University Star

In a few short weeks, The Square will welcome Black Rabbit Saloon — the first saloon-style bar to make an appearance in years.

Black Rabbit Saloon is located on Hopkins Street and will open in July.

Black Rabbit Saloon will be in the spot that used to house Dillinger’s, which is now closed.

The new bar draws on some old themes, as the building itself was built in the 1880s. The current owners, James Frailicks, Brian Scofield and James Wilson used that to their advantage when creating their ‘old-timey’ San Marcos bar.

“We basically gutted the building and started over. We took it all down to the original concrete and walls,” Wilson said. “We kept the old effects of the building and tried to stay true to its roots. You can really see how old it is.”

In addition to keeping the building’s natural stone surfaces for an old-time look, the actual bar was designed using old whiskey and wine barrels. The owners also have a large carving of a rabbit that they plan on painting black and placing near the front entrance.

Black Rabbit Saloon will have a daytime happy hour around 3 p.m. in order to attract more than just the college crowd. The bar will be open daily and will feature mainly draft beer specials.
“We’re hoping for a balance between young and old,” Wilson said. “It’ll be a good atmosphere where you can have a good time or relax.”

Black Rabbit Saloon will feature several different types of “big kid games,” including pool tables and darts, keeping true to The Square’s tradition of providing entertainment for its patrons. The bar will also have more unique games such as skee-ball and shuffleboard tables, for which they plan on creating leagues.

Scofield is the current owner of Barfish, where Wilson is general manager, and One41, where Frailicks is general manager. They hope to keep the same service-oriented attitudes at Black Rabbit Saloon that their other bars have, but want people to notice the difference from Dillinger’s and other bars.

“We hope that people’s first impression of the saloon will be, ‘Wow,’” Wilson said.