BIZ: Bertram Library cafe space under new management
The shuttered doors of Texas Pecan Cake Shop soon will be reopened under new management. Burnet County Sheriff's Office Livestock Deputy Jason Jewett won a bid to turn the space into a cafe and coffee shop that he hopes to open before summer. Staff photo by Dakota Morrissiey
A coffee shop and cafe will soon replace Texas Pecan Cake Shop in a leased space inside the Joann Cole Mitte Memorial Library in Bertram. Burnet County Sheriff’s Office Livestock Deputy Jason Jewett plans to open the new cafe before summer starts.
The Burnet County Commissioners Court approved Jewett’s bid for the lease during its regular meeting on Feb. 28.
Jewett was the sole bidder at $951 per month. Texas Pecan Cake Shop has occupied the space since 2016, but owners Bridget and Will McCoy did not participate in the bidding process.
“A friend and I have talked about doing something along the lines of a coffee shop for a while, so we discussed it when I saw the bidding becoming available and thought we would try for it,” Jewett told DailyTrib.com. “It’s a great little space in the library, and we’re excited about being a part of the community, the library, and Bertram.”
Jewett will officially take over the lease on April 1 with a two-year contract and options to extend. He hopes to have the cafe up and running by May or June.
The Friends of the Bertram Library deeded the library to the county in May 2022.
“Once (the library) became publicly owned, (the leased space) had to go out for bid to give the public a fair opportunity,” Burnet County Auditor Karin Smith said. “The county had to. We can’t lease out space in a county building without it going for bid.”
The McCoys were notified of the bidding process six months in advance as per state law.
Public notice of the bidding opportunity was posted on the Burnet County website and in local newspapers in early February, giving a minimum of two weeks’ notice before bidding closed on Feb. 21.
The McCoys could not be reached for comment on future plans for Texas Pecan Cake Shop, but their business was closed indefinitely earlier this year due to Will McCoy’s battle with pancreatic cancer.
