A revamped dancehall is on the way too. Get all the insider details.
If you’ve been wondering what the hubbub is all about at the iconic Stone Cellar and Round Top Dancehall property in Round Top, we’ve got the lowdown. Landmark Hospitality Group has come out with guns blazing to upgrade the original spaces and create a new indoor shopping venue dubbed 550 Market. The new shopping Mecca is named for its location on 550 N. Washington Street (aka Highway 237).
550 Market will be housed in the existing structure located between the original Stone Cellar bar and restaurant and the circa 1900 dancehall. The former warehouse building is being reborn as a set of 21 indoor retail spaces with the event rentals designed by architect Issac Preminger and the interiors coming from Landmark’s Kathy Frietsch (formerly with Houston’s Thompson + Hanson).
550 Market will be anchored by Rockabilly Baroness from Landmark founding partner Cathy Mace Frietsch, who pairs couture Western wear with fine handmade custom boots and more in partnership with The Tres Outlaws Boot Company.
550 Market’s Rockabilly Baroness will feature handmade custom boots by Tres Outlaws Boot Company
Rockabilly Baroness
550 Market’s Rockabilly Baroness will feature handmade custom boots by Tres Outlaws Boot Company
Kathy Frietsch will also have her own space called Fritch, featuring her unique take on casual, approachable antiques, art and new artisan finds. Other Houston vendors include the opulent interiors of Moxie; Koelsch Gallery, along with owner Franny Koelsch’s fashion brand Ears of Buddha; and prints from Carlos Hernandez of Burning Bones Press fame. Luxury pillows from beloved New Orleans-based home accessories company B.Viz Design also will be part of the eclectic shopping mix.
A swanky speakeasy with oak paneling and a marble topped bar will also be tucked into the former warehouse space, as will a catering kitchen, private dining room and some seriously fancy bathrooms.
Meanwhile, creature comforts such as air conditioning and heating and an upgraded garden with comfortable outdoor seating, shade trees and fire pits are being finished up. It’s all expected to be completed for the upcoming Round Top Fall Antiques + Design Show at the beloved Stone Cellar bar, which served as a train depot in the 1860s.
“Stone Cellar is a honky-tonk, and we really want to keep it a honky-tonk,” Landmark group founding partner Steven Frietsch says. “But it will be a honky-tonk that serves good food. A lot of simple, down-home, traditional Texas food, but fresh. Our sides will be off the charts, and we’re improving the wine list now that we have proper wine storage.”
550 Market vendor Rebecca Vizard of B. Viz Design
550 Market vendor Moxie Interiors
550 Market vendor Franny Koelsch Jeffries
Steven Frietsch, who formerly partnered on River Oaks Grill and Armandos in Houston, says that The Stone Cellar will also offer preprepared grab-and-go meals to eat while on the run during the antiques shows.
The third piece of the puzzle — the Round Top Dancehall — is also undergoing a facelift with the construction of two massive built-in bars, additional bench seating and its own set of revamped bathrooms. The dance hall is slated to fully reopen this winter, and holding a future music festival on the property is in the plans.
Stay tuned for more developments at StoneCellarWines.com and @the550market on Instagram.
