About Joe's
The Joe’s Bar building was constructed in the 1880s, in the early days of Llano’s iron boom. It has, throughout the years, been a grocery store, a men’s clothing store, and was even a part of Buttery Hardware at one point (the town’s largest employer).
The history of what we now know as Joe’s Bar starts with a handful of friends from Llano High School’s Graduating Class of 1968, most notably Mikel “Mike” Virdell and Joe Lawley. In 2003 Mike and two other classmates from ‘68 purchased the building to open an antique store. In 2005 Mike visited his friend Joe who was in poor health at the time, and living near Houston, to try to get him to come home to Llano. During conversation Joe revealed that it had been one of his life’s dreams to “have his own bar”, and from there Mike convinced his partners in the antique store to lease him the back storeroom. Along with the help of his son, Tory, they transformed the space, constructing a small, granite-topped bar, complete with a small kitchen, and a seated dining area. Upon Joe’s return to Llano, while walking through the antique store he stopped short upon noticing ‘Joe’s Bar, No Smoking’ painted above the doorway to the former storeroom.
“Who’s Joe?” he asked.
“You’re Joe” Mike replied, handing him the keys to his dream.
Joe operated the bar until he passed away in 2008, and while he never got to see the full space of what Joe’s Bar became after the antique store folded, the bar you see now was his ultimate vision.
In 2019 the adjoining building was purchased by Mike and his wife Kay, and became the Llano River Creamery & Gift Shop. This acquisition added the downstairs pool room and a much needed expansion & upgrade of the kitchen. Joe’s Bar has continued to grow in reputation, and as a part of the community, hosting bar games, tournaments, watch parties, bands, charity fundraisers and an occasionally boisterous crowd of die hard regulars.
There’s always something happening at Joe’s, and there will always be a Joe’s Bar in Llano!
