Gruene is the German word for “green,” and that’s how the locals pronounce the name of this historic little town between Austin and San Antonio. Once a significant cotton producing community, Gruene was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, and we thought it would be an interesting place to take the dogs for a stroll.
The town was named for the German farmers who first settled the area in the mid-1800s, Ernst Gruene, and his wife, Antoinette. The family did well, and built a lovely Victorian mansion overlooking the Guadalupe River, which is now a bed & breakfast … but unfortunately isn’t pet friendly.
The Gruenes also built several other homes, a mercantile store, and a cotton gin. But perhaps their most important contribution was Gruene Hall, completed in 1878, which now bills itself as the oldest, continually run dance hall in Texas. Again, not pet friendly.
Things took a turn for the worse for the Gruene family and the town during the Depression, and except for the dance hall, all of the businesses folded. The town languished until 1975, when the Gruene estate was sold and new business owners started to arrive. Since then, the town’s economy has been supported primarily by tourism.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that attracting pet travelers has been a priority. The only business we found welcoming pets was Oma Gruene’s Secret Garden (OGSG), an eatery and music venue. UPDATE: Oma Gruene is closed. OGSG’s shady, secluded garden is a great location to stop for a bite to eat, with plenty of space for your dog to stretch out and get comfortable. The only other thing we found in town that a dog could look forward to is sniffing the grass under the town’s water tower.
One apologetic restaurant owner told us that, until a few weeks before our visit, he’d enjoyed having dogs on his patio, but a citywide ordinance had been passed that prohibited restaurants from allowing pets on the premises … unless they purchased a special permit. However, though either a serious lack of coordination or major oversight, Â the ordinance took effect before the city made the permits available, so allowing Ty and Buster to join us for lunch could cost him a hefty fine.
It’s not the first time we’ve heard of cities requiring restaurant owners to pay special fees just to allow pets at their outside seating areas, and it seems a short-sighted plan. Sure, the city may make a few quick bucks on the permits, but it’s also likely that some restaurant owners will choose to avoid coughing up the dough and just stop welcoming pets. That will leave pet travelers, a quickly growing demographic by any measure, with fewer options and the distinct impression that the town isn’t very welcoming. With all the fantastic pet friendly options out there, most people would think twice about returning to a place that left them with a bad taste in their mouth.
As for us, it ended up working out fine … Ty and Buster were happy to pretend to be with the band at OGSG!
Gruene seems to have a lot of pet friendly potential – there’s a nice selection of restaurants with outdoor seating, a coffee house, wine tastings, several specialty shops that would make for a fun afternoon of shopping, and access to a gorgeous river. Unfortunately, they seem to need a bit of help in the art of welcoming pet travelers. Hopefully things improve in the near future, and we will have a much better experience on our next visit!
Have you ever visited a town that surprised you, either by being more or less pet friendly than you expected? Tell us about it in the comments!
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We may be moving to NB very soon! You would think its dog-friendliness would be better being in-between San Antonio and Austin. I’m already looking for the few parks and restaurants, etc. I agree, Gruene is far more disappointing than somewhere like Fredericksburg.
We’ve actually had our girl in Gruene a few times. Most of the businesses have signs displaying their lack of dog-friendliness. We were able to eat on the back patio of Cantina Del Rio with our dog. That’s the only place we noticed which may allow dogs.
Is there a way to tell (online) if places need and have a permit for pets on patio? We always ask at the door and have never been turned away even though many places do not have signs posted, or hand sanitizer on the tables – those are the requirements I’ve seen online.
I hope the area becomes more dog friendly. If it does not, there are two dog friendly cities nearby, along with Canyon Lake and the parks in Hill Country – most we have visited already and they are amazing!
Hi David! Thanks so much for your note and congratulations on your upcoming move! To my knowledge, there’s no way for the public to look up which restaurants have gotten permits to have pets on their patios. Perhaps calling the city or even the local newspaper and encouraging them to do a story on pet friendly eateries would get you the information. And I agree completely – you’ll be between to very pet friendly cities with a lot of dog friendly things to do. I’m sure you’ll have a ball!
I’m so sorry for your experience, Azon, and I’m glad that you found another establishement that welcomed you and your pup. Waggin’ trails to you both!
I have seen and enjoyed other pet owners’ dogs at Oma Gruen’s secret garden. But when I decided to bring my new pup today I was all but attacked by the ugly bald bartender who seemed all too eager to get me off their premesis. We moved on to the Grapevine just a cross the street and were welcomed with hugs and kisses for my puppy. Good riddance Oma Gruen. Our weekly visits will now be at another establishment.
That’s a bummer, Neal! And thanks for your note so that other people know what to expect when they arrive. Waggin’ trails to you.
Just as an update to this article, I live near Gruene and a frequent visitor to Oma’s. Dogs are no longer welcome there. Unsure why the sudden change of policy. Very disappointing!
I’m really sorry that you had to experience this too, Margaret. And I’m sad to hear that things have not improved in Gruene since we were last there. Fortunately Wimberly is an awesome, pet friendly town and I hope you enjoyed your visit there. We’ve also found a lot to do in San Antonio with the dogs, and Austin is one of our favorite dog friendly cities – both within easy striking distance of Wimberly. So, next time we’ll both skip Gruene and head to one of the towns that makes both people and pets welcome! Waggin’ trails!
We went to Wimberley for Christmas and brought our 4 pound chihuahua. I’ve never been to Gruene but wanted to visit. I looked online and three Restaurants came up as “Pet Friendly”. So we brought our dog with us instead of leaving her behind. She is our baby. We had her in a dog bag, could pass as a purse and went to the Gruene River Grill. My dog was quiet, but I told the hotess we had her, thinking we’d sit outside. Well, it was raining and we got turned away. She did at least go ask the Manager. It ruint our visit there and we got in vehicle and went back to Wimberley to eat and enjoy the surroundings. These restaurants need to make sure their names don’t pop up when people search for pet friendly. It was such a disappointment. I had been told that restaurant was great, but I have no desire to go there now.
We’re planning to be in Oregon this fall, Susan! We’ll put it on the plan. =)
When you coming to Corvallis? Come next year and participate in Pet Day at the OSU Vet School…huge Event! ALways the first Sat. Of May …stay at the Benton County fairgrounds convenient to the Vet School and hiking trails.
That sounds like a fantastic place – but what a bummer about the restaurants! Now that you know the deal, you’ll be able to plan ahead, which will make things better. I hope you have a great time, and we’ll keep our fingers crossed that the city reconsiders their unfortunate position.
That is confusing, Tracy! And, I agree, it would be great if dogs were allowed at more national parks – unfortunately, we find the same thing all across the US.
You’re absolutely right, Susan. I hope they catch on to being more welcoming for pet travelers!
Sure is pretty place though!
Quebec City was very dog friendly, but Quebec was overall disappointing for not allowing dogs in any Provincial Parks! Fortunately, they were allowed in the National Parks, but it was quite confusing because the Provincial Parks are called “Parc National”. We absolutely loved the food, people and scenery of Quebec, but would love to be able to visit some of the Provincial Parks one day.
We visited Ft. Meyers Beach, FL a few years ago because there is a wonderful resort called Silver Sands Villas that is PET FRIENDLY and a walk across the street to a pet friendly beach! The resort was wonderful and we had a great time there. It is mostly small cottages with decks to relax on and meet new people. We also had heard that the town had lots of restaurants and venues that the dog would be welcome but we found out on our first walk into town that it was no longer the case. The city had stopped allowing dogs on the outdoor patios. We worked around it and are planning another visit this year. Hopefully it will be better!