official marker, so hold onto your hat. This here's the story of the Phoenix Saloon, standing on the corner of west San Antonio Street and Castell Avenue in New Braunfels, Comal County — and it is quite a story. John Sippel built the original two-story brick, rock, and stucco building back in 1871.
Two stories. Solid as the Texas hill country itself. A saloon operated on that first floor under various names over the years — various names, mind you — before somebody finally landed on the right one.
By 1895, it was the Phoenix Saloon, and that name had staying power. But here's where things get interesting, and I mean genuinely, historically interesting. In that back room café, a proprietor named William Gebhardt was serving up a stew.
Spiced with something he called tampico dust — his own special concoction of herbs and dried chili peppers. Now, his tampico dust is often regarded as the first chili powder. The first.
You're sitting there eating stew in the back of a saloon on San Antonio Street, and you don't even know you're in the presence of culinary history. In 1896, Gebhardt packed up and moved to San Antonio to manufacture his Eagle Brand chili powder. The man had a product.
He knew it. Meanwhile, back at the saloon, the attractions kept coming. John Sippel — remember him, the builder — put in a beer garden facing San Antonio Street, right between the saloon and the old Comal County Courthouse.
And unusual for the times, ladies were welcome there. He also built a small pool with a fountain. Now, most fountains have fish.
This one had fish and alligators. Just living together in a pool next to a beer garden. Some legends about the place claim it held badger fights.
And if that wasn't enough to keep your attention, there was a parrot stationed inside the front door, taught to say — in German — 'Have you paid your bill?' That parrot was earning its keep. Now, all that lively energy hit a wall in 1918 when prohibition was instituted and the Phoenix Saloon was temporarily closed down. And here's the wry part — Comal County had voted one hundred percent against prohibition.
One hundred percent. Didn't matter. The doors closed anyway.
By 1922, a man named Albert Ludwig owned the building and expanded it, adding a third floor for the local Masonic lodge. Then in 1927, Jacob Schmidt bought the building and changed the name displayed near the top of the front façade — from Ludwig to Schmidt. The Schmidts ran a clothing store in that building from 1935 all the way to 1995.
Built in 1871 for whiskey and alligators, eventually selling trousers. Then in 2010, the first floor was once again operating as the Phoenix Saloon. You might say the name always did fit.
What the marker says
Built in 1871, the original Phoenix Saloon building was a two-story brick, rock, and stucco building built by John Sippel located on the corner of west San Antonio Street and Castell Avenue. A saloon operated on the first floor under various names before it finally became the Phoenix Saloon in 1895. The building not only housed a popular saloon but also a back room café where proprietor William Gebhardt served a stew spiced with tampico dust, his own special concoction of herbs and dried chili peppers. His tampico dust is often regarded as the first chili powder. In 1896 Gebhardt moved to San Antonio to manufacture his eagle brand chili powder. Another attraction of the saloon was the beer garden facing San Antonio Ctreet between the saloon and the old Comal County Courthouse. Unusual for the times, ladies were welcome here. John Sippel built a small pool with a fountain that contained fish and alligators. Some legends about the saloon claim it held badger fights and featured a parrot inside the front door that was taught to say, “Have you paid your bill?” in German. The lively nature of the phoenix saloon was temporarily closed down when prohibition was instituted in 1918, even though Comal County voted 100% against prohibition. In 1922 Albert Ludwig owned the building and expanded it by adding the third floor for the local masonic lodge. In 1927 Jacob Schmidt bought the building and changed the name displayed near the top of the front façade from Ludwig to Schmidt. The Schmidts operated a clothing store in the building from 1935-1995. In 2010 the first floor was once again operating as the phoenix saloon.