Our Story
The Coffee Haus on Main is phase one of the Lange family "Hotel on Main" downtown rehabilitation project and is located within the the historic Farmers and Merchants bank, built in 1909, it promises to deliver a view that is rivaled by none locally. As the Coffee Haus, the goal of the Lange family was to provide travelers and locals alike with a local experience that showcases the best things that Ballinger and Runnels County,Texas have to offer. With offerings unique to our area, and the charm you would come to expect from a small West Texas Town, The Coffee Haus is sure to be a staple to the community as well as those just passing through.
Our History
Ballinger, Runnels County, May 28, 1886
“I have located what is destined to become the loveliest and most prosperous town in Western Texas.” -Judge M.L. Lynch (engineer of the Santa Fe Road, as he drove the last stake marking the site of what would one day be Ballinger, Texas)
Originally, Ballinger might have been named Hutchings, Texas (our main street’s namesake). But another town had already been established with the name, so it was changed to Gresham before officially being named Ballinger after William Pitt Ballinger. Ballinger was an attorney for the Santa Fe Railroad. Emboldened by advertisements in the Dallas Morning News, people migrated in droves on June 29, 1886 to participate in the lot sale that began at 10:00 am on what was said to be a very hot and dusty morning.
The original Farmers and Merchants Bank building was a grocery and feed store operated by Mr. M.D. Chastain. He sold the building to Mr. Jo Wilmeth. The old building was torn down, and the existing three-story bank building was built in 1909 by an out-of-town contractor. Mr. Wilmeth organized the Farmers and Merchants Bank but then later moved back to Fr. Worth. In the area now currently occupied by the Coffee Haus on Main sat the original post office for 20 years before the existing post office was built (now located just across the alley in the red brick building down the street). The third story of the building was the Masonic lodge. It was said that the men didn’t like it there because the older gentlemen had a difficult time navigating the stairs. The Farmers and Merchants Bank originally took over the Security State Bank, which was formerly known as Ballinger State Bank and Trust Company. The beautiful brick building remained the Farmers and Merchants Bank until a new building was entered in early 1970. Several other professional businesses and stores took up home on the corner of Hutchings and 8th Street, including Grindstaff & Grindstaff Law Firm, Dr. Eoff a dentist, and in more recent history Bryan Jewelers, and eventually the Security Title Company before selling to the Lange Family in 2021.
Within several short years, Ballinger had indeed become the sprawling metropolis envisioned by Judge Lynch. “The lusty infant, born under the auction hammer and fathered by the railroad, had now come of age.” -Charlsie Poe
Our Coffee
The Coffee Haus on Main features LongHorn Coffee, home of the High Caffeine coffee Snakebite Blend. They are a small batch roast company located in San Angelo, Texas, and is Veteran owned and operated. They have been roasting for over 10 years and decided to bring their blends of coffee to the public. Their Arabica / Robusta coffee beans are fresh roasted 20 lbs at a time.
Their roast process ensures that most of the natural caffeine stays in your coffee, that’s why their snakebite high caffeine coffee has 2x the caffeine yet still maintains the excellent light flavor and low acid content. They have multiple flavors, wether you like dark, medium or light roast their hand picked beans roasted by U.S. Military Veteran Scott Deckers and his crew are sure to give you the best flavor!
Their roasting process and grade of bean equals LOW ACID, with blends that offer the lowest acid you will find in any other coffee. No more acid reflux, no more heartburn with our coffee.
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