PHOENIX RISING...

The old Phoenix Saloon served beer, wine and spirits. The beer (mainly Pearl and Lone Star from San Antonio) was sold in 5 cent mugs, 10 cent schooners and long-stemmed glasses.

There was also chili (courtesy of Willie Gebhardt) in his famous back-room Phoenix Cafe.

One of the earliest proprietors of the bar, Lorenz Kronkosky, was nicknamed “Wusch” because of the sound the plunger made when he dynamited the channels in Landa Park for Joseph Landa.

To the side of the building was a shaded ladies beer garden with push-button bells wired to the trees. (Back in those days it would besmirch a ladies reputation to enter a bar). This area also featured a stone-walled pool, one-time home to a 12 pound blue catfish. At other times, the pool doubled as an alligator pit.

Prior to the construction of a wooden stage for the Phoenix Saloon’s regular Saturday night concerts, there was a pen containing a family of Hill Country deer.

There were badger fights, too. And a parrot on a perch just inside the front door that was taught to say “Have you paid your bill?” in German.

The Phoenix Saloon was closed because of Prohibition on June 26, 1918. It is set to re-open on March 5, 2010.