White House Café and Saloon

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm just along for the ride. Somewhere in the heart of downtown Floresville, there's a building that has been watching this town grow up around it for well over a century. It goes by the name of the White House Café and Saloon, and the story of how it got here, and who kept it going, is worth slowing down for.

The records, as records sometimes do, have kept a few secrets. Nobody can pin down the exact year this place went up, but the best the historical trail can tell us is that it happened somewhere between 1902 and 1907. By 1909, a newspaper article had already put it on the map, noting that the White House Restaurant was in its second year of operation inside these walls.

Second year. Meaning it had already been running long enough to earn a mention in the paper, and the paper considered that worth celebrating. Not a bad start.

Now, the building came into the world as a modest one-story affair. But by 1912, somebody had decided one story just wasn't enough, and a second story got added on top. You can still see the ambition of that era written right into the brickwork.

Arched window and transom openings. Brick corbelling on the parapet up at the roofline. Victorian Commercial architecture, the kind that used to be far more common along Texas main streets before time and progress had their way with so many of them.

Around 1910, two brothers stepped into this building and decided to make something of it. Henry and Frederick Teltschik, known to his friends and probably most of Floresville as Fritz. Sons of German immigrants.

They formed a partnership and set to running the White House Restaurant, along with lodging for folks passing through. Two brothers, one building, one shared ambition. After 1916, though, Fritz was running the business on his own.

And in 1921, he purchased the property outright. That's when the story really settles in. For the next fifty years, Fritz Teltschik kept the door open.

Community meetings gathered here. Social gatherings filled the room. High school students came through and found a place that felt like theirs too.

Fifty years of that. Fifty years of a man and a building holding down the center of a town's daily life. The White House Café was a popular gathering place, and it retains that historic and architectural character to this day.

Some buildings just hold on. They hold the shape of the people who worked in them, the voices of the meetings that echoed off their walls, the footsteps of generations of Floresville folks who simply needed somewhere to belong. The White House Café and Saloon is one of those buildings, and Wilson County is richer for it.

What the marker says

White House Café and Saloon An important landmark in downtown Floresville, this building dates to the earliest years of the 20th century. Although records have not been found to pinpoint the exact date of construction, it was built sometime between 1902 and 1907. A 1909 newspaper article documents the existence of the White House Restaurant in its second year of operation in the building. Apparently built as a one-story structure, a second story was added by 1912. About 1910, brothers Henry and Frederick (Fritz) Teltschik, the sons of German immigrants, created a partnership to run the White House Restaurant and lodging here. After 1916, Fritz ran the business by himself and purchased the property in 1921. For the next 50 years, Fritz Teltschik welcomed community meetings, social gatherings and high school students to his restaurant. The White House Café was a popular gathering place in downtown Floresville and retains its historic and architectural character from that time period. An example of the Victorian Commercial architecture once more common along Texas main streets, the White House Café and Saloon features arched window and transom openings, with brick corbelling on the parapet at the roofline. It remains an important part of the architectural and cultural heritage of Floresville and of Wilson County. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2002