For most of its history, Floore's Country Store had a clear role in Helotes. It was where you went at night. That changed on April 17, 2026, when Reese Bros Barbecue opened a counter inside the building on Old Bandera Road. A Sunday at Floore's can now start at 11 a.m. with brisket tacos and finish hours later on the dance floor.
This is the first fall with Floore's open in daylight, and that shifts how a Helotes weekend comes together. The October through December calendar now has two kinds of days. On some, a daytime event in Old Town or along Bandera Road hands off to an evening show at Floore's. On others, Floore's covers the whole day by itself.
A Night Venue With a Lunch Counter
The building has been changing roles since the beginning. John T. Floore was a former Majestic Theatre manager. He opened the Country Store in 1942, and it soon went from a grocery store to a music venue with an indoor dance hall and an outdoor stage. Willie Nelson, Bob Wills, Ernest Tubb, Waylon Jennings and Ray Price are among the artists who have played there. The address is still 14492 Old Bandera Road.
Reese Bros brings its own reputation to the room. Brothers Nick and Elliott Reese opened their East Side smokehouse in 2022. It made Texas Monthly's list of the 25 best new and improved barbecue joints in Texas, and the Michelin Guide Texas added it as a "Recommended" restaurant in 2025. The Express-News describes the menu as "puro San Antonio," which means Central Texas smoking with bold Mexican flavors. At Floore's, the advertised items include brisket tacos, house-made sausage and smoked cheeseburgers.
Both sides presented it as a partnership. "Barbecue and live music have always gone hand in hand," the Reese brothers said when it was announced. Floore's managing partner Mark McKinney said the venue was excited to pair the Reese Bros menu "together with our South Texas musical roots." Sammy Arriaga and Matt Castillo played the opening day in April.
How a Sunday at Floore's Runs Now
The free Sunday dance was already a Floore's tradition. Dine and Dance is an all-ages, indoor event with live music and dancing. The venue describes its regular dances as first- and third-Sunday events plus special holiday weekends. What's new is the lunch service ahead of it. On Sundays when both are listed, the day runs in this order:
- 11 a.m.: Reese Bros lunch opens and runs until the full menu sells out.
- After the sellout: A limited menu takes over, so arriving late still gets you something to eat.
- Midafternoon: Free dance lessons begin. The Reese Bros lunch listing puts them at 3:30 p.m. The Dine and Dance listing for Oct. 11 says 3 p.m.
- Late afternoon: Live music and open dancing follow. The lunch listing says 4:30 p.m., and the Oct. 11 Dine and Dance listing says the dance starts at 4 p.m.
The two pages differ by half an hour, so check the listing for your specific Sunday before you go. Floore's calendar shows the lunch-and-dance pairing on both Oct. 11 and Oct. 18.
The other Sunday on this fall's calendar is Oct. 25. That day, the City of Helotes is promoting Café & Cuddles at Refuge Coffee + Beer Garden from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It has animal encounters, children's activities and food. Tickets cost $15 online and $18 at the door. Refuge is at 11011 Shaenfield Road near Loop 1604, so it has a San Antonio address rather than an Old Town one.
The Saturdays That Stack
Saturdays work differently. Floore's still holds the evening, and something else holds the morning. A few dates this fall line up especially well.
| Date | Daytime | Evening at Floore's |
|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 10 | Battle of Hillotes Half Marathon, 10K and 5K | Randy Rogers Band with Hank Weaver and Sammy Arriaga |
| Sat., Nov. 7 | Helotes MarketPlace, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. | Josh Abbott Band with David Lewis |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Helotes MarketPlace, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. | Shane Smith and the Saints |
Randy Rogers Band plays two nights. The Friday, Oct. 9 show has Josh Meloy and Cameron Allbright on the bill. The following Friday, Oct. 16, Pecos & the Rooftops play with KG And The Bad Habits. That same evening, the Chamber calendar lists the YMCA Boo Bash.
The Helotes MarketPlace sets the pace for the first Saturday of each month. It's held in Old Town at 14391 Riggs Road and is free to attend. The City advertises more than 150 vendors plus food and live music. Arts and crafts are the focus, with cottage-food and farmers-market sellers, a food court and nonprofit booths alongside. The organizer's 2026 schedule lists the remaining fall dates as Nov. 7 and Dec. 5, both 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Its page notes that dates can change because of weather. An older City page lists fall hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The organizer's current 9-to-3 schedule is the one to go by.
The two market Saturdays follow the same pattern. On Nov. 7, Josh Abbott Band plays Floore's after the market closes. On Dec. 5, the market fills Riggs Road until mid-afternoon, and Shane Smith and the Saints take the stage at Floore's that night. The rest of December at Floore's includes Redferrin on Dec. 10, Kaitlin Butts on Dec. 11 and Kolby Cooper on Dec. 19. In November, Corey Kent plays Floore's on Thursday, Nov. 12.
Where the Calendar Leaves Old Bandera Road
Some of the fall's best events happen away from Floore's, and they mostly fall on days it isn't programming.
Pedrotti's Ranch Fall Fest, Friday, Oct. 30. The 6th annual festival is at Pedrotti's Ranch, 13715 FM 1560 N. Pedrotti's is an event venue with chef-prepared food and bar service, and it usually hosts private and corporate functions rather than walk-in dining. Doors open at 5 p.m. The kids' zone runs until 7:30, a live rodeo goes from 7:30 to 8:30, and Nick Lawrence plays from 8:30 to 10. General admission is $20 for ages 13 and up and $10 for ages 4 to 12. Children 3 and under get in free.
The City's events on Bandera Road. On Thursday, Oct. 8, the City hosts a Special Needs Pumpkin Patch and Inclusive Bingo from 5 to 7 p.m. at 13222 Bandera Road. The Veterans Day Concert is Sunday, Nov. 8 at 3 p.m. at 12951 Bandera Road. The same site holds a resident-only hazardous-waste collection on Saturday, Nov. 14, starting at 7 a.m.
The holiday weekend. The City's annual-events page sets Lighting of the Lights at 12951 Bandera Road on the first Friday of December. The Hill Country Christmas Parade runs through Old Town on the second Saturday. Under that pattern, this year's dates would be Dec. 4 and Dec. 12. The City hadn't posted dated 2026 listings for either event as of early October, so confirm before making plans. If the pattern holds, Lighting of the Lights falls the night before the Dec. 5 market and Shane Smith show, which would make it a three-event weekend.
Smaller Changes Along the Same Street
Floore's isn't the only change on Old Bandera Road this year. Spread the Loaves, the Old Town bakery, announced a move from its small original shop into a larger space at The Shops at Old Town Helotes, 14743 Old Bandera Road. The new space is directly behind the old one, and the bakery's last day at the original location was June 2, 2026. In a May 27 report, the bakery hadn't set a reopening date because permits were still pending. Its website still lists it as a bakery in Old Town Helotes.
Along Bandera Road, Slim Chickens closed its restaurant at 12530 Bandera Rd. on Aug. 24, 2026. The franchise owner said the lease had ended and that he was looking for another site in the area. No new address has been announced. Down the road, Helotes Plaza at 12901 to 12952 Bandera Road changed owners on Aug. 4. The buyer was Helotes Retail Partners, Ltd., a limited partnership managed by Weitzman. Weitzman says the center is fully leased, with tenants including Dollar Tree, Dairy Queen, Harbor Health, Subway and Momentum Physical Therapy. In May, the San Antonio Current reported that Dave's Hot Chicken plans a Helotes location at 9257 N Loop 1604 West, with finish-out work expected in early November. No opening date has been announced.
A planned Old Town addition is still in the permit stage. Calico Bar has been reported for 11978 Leslie Road, with construction scheduled to start in July 2026 and finish in August 2027. Those are projections from a March filing. For now, the nearest new spot for an afternoon meal in Old Town is the Reese Bros counter at Floore's, open at 11 a.m. on its listed Sundays.
At Piazza Realty Group, we keep track of Helotes weekends the same way our neighbors do, from the Sunday lunch line at Floore's to the first-Saturday market on Riggs Road. If you'd like to talk about Old Town Helotes or the Bandera Road corridor in more detail, Let's Connect.
