The Owl Wine Bar & Home Goods Store is Elgin’s first home goods store and wine bar, offers unique vintage home goods and furniture and a local option for happy hour and sampling boutique wines. The store, located in historic downtown Elgin, offers a variety of evening activities for locals who would prefer to stay close to home.
The store, located in historic downtown Elgin, offers a variety of evening activities for locals who would prefer to stay close to home. The Owl’s namesake is inspired by an original ghost mural (circa 1900) of Owl Cigars that adorns the store’s wall was painted a year before the building was constructed, providing a stunning historic backdrop. The majestic mural was hidden for more than 90 years until 1990 when a film company shooting a television movie, “In Broad Daylight” revealed the historic artwork.
History
When they opened The Owl, a charming store offering a mix of unique vintage, quality home furnishings, accessories and gifts, in 2012, Elgin was struggling to attract businesses to the historic downtown district. “I always had a vision for what I wanted The Owl to be,” Molly Alexander explains. “I knew I wanted to provide a place for residents and visitors alike to come in and feel right at home.”
By creating an interactive shopping experience that leaves the customer with both a memory and a unique new treasure for the home, Molly Alexander and Gary Luedecke’s shop The Owl (winner of the 2014 Best Downtown Business by the Texas Downtown Association and 2014 Business of the Year by the Elgin Chamber of Commerce)
April of 2025 Molly Alexander and Gary Luedecke sold to a wonderful couple Pixie Schneider and Brian Schneider with their daughters Audrey and Aspen. “At The Owl, we welcome you in to pour one out — and send you off feeling like family. With big plans to make our space inviting and beautiful, we’re staying true to our roots, keeping that small-town feel at the heart of everything we do.”
“The Owl Wine Bar & Home-Goods – Where every pour feels like home”
Fabulous Elgin
Just a short trip down the road from Austin sits Elgin, otherwise known as the Sausage Capital of Texas- because of the more than 3 million pounds of sausage that is produced each year-and the Brick Capital of the Southwest-because of the three operating brick companies produce more than 250 million bricks annually.
The city’s downtown area is a National Register Historic District with most of the buildings (from 1872 to 1947) constructed of locally produced brick. Over the years, private property owners, business owners, and the public sector have invested approximately $12.9 million in the downtown area. Elgin became a Texas Main Street city in 1990, a national approach to saving the town’s heritage by preserving historic downtown areas. Elgin has also been recognized as a Nationally Accredited Main Street Community every year since 1998, when the state of Texas began participating in this program.
The City of Elgin hosts events throughout the year such as the Spring Music Series, Sip, Shop and Stroll every 2nd Thursday, Art Studio Tours, the July 4th Parade, the HOGEYE Festival, Holiday by the Tracks, Western Days and the Elgin Farmers Market every Thursday from 5pm-8pm.
The store, located in historic downtown Elgin, offers a variety of evening activities for locals who would prefer to stay close to home. The Owl’s namesake is inspired by an original ghost mural (circa 1900) of Owl Cigars that adorns the store’s wall was painted a year before the building was constructed, providing a stunning historic backdrop. The majestic mural was hidden for more than 90 years until 1990 when a film company shooting a television movie, “In Broad Daylight” revealed the historic artwork.
