Move over Taco Tuesday. Wednesday’s “Steaknite” is back.
Editor’s Note: Due to summer weather extremes, The Waring General Store will be closed during August 2018. We suggest that you check their Facebook page (below) for similar updates now and in the future.
If you get a chance this summer to step into tiny Waring, Texas, on a Wednesday evening, you’ll glimpse the past living right alongside the present and the future.
The past is, of course, evidenced in historic buildings like The Waring General Store, recognizable with its antique gas pumps and vintage signs out front. The town itself, situated about fifteen minutes north of Boerne in Kendall County, isn’t much bigger than a postage stamp. Dating back to the 1880s, Waring has never advanced much beyond a small rural community. Thus it naturally packs authentic, salt-of-the-earth rural Hill Country charm.
The old store is part of that spell.
For many years, the traditional Wednesday night supper—called “Steaknite” and made famous by the late, renowned Texas caterer Don Strange—was a “must do” for steak lovers. It drew people, city slickers and farmhands alike, for a great, belt-straining meal in a rustic setting.
As so often happens in life, change came. Don Strange passed away. His family kept the weekly event going for awhile and then the property changed hands a couple of times.
One day earlier this year a bright-eyed, energetic couple by the name of Sterneckert turned up in town. Rolling up their sleeves alongside family and friends, they set about to bring back the old Steaknite ways, spicing the tradition up with their own enthusiasm and warm hospitality.
The pair are the present and future of this space.
“We took over the ranch a few weeks ago. The store came with it,” said Kevin Sterneckert. He was working the register on the first night that I visited Waring. That was back in May, and I’d been out in nearby Sisterdale covering a separate, forthcoming story about Rock Harbor Hill Country Lodge. Having failed to take the right turn to Rock Harbor, I wound up in Waring.
Along the way I’d passed the same “ranch” to which Kevin referred. That was Don Strange’s old place–nearer to Welfare, Texas–known for not only being a working ranch but also a popular event venue and the home to a legendary Christmas light show.
“As soon as we signed the papers on the land, we dove right in with Steaknite,” Kevin added. “It’s been a bit of a whirlwind, bringing back the Wednesday night thing and doing all the work out at the ranch.”
He paused, looked thoughtfully for a moment, and added enthusiastically, “Would you believe we’ve got brand-new baby Longhorns?”
Kevin’s exuberance for the couple’s new business is matched by that of his wife, Natalie. A photographer by profession, she was quick to point out the care taken to bring the old store back to its rustic beauty.
“We cleaned and freshened up every square inch of the place,” she said. “Every inch.”
On that pleasant, late May evening, Kevin stayed at the register to tend to customers while Natalie showed me around the facility. She introduced to me to the ladies making gorditas, took a moment to help a diner load vegetables onto his plate, and brought me to the area where steaks are ordered.
In the distance I could see musicians tuning up on a stage. Around them were families tucking into steaks while savoring the late afternoon ambiance.
Alas, having come to Steaknite accidentally—and with no time on my schedule that first night to sample the food myself, I had to leave in a rush. But the memory of that general store stayed with me. Was it the vibe? The scent of grilled meat? The abundant hospitality?
Two weeks later I was back, this time with two of my favorite girlfriends in tow.
Kevin greeted me at the register again, this time like an old friend. When Natalie spotted our group, she recognized me, too. We talked about a big newspaper write up they’ve had over in Boerne, how pleasant the weather was that evening, and all the hard work that she’d been doing by hand on the ranch.
Catching up with one another is a big part of Steaknite and what sets it apart from any other steak dinner on any other night of the week. The event is about connecting people, slowing down to listen, and digging into a shared experience of fellowship.
Still, folks understandably show up every week expecting to eat. And it’s smart to come hungry. For supper, my friends and I piled up plates full of made-to-order, rib-eye steaks, fresh vegetables, and massive baked potatoes with all the fixings. When it came to the sides, the set up was mostly self-service, and the air was heavy with the scent of beef.
“These steaks are new,” said later Kevin, when he stopped by the table to see how we were doing. “We were doing sirloin strips, the kind you can get just about anywhere. But we switched to this rib eye from Chick’s Prime Meat Market [in Spring Branch]. We’re one of only three places where you can get this steak, which comes from grass-fed beef. It’s just a better quality piece of meat.”
My own rib-eye steak was, in a word, delicious. Also notable were the handmade gorditas and a vegetable medley starring green beans. Natalie had whipped up a berry-infused lemonade—“Everyone keeps asking for it!”—and there was a dessert table loaded with cobblers and tiny cupcakes from Small Cakes Cupcakery and Creamery.
With a few weeks of Steaknite under their belt, the Sterneckerts and their crew were making plans their first-ever Fourth of July family picnic out at their new ranch. Yes, July 4 falls on a Wednesday this year, so there will be no Steaknite that night in Waring proper. Instead Kevin and Natalie are inviting all-comers to their ranch for a party featuring food trucks, live music, old-fashioned games (cornhole, potato sack races), newfangled fun (a zipline run), fireworks, and a strong Hill Country spirit. Admission and parking, Kevin told me, will be free.
“We want it to be something special, something memorable,” said Kevin.
Honestly, I have little reason to believe it’ll be anything other than precisely that.
Pamela Price is the founder of TheTexasWildflower.com. She believes that traveling the Hill Country to meet people, write stories, and make photographs is the best job ever.
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The Waring General Store is only open on Wednesdays, for Steaknite, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tickets are $29 each for adults, plus beverage. Kids 11 and under eat free. Tickets can be purchased online or at the door. For more details, see TheWaringGeneralStore.com or follow them on Facebook.
The 2018 Don Strange Family Ranch 4th of July Family Picnic will take place on Wednesday, July 4. [UPDATE: The picnic has a Facebook event page with picnic details.] At press time, the start and end times were still pending, but you can visit DonStrangeRanch.com for details in the coming days.
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