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Russell Buster marveled at an historic image Jan. 17 of the original Blue Bonnet Cafe, located in downtown Marble Falls. He is in the midst of restoring the facade of the building, which is now housing Marble Falls Flower & Gift Shop. Connie Swinney/The Highlander -
Cedric Harris digs into a flower shop’s facade, 214 Main St., as a restoration project gets underway. Contributed -
Crews recently dismantled the distinctive metal awning at the flower shop on Main and stripped the building face to restore it to replicate its original 1929 facade. Contributed -
Russell Buster, who leases property at 214 Main Street in Marble Falls, expanded a project to increase space for his flower shop tenant and opted to also refurbish the facade of the building paying homage to the historic storefront of the Blue Bonnet Cafe of the late 1920s. Contributed
Russell Buster with a keen eye on history watched his restoration crew ascend onto the rooftop of the Marble Falls Flower & Gift Shop Jan. 17 after several days dismantling the distinctive storefront awning and scouring the facade of the building.
Workers Augie Meza and Cedric Harris unearthed a view of the faint remnants of a logo for the original Blue Bonnet Cafe at 214 Main St. downtown.
“You can still see the old signage from the original store,” he said. “It’s history revealed.”
The eatery eventually relocated to 211 US 281, Avenue I at the time, where the business continues to flourish as an iconic landmark and dining establishment known throughout the state.
Buster’s goals is to preserve the history of the cafe’s humble beginnings in historic downtown, while also expanding his current tenant’s space and polishing the building curb appeal.
The flower shop blossomed at the location for the past several decades – and continues to do so – as the prime spot for ordering homecoming mums, Mother’s Day blooms and catered arrangements for special events.
As Buster supervised the roof-top renovation phase of the project, he recounted the history of the structure.
In 1927, a blaze ripped through an adjacent building, Michel’s pharmacy at 216 Main St., he explained.
“After the fire, people built back,” he said. Two years later, Blue Bonnet Cafe sunk roots just to the south of the location.
“We’re going back to the original Blue Bonnet Cafe store front,” Buster said of the flower shop facade.
“They needed more space. We started adding space to the back of the building, so we decided to refurbish the front,” Buster said.
“We’ll clean it all up and put a new paint scheme on it, try to match the original transom window glass.”
His aim is to have an original printed flower design resurfaced to conjure a nostalgic visual within the glass.
“I’m going to replicate the awning as best I can,” he added.
For tenant and flower shop owner Mike Spillman, the renovations are evolving into a welcome upgrade for the business.
“We’re excited to be able to expand the retail space and also a space where the (flower arrangement) design is happening. We’ve been crowded for so long.”
Although locals are their primary customer base, the flower shop location has cultivated an interest in attracting outside visitors as well.
“We try to gear the gift shop to give them an atmosphere to add to their experience of the historic downtown area,” Spillman said.
“The flower shop has been there for more than 60 years. It’s fun to see the old Blue Bonnet Cafe sign come through after the power washing,” he said. “It will be nice when it’s all done.”