On the morning of Tuesday, August 11, a crane parked on West Colorado Street in La Grange. It lifted a new HVAC unit and the upper section of a kitchen fume hood onto the roof of the old Mr. Gatti's building. La Grange Brewing Company thanked drivers for their patience online and said the lift put them "one step closer to getting the downtown gastropub open," according to The Fayette County Record.
The building under that crane belongs to the city. Through its Economic Development Corporation, La Grange bought it, picked a tenant, and is paying for a large share of the build-out. Anyone who lives here and wonders why the square still goes quiet after supper should know who owns the building at 256 W. Colorado.
The city became the landlord
The La Grange Economic Development Corporation bought the old D&G Office Supply building at 256 W. Colorado Street to rent it out as a restaurant, The Fayette County Record reported. The paper said the purchase was part of a renewed push to revitalize downtown's evening restaurant scene. John Rohan told the paper that about eight parties were interested and four made presentations to the EDC. The board chose John and Wendy Rohan of La Grange Brewing.
The terms show how hard the city is leaning in. City Manager Jack Thompson described a 10-year lease starting January 1, 2026. He said the EDC is putting "north of $400,000" into tenant improvements, with more work on top of that falling to the Rohans. The deal also gives the Rohans an option to buy the building later, which would let the EDC recover much of its spending.
Thompson explained the reasoning to the Record:
"The reason for the assistance is that in the restaurant business, the reason places fail is because of the amount of debt going into a project is significant, moreso than a typical business. We wanted to set them up to be as successful as they can, so that they can thrive."
He also said he hopes the opening "will hopefully have a snowball effect" and bring more nightlife businesses downtown. The city hopes the brewery will be the first of several evening businesses. Main Street Manager Caleb Parks put it in terms of demand. He told the Record the EDC is working to bring "the type of businesses and amenities that the public has regularly shown interest in."
Why the old Mr. Gatti's is taking so long
The building sits near the corner of Colorado and Main. Longtime residents may remember it as a busy Mr. Gatti's pizza place that opened in 1983 and closed in the 1990s. Later it was D&G Office Supply. The Record noted that the building had not been a restaurant in a generation, and that its general contractor, La Grange native Bryan Schramm, worked there in high school when it was still a Mr. Gatti's.
A generation away from restaurant use is why the opening has slipped. Wendy Rohan said in a later Record story that all the existing plumbing had to be dug up, a large grease trap installed, and the floor replaced. "It really slowed us down a solid six to seven months," she said. The first target was January 2026. In that story she said she was "really pushing for late summer or early fall."
The August crane lift was the next visible step. As of late October, La Grange Brewing's own website still lists the downtown taproom as "Coming Soon!" and no opening date has been announced. Until the company names a date, treat the gastropub as close but not open.
What the square has after five right now
The brewery is meant to add to what is already open in the evening, and downtown already has more than it did a year ago.
The Crown Bar on South Main is a whiskey and cocktail bar open in the evenings only. Its posted hours are 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 5 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday. Its music page lists a John Boyd residency.
Alejandra's moved downtown in early October. The Record covered the opening. Owner Alejandra Saldierna ran a restaurant by the same name next to Al's Food Mart for five years. She then spent about a year preparing a new space a few blocks south, at the corner of Business 77 and 71. Longtime residents know that building as the old Pharm House Drug, or before that the Super S Grocery. The Record reported that the place "stayed packed all weekend," with a two-week soft opening ahead of a grand opening. An earlier Record report on the move said steaks and pasta were among the planned menu additions.
Good Day Cafe at 154 S. Jefferson is the newest daytime stop near the square. The La Grange Area Chamber of Commerce held its ribbon cutting and grand opening on Friday, October 9, 2026, followed by an open house.
Lay the evening hours out by night and the remaining gaps are easy to see. Alejandra's hours below come from a third-party listing updated October 1, 2026, just before the move, so call ahead until the new location posts its own.
| Night | The Crown Bar | Alejandra's, listed hours |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday | Closed | Until 9 p.m. |
| Monday | Closed | Until 9 p.m. |
| Tuesday | 5 to 10 p.m. | Until 9 p.m. |
| Wednesday | 5 to 10 p.m. | Until 9 p.m. |
| Thursday | 5 to 10 p.m. | Until 10 p.m. |
| Friday | 5 p.m. to midnight | Until 10 p.m. |
| Saturday | 5 p.m. to midnight | Until 10 p.m. |
Friday and Saturday nights are covered. Sunday and Monday rely mostly on one kitchen. This is the gap the EDC means by evening dining. A gastropub that serves dinner on Colorado Street would put a full kitchen and a bar under one roof, a short walk from the courthouse.
What the gastropub plans to bring
When the EDC announced the lease, the Rohans described a "German-inspired" menu "with a Texas twist." They said there would be room in the back to brew beer on site, and they plan to serve both lunch and dinner. They also plan to keep brewing at their original location.
That original location is a useful preview. The Rohans started La Grange Brewing Company in 2019 at their Blissful Folly Farm near Nechanitz, adding beer to what the Record called "an already robust rural mead and wine operation." The farm is at 6002 FM 2981, about 10 miles north of La Grange and 11 miles south of Round Top. The company's website lists three signature beers:
- Bluff Blonde, a blonde ale at 4.3% ABV, described as an all-day easy drinker
- Hazel, a hazy IPA at 7.5% ABV, made with four hops including Amarillo, Citra and Mosaic
- Otis, a raspberry pecan oatmeal stout at 5.5% ABV
The website does not say which of these will be on tap downtown. Rohan also said farm hours may be cut back somewhat once the downtown venue opens. If the farm is your usual weekend stop, check its visit page before you drive out.
Wendy Rohan described the company's goal in the Record: "Yes, we make alcoholic beverages for a living, but it's more than that. It's about creating community around those spaces." The EDC is paying to put that philosophy on the square.
What the EDC is counting on
The EDC's plan has two parts. The tenant-improvement money is meant to lighten the debt load Thompson named as the reason restaurants fail. Rent and the purchase option are how the EDC hopes to recover what it spent. The wider goal is the "snowball effect," with more nightlife businesses following the brewery downtown. Alejandra's moved into its new downtown space this fall, before the brewery opened, and The Crown Bar already keeps evening-only hours on South Main.
For Fayette County residents, a real downtown dinner option is getting close. Once 256 W. Colorado opens, there will be a full kitchen with lunch and dinner service on the Colorado Street side of the square, in a building many locals remember from its pizza days. More on the county is on our Fayette County neighborhood page, and the drive north to Round Top passes the Rohans' farm on FM 2981.
At The Lindi Camaron Team, we keep up with what opens on the square because it is part of everyday life in La Grange. If you'd like to talk about owning near downtown or anywhere along the FM 2981 corridor, contact us. We know these blocks well.
