The Texas Center for Wine and Culinary Arts, Inc.

 

What is the mission statement?

 

The Texas Center for Wine and Culinary Arts, Inc. (TCWCA) is dedicated to
 the awareness,
understanding,
and celebration
of Texas food, wine, and agriculture
through educational programming and hands-on experiences.

 What will happen at the Texas Center?

  • Culinary classes  (hands-on and demonstration)
  • Texas wine tastings and food pairings
  • Casual dining
  • Retail (emphasis on wine & culinary products)
  • Corporate team building
  • Industry training for wine, food & hospitality professionals
  • Wine and food industry meetings
  • Culinary education for high school & college students
  • Special event rentals

Where will the center be located?

The planned 30,000 sq. ft. facility will be located on East Ufer Street in downtown Fredericksburg, the hub of the wine industry in the Texas Hill Country.  Fredericksburg is centrally located in Texas and an established visitor destination for residents of all four major metro areas of Texas.

 

The Texas Center for Wine and Culinary Arts, Inc.

 

What are the envisioned components of the facility?

 

  • Educational

    • Hands-on kitchen   1.500 sq. ft.
    • Theater and demo kitchen  1,500 sq. ft.
    • Two permanent classrooms  800 sq. ft.
    • Board room   500 sq. ft.
    • Lab  400 sq. ft.

 

  • Wine Tasting, Dining & Retail

    • Restaurant   1,500 Sq. ft.
    • Wine tasting & retail   2,500 sq. ft.
    • Public restrooms   700 sq. ft.
    • Kitchen and storage  2,000 sq. ft.

 

  • Events, Conferences & Meetings

    • Event  space   10,500 Sq. Ft.
    • Event foyer  1,250 sq. ft.
    • Catering kitchen, storage, hallways, etc.  4,700 sq. ft.

 

  • Administration

    The Texas Center for Wine and Culinary Arts, Inc.

    • Offices, work space, mechanical, etc.   2,150 sq. ft.

 

When will the center open?

The current development timeline calls for a grand opening in October of 2014; however, the opening date is very dependent on fund raising efforts.

 

What is the estimated economic impact?

A feasibility study was completed in 2009 by Fairweather Consulting.

  • The center will attract some 34,000 new culinary travelers to Fredericksburg annually.
  • The economic impact should reach $11.2 million for Fredericksburg/Gillespie County.
  • A total annual estimated impact of $16.1 million for Texas.

 

How much is it all going to cost?

  • Ballpark — $10 million.
  • This covers site acquisition, capital budget and projected operational deficit during first three years.

Funding will be raised upfront so there is no debt service.