'Tis the season - Downtown San Angelo
Christmas memories stick with us, some cherished more than others. For those lucky enough, San Angelo brings to life the cheer and warmth that can be found in theatre as an act or a staged photo shoot for a Christmas postcard.
By
Becca Nelson Sankey
Ami Mizell-Flint
Amanda Razani
Linda Thorsen Bond
Photography Becca Sankey Photography & Jillian Shelton Photography
Christmas memories stick with us, some cherished more than others. For those lucky enough, San Angelo brings to life the cheer and warmth that can be found in theatre as an act or a staged photo shoot for a Christmas postcard. Some of the most memorable places to experience Christmas in San Angelo can be found on the historic streets of Downtown San Angleo. Many merchants take this time of year to showcase just how unique and welcoming thye are by providing the community with experiences that memories are made of. Take a look at only a handful of those who've been around for quite some time.`
Miss Hattie's Restaurant and Cathouse Lounge
Miss Hattie’s Restaurant and Cathouse Lounge was founded on a legend – literally.
The late Kenneth Gunter and his wife, Brenda Gunter, purchased the building that is now Miss Hattie’s Bordello Museum at the same time they were remodeling Miss Hattie’s Restaurant’s current location at 26 E. Concho Ave. A tunnel underneath the restaurant’s dining room connects it to the bordello museum a few buildings further down the street. “We said wouldn’t it be great to tie the bordello in with the restaurant,” said Brenda Gunter, who is now the sole owner of the restaurant and San Angelo’s mayor. “We thought it would help promote the legend of Miss Hattie.”
According to San Angelo folklore, Miss Hattie (or Mrs. Hatton) was a madam in the early 1900s, when San Angelo was booming with bordellos on historic Concho Avenue. Downtown legendary network of underground tunnels ostensibly allowed local businessmen to travel discreetly from businesses to the brothels.
"IT'S THE AMBIANCE, THE SERVICE, THE PLACE; IT ALL WORKS TOGETHER" - Brenda Gunter
Twenty years after the restaurant opened, the legend of Miss Hattie’s lures curious visitors, but the food and dining experience bring them back again and again. “It’s West Texas, and we believe if you’re going to be successful, you need to focus on the palate of West Texas,” Gunter said. “West Texas is about steaks and comfort food, so we created a menu that is meat loaf, pot roast, chicken and dumplings, hamburgers and steaks.”
Miss Hattie’s received recognition as Best Burger by Texas Monthly and was featured on its Texas Bucket List. But despite the restaurant’s famous fare (Gunter said its 21-day aged ribeye steak and bacon-wrapped jalapenos are two favorites), a meal there won’t break the bank.
“It’s amazing the number of people who come in and say, ‘This is so fabulous; I love it,’ and then they’re surprised at the quality of food for the price and the environment. It works,” Gunter said. “We believe dining out is more than just the food – it’s the ambiance, the service, the place; it all works together.”
Miss Hattie’s Restaurant and Cathouse Lounge
26 E. Concho Ave.
325-653-0570
Hours: 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. Monday – Friday, 11 a.m. – midnight Saturday, closed Sunday.
Holiday Gift Pick:
Miss Hattie’s gift certificate. “People love getting gift certificates as presents,” Gunter said. “Whether it’s for Christmas or anniversaries or a birthday, it’s one of the greatest gifts you can give.”
Eggemeyer's General Store
After spending some time in San Angelo for a while, the city’s priorities become clear: Faith, family and love of San Angelo’s history. Eggemeyer’s, San Angelo’s downtown general store, is the perfect combination of all three, and adds another thing that San Angeloans love: Shopping.
Eggemeyer’s roots date back to Karen Eggemeyer’s small sewing business, Karen’s Country Collectibles, which she owned in Wall, where her family owns a cotton farm. The original “American Pickers,” the Eggemeyers loved traveling to other states, “junk hunting” for antique treasures. Many of those treasures became gifts that Karen and her husband, Bobby, exchanged for their anniversary each year.
In 1988, a time when Concho Street was lined with automotive shops, Bobby and Karen opened their first store, where J Wilde’s is now. They began making spiral sliced hams and needed a kitchen, so they moved into the building next to the current Miss Hattie’s location.
"IT'S ALL ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE" - Eric Eggemeyer
The Eggemeyers’ early vision was to create a destination on Concho Street. Karen Eggemeyer thought of the first time she went to Fredericksburg, and said, “I can’t believe this is right here and I have never been here.”
The family wants their store to emit the same feeling. “It’s all about the experience,” said Eric Eggemeyer, Bobby and Karen’s son, who helps run the store with his sister, Tammy.
When their current building came available in 1993, they moved across the street, becoming the general store that San Angelo and its visitors have come to know and love. Many of the treasures that the Eggemeyers exchanged as anniversary gifts over the years now adorn the top shelves of the store.
Eggemeyer’s expanded to include a kitchen store on its east side in 1998, and most recently added a jewelry store on the other side of the original building.
The family has worked hard over the years but doesn’t regret a minute of it. “If we knew how much work it would be,” said Karen Eggemeyer, “well, we still would have done it.”
Eggemeyer’s Top Gift Picks:
Women’s jewelry
Hobo and Will leather bags (for men and women)
Case pocket knives
Kitchen wares
Chilean wines
J. Wilde's and Friends
The oldest business on Concho Street, J. Wilde’s and Friends has a history of making design waves in San Angelo - and far beyond.
Before opening the store, Joyce Wilde ran a decorating business. Around the time she was asked to help decorate for Christmas at Fort Concho, Wilde decided she wanted to open a country shop in the city. She started out designing clothes and decorator items and making items out of old quilts while continuing her side gig decorating for weddings. Eventually Wilde was asked to ship her designs to showrooms across the U.S., at which time a few popular magazines took notice. “Designing and decorating were the only things I knew I was really good at,” Wilde said.
"DESIGNING AND DECORATING WERE THE ONLY THINGS I KNEW I WAS REALLY GOOD AT." - Joyce Wilde
The store has since grown and morphed to include other businesses that showcase their wares and services. Since closing, then reopening as J. Wilde’s and Friends, the business’ showroom has been revamped to focus on Wilde’s huge collection of beautiful vintage clothing, along with her recycled and repurposed apparel. “I think what makes J. Wilde’s and Friends so special is the way it is designed and what you will find here,” she said. “All the other businesses located inside the store are unique as well. We have some incredible businesses.”
J. Wilde’s and Friends
20 E. Concho Ave.
(325) 655-0878
Open 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Monday – Saturday
J. Wilde’s Gift Pick
“I recommend bringing the person in that you want to shop for so they can choose what they want.” - Joyce Wilde
M.L. Leddy's
In the workroom at M.L. Leddy’s in downtown San Angelo, one man is building toes, as he has for 40 years. He doesn’t roam the shop, telling the heel man how to glue leather to wood. He doesn’t stand over the woman painstakingly stitching a fancy pattern. He just makes toes. That’s the way it is in this place where boots are built: Each worker does one thing, and does it exceptionally well.
Since M.L. started his boot shop in 1922 and moved to San Angelo in 1936, the process has been the same. M.L.’s granddaughter Beverly Franklin Allen said, “People come by all the time wanting to sell us machines that would do away with a couple of jobs, but we don’t do that. There’s a lot we could do to make it faster, but we’re using the machines from my grandfather’s day.”
When Beverly talks about 40-penny nails, that’s not something symbolic. There actually are two large nail bent and twisted into the arch supports of each boot. It’s fitted for the arches of the person who will wear that boot for a long, long time.
M.L. Leddy’s old-fashioned bank ledgers record the individual foot measurements of more than 250,000 customers. Footprints of presidents, royalty, rock stars and regular folk have a hand-written code inked inside each boot top that allows Leddy’s to trace each pair to its original owner.
"WE'RE USING THE MACHINES FROM MY GRANDFATHER'S DAY" - Beverly Franklin Allen
For Christmas presents, Franklin Allen recommended gift cards of any amount that can be applied to custom fit handmade boots. The boots will be ready 10 to 12 months from the day the foot is traced into the ledger. A basic design, with no “yippee ki yay,” starts at $1,095. Smooth ostrich boots are $1,795, full quill ostrich boots are $2,495 and alligator or crocodile boots are $5,695; the price depends on what is done to the boot, inlay, height of top and the leather.
She also pointed out that you could give a beautiful handmade belt or perhaps a custom buckle set from Clint Orms, or a fine fitted hat. That’s all part of the way M.L. Leddy’s does things exceptionally well in downtown San Angelo.
M.L. Leddy’s
222 S. Oakes
325-653-3397
Hours: 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Monday – Saturday.
Holiday Gift Picks: Gift cards, handmade belts and hats, or Clint Orms buckle set.
Sassy Fox
First opened in the mid ’80s, Sassy Fox Boutique has become a pillar of the downtown shopping scene in San Angelo. From gorgeous clothes and handbags to designer shoes and accessories, this colorful shop on Concho Street even has a fun old-fashioned soda fountain.
Owner Barbara Strain was inspired to open the store after spending five years owning and operating a wig salon. The store was located where the first HEB Grocery is now, and wigs filled the entire 10,000-square-foot space. One day, a sales rep for Faded Glory showed up. “The rep was selling these fabulous jeans at $100 per pair, and I thought I could sell 12 pairs. So I started with those jeans, and then I added tops, and it went on from there,” Strain explained.
"WE JUST HAVE A SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR CUSTOMERS" - Barbara Strain
After a while, she felt the store needed a new location, so she moved her store downtown, where it has been the past 25 years. The building was condemned when she bought it, and there was so much space. They utilized the extra space by building the ice cream bar, which has been a big hit. Several other things make Sassy Fox unique. The store offers a wide variety of clothing, and the customers are always well taken care of. “I’ve had customers that have been with me for close to 40 years,” Strain said. “My oldest customer is 101 and started as a wig customer of mine. We just have a special relationship with our customers. We have such a following.”
Each year, Sassy Fox’s Black Friday sale is a huge event. Last year, 250 people were waiting at the door when the store opened, Strain said.
Sassy Fox Boutique
34 E. Concho Ave.
325-658-8083
Hours: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Monday – Saturday.
Holiday Gift Pick:
“We have such unique handbags, and beautiful embellished sweaters,” Strain said. “Plus, we have designer jewelry and scarves. We also have printed T-shirts, which are popular this year.”
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