Every weekend, shoppers shop to the sound of live music in the Choo Choo Patio Shoppe in Fredericksburg. For the past six years, owners Bill and Laurie Kilpatrick (below) have offered live blues, rock, folk, country, and opera, right inside the store. Photo by Phil Houseal
Details:
The Choo Choo Patio Shoppe, 614 West Main, Fredericksburg, Texas, is open 7 days a week year round. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. There is live music on Friday evening, Saturday afternoon and evening, and Sunday afternoon. No cover. Call 830-990-2622 or visit www.hillcountryteak.com
Listen to the Choo Choo song...
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Choo Choo Patio Shoppe:
Shopping to Chopin
by Phil Houseal
Jan 31, 2007
Any old store can play "elevator-style" canned music. But only a place like the Choo Choo Patio Shoppe dares to bring you a band right in the store!
The concept of having live music with shopping comes from the fertile brain of Bill Kilpatrick ("Mama said she named me Bill because I came at the first of the month"), former adman, storefront philosopher, and owner (with Laurie) of the unique collectible store at 614 West Main.
I am not a shopper. It is futile to ask me to describe the appeal of any retail establishment. But I will try.
This place has teak furniture, jewelry, hammocks, fountains, chimeneas... everything from a granite top table to a clock that runs backwards, plus many items I cannot describe in a family newspaper. Kirkpatrick calls it "eclectic - a little bit of everything and not too much of anything."
For six years he has provided live music every weekend. While browsing in "the Choo Choo," you might hear an aria from Verdi, a fiddle breakdown, or a rock and roll hit played by an Elvis imitator.
Shoppers seem to take it in stride. I've watched them pop in, seeking a distinctive accessory for their home, when they hear the music. Most do a double take, then continue shopping, accepting that it's normal for a man in a cape and wig to be singing Jailhouse Rock in the incense aisle. A few pause to listen, some make requests, and many drop a dollar in the tip jar. Some even run out to their car to fetch a harmonica so they can play along.
Kilpatrick justifies the extra effort by observing that live music creates a loose atmosphere, putting shoppers in a better frame of mind. But the Choo Choo Patio Shoppe is not exactly a high-pressure place to begin with.
"When a customer walks in, Bill always says, 'It's a self-serve world, so don't help them,'" Laurie explained with a laugh. Of course that's just one of Kilpatrick's many jokes. The owners work hard to make the Choo Choo a welcoming place.
In winter, Laurie might have a steaming pot of stew to share at the counter. In summer, many weary tourists take the opportunity to sit down, listen to the music on the outdoor stage, and enjoy a cold drink.
"If they've got the right attitude, I'll give 'em a beer," Kilpatrick said with a laugh, adding, "There's no law that says you can't give it away."
The Choo Choo is known for its original advertising. Everyone listening to local radio recognizes the "pots, pots, pots" ad read in a German accent. The current spot is a spoof on the song "Jackson."
"We got married in a fever
Now we're sitting in an empty house
Where we gonna find some good stuff
To decorate inside and out
We're going to the Choo Choo..."
That advertising approach is another Kilpatrick original.
"Everything is basic and fundamental - there are no deep, dark secrets," said Kilpatrick, a former adman who was one of the first in Texas to package local ads for satellite TV. "It's like football, where the team that tackles and blocks the best is going to win. It's the basics that count."
He believes there are only two kinds of advertising that work - "cornpone or super professionally produced ads," he said. "Everything in between is just perfunctory."
You know which way Kirkpatrick leans. And from where he and Laurie sit, "cornpone" seems to be working.
"People say, 'We've been in lots of places, but we ain't seen nothing like this.'"
XXX