The Porch and The Taproom, located at 129 E. Hopkins St., Ste. 110 and 120 respectively, underwent new ownership Nov. 1. The new owners, Sara LeVine and Samantha Strahan, met with the previous owners, Travis Kelsey and Kevin Shea, in early March 2020 and worked toward finalizing ownership for over a year and a half during the pandemic.

Levine and Strahan, Kyle and San Marcos residents respectively, have worked in the service industry for years and always knew they wanted to own a bar.

“Combined we’ve done every job in the industry from line cook to bar manager to talent buyer to brand developers ... so it just seemed like the natural progression to purchase a place and get to really try our hand at owning a spot,” Strahan said.

The Taproom will continue to operate as normal while The Porch will move toward live music.

“The Porch is getting a big face-lift; we’re redesigning the layout, and we have a New Years’ Eve party, so we’ll start music programming on a regular basis in 2022,” Strahan said.

The Porch, 512-392-9824; The Taproom, 512-392-9824