What was Austin's Little Longhorn Saloon before it became a dive bar?

As soon as reader Bob Peterson’s message arrived on June 21, I sensed that his query about a building on Burnet Road would translate into an entertaining edition of “From the Archives.”

“Do you know what it was before it became the Little Longhorn Saloon?” Peterson asks. “I knew the old owners since 1988 — Dick Setliff and then Ginny Taylor, RIP both — and I've always wondered if it was always a bar or maybe something else before then. I'm a fan of the old Austin dive bar scene; think the Poodle Dog, the Carousel, Donn's — and Barb's, (which) was way down on South Congress.”

Yes, Bob, the small burnt-orange and white building at 5434 Burnet Road has served several functions in addition to its role as one of the city’s favorite day-drinking dive bars and scene for games related to poultry droppings.

Visual evidence points to a sacred chapter

The Little Longhorn bar occupies one of two structures on the property. It sits perpendicular to the west side of Burnet Road on a concrete foundation. The first thing one notices is a sign hung over the front door that, at least until recently, read “Welcome to Ginny’s Little Longhorn Saloon,” painted a dark shade of burnt orange on white above a silhouette of a longhorn rendered in the manner of the University of Texas mascot.

A sign to the right reads “Pool. Dominoes. Games.” A burnt-orange banner hangs above a horizontal window that faces the street.

Other elements pop out: a window-unit air conditioner, a vintage circular Texaco sign, and what looks like painted flagstones on the side of the saloon. A back building sports a similarly burnt-orange door and two horizontal, single-pane windows.

What observers zipping by on Burnet Road often fail to notice is the white steeple above the gabled roof.

Was this dive once a church?

A Sunday service guide published in the July 29, 1944 edition of the American-Statesman refers to a church on Burnet Road in that same neighborhood named Broadacres Presbyterian with pastor Max Ecke. Yet other references to that church in the archives list its address as 5603 Burnet Road, two blocks to the north and on the other side of the road, currently the site of a Sherwin-Williams outlet. Perhaps it moved as the congregation grew?

Archival evidence of a mixed past

What else could have occupied 5434 Burnet Road? Newspaper articles from the 1940s to the 1960s suggest several roles related to animal husbandry.

• Jan. 12, 1949: “Bargain: $10,000 takes this well-constructed rock building. Lot 100 x 170. Folmar Real Estate. 8-9378.” (This indicates a transition from its original or intended use. Interestingly, the real estate company’s logo was a little longhorn head with the punning slogan: “We steer you right.”)
• Feb. 3, 1949: “Dr. Fred B. Savage was granted permission to establish a veterinary hospital at 5434 Burnet Road subject to meeting certain building requirements. Dr. Savage said he had to move from his present building next Monday. He will occupy a rock building which is to be sound-proofed.”
• Sept. 9, 1949: “Notice of Sale of Unclaimed Livestock.” The Railway Express Agency announces a cash auction for an unclaimed Spitz dog at the spot. (It’s important to remember that agriculture was still one of Austin’s top industries through the 1950s. While the area around Burnet Road quickly turned into suburbs after World War II, it was perched on the edge of town.)
• Oct. 3, 1950: It appears that Mr. and Mrs. B.S. Westlund lived in the secondary building behind the vet hospital. Under “The Statesman Congratulates,” the newspaper announced the birth of a boy to the couple at that address. The birth took place at St. David’s Hospital. From later Statesman , it looks like the Westlunds hung onto the property for a while.
• Feb. 2, 1958: Under “Livestock, Supplies”: “Pet squirrel monkey. $75. Cash or trade. GR 2-7111." (This ad was posted several times. Clearly, few takers.)”

Little Longhorn during its saloon days

Much history can be deduced from the details in these short notices in the Statesman. It also looks like a previous name for the saloon was ‘Rustic Lounge and Grill.”

• Aug. 20, 1963: “F.W. Schramm has filed a petition with the County Judge of Travis County, Texas, on the 19thday of August A.D. 1963 for a Wine and Beer Retailer’s permit to be issued to Rustic Lounge and Grill.”
• March 8, 1971: Classified ad: “Rustic Lounge. Needs young attractive waitress for general duties. No phone calls.”
• June 14, 1966: According to several Statesman classified ads published over the years, the secondary building on the property was rented out, although it’s unclear if it was for a residence or a business: Ads varied: “Rear — 3 R. Bath. Garage. $35 per mo. C. Wendlandt and Sons. GR 504388.” (In 1952, this building was advertised as a “house.”)
• Sept. 6, 1996: “Two bars that applied for waivers of the city’s anti-smoking ordinance were given through March 15 to install separate ventilation systems for their smoking sections. The council granted the extensions to Little Longhorn Saloon and Club Maxx Lounge. Both businesses said it would be a financial hardship to install equipment.”

A little more history about Little Longhorn

For more on the saloon during the past 60 years, we turn from the Statesman archives to the work of retired city planner Jim Duncan, whose “Jim Duncan’s Austin” column featuring short histories of Austin businesses is featured some Sundays in Austin360.

“Richard Huskin ‘Dick’ Setliff opened Dick’s Little Longhorn Saloon at 5434 Burnet in 1963 and hired Virginia Lee ‘Ginny’ Kalmbach as bartender,” Duncan writes. “When he died in 1993, he bequeathed the bar to her. Ginny was little and so was the club, but the impact that she and the saloon had on Austin’s music community is legendary.

“Ginny took the tiny building barely big enough for a dance floor and turned it into a country music Mecca. Ginny, who had grown up in Llano on classic country music, chose to make her incarnation of the Little Longhorn into a live music venue. More than ten bands played the venue per week, with over 600 bands in a year, and on Sundays, she and Dale Watson would co-host Bingo, one of Austin’s weirdest weekly events. Eventually, Dale bought a stake in Ginny’s and made it his regular haunt.”