By Paige Lambert
Entertainment options in Buda will grow this summer as a dance hall that ushered change in the city’s liquor laws breaks ground.
Maverick’s Country Rock Bar, which will be located in a section of Cabela’s parking lot, should be open for business by the end of the year, Mavericks owner Jeff Van Dalden said.
According to Van Dalden, the business wanted to expand from its Pflugerville location, but still be connected to a smaller community than south Austin.
“We can do things that involve the community and draw more people in,” Van Delden said. “We looked around Hays County and fell in love with a piece of land at Cabela’s.”
The business ultimately received approval from the City of Buda recently to set up shop at their desired location. But they discovered city ordinances didn’t match their business model.
“Being an entertainment business we would have pulled people from all over,” he said. “Kyle was our second choice but we wanted that tract of land and to be on the developing I-35 corridor.”
Until November 2015, Buda businesses with permits from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) could only sell libations until midnight.
Despite the limitation, Van Delden said they were able to put their contract to develop on hold and wait to see if Buda would bump up the alcohol sale hours to 2 a.m.
A decision on extending alcohol sale hours went to a vote in November 2015, with 58 percent of Buda voters approving it.
The dance hall also made the city consider changing more than just the last call for alcohol sales.
Soon after the vote, city staff began drafting a change to the Unified Development Code, Director of Planning Chance Sparks said.
“We wanted to adjust the codes so places like dance halls aren’t adjacent to residences,” Sparks said. “It’s certainly possible for more entertainment to come.”
The changes define a dancehall as an indoor entertainment business that collects 75 percent or more revenue from alcohol sales and adjusts the land use table to categorize them within the same zoning category as Walmart or HEB, he said.
The codes still have to go through a second reading and approval.
“We’ve talked about needing to make more entertainment options available so residents don’t have to go to Austin,” Sparks said. “This isn’t a perfect thing, but it’s our response to make it better.”
Sparks said there aren’t any other entertainment businesses currently vying for a spot in Buda but is sure there will be more soon.
Van Delden said he is excited about the location in Buda and can work out the details now with the alcohol hours and zoning changes. Once Mavericks opens, the venue will be available for community events, fundraisers and will have some family-friendly nights.
“Being there with Cabela’s would really work for us,” Van Delden said. “We want to be part of the community and that’s more important for us.”