Sitting on the edge of the 6.2 square miles that make up the tiny town of Bartonville, lies The Bartonville Store – a 143-year-old landmark.
Originally built in 1882 by the Barton family, it served as a general store mostly for farmers. Strategically located at the crossroads bridging Denton, Grapevine and Lewisville, it provided a meeting place to create community and saved locals from time-consuming supply trips.
Over the decades, the building lived through several iterations. At one point, it served as a two-story hub, where folks would gather to dance upstairs. It functioned as a town hall, where residents would debate items like the possibility of incorporating Bartonville into the larger surrounding areas. Legend has it that even Bonnie and Clyde once stopped by for a fill up, when it acted as a gas station.
The store passed through family hands for generations, with the Price family operating it from the 1950s until 2013. It closed its doors—briefly—before the town took ownership. Then came Tim House.
In 2018, Tim bid on the building not to turn a profit, but to preserve a piece of Bartonville’s history. He poured a year into renovations and reopened in 2019 — unfortunately just before the pandemic.
Still, he had a vision, one he refused to give up on.
Having grown up in the 50s and 60s, Tim is a well-rounded music lover. He played and sang in bands in the late 60s and early 70s, and still occasionally plays a few instruments, but considers himself more of a music appreciator than performer.
When he and his late wife, Kathleen, moved to Double Oak just up the street from the Store in 1994, their weekend adventures consisted of driving to Dallas, Ft. Worth, and Denton to catch some quality live music. Tim dreamed of one day bringing talented live acts closer to home.
The Bartonville Store became that reality. Tim transformed it into a uniquely intimate restaurant and music venue, keeping its country, old town charm while showcasing heavyweight musicians of various genres, including country, blues, soul, and Americana.
The list of artists who have performed on the Store stage includes Stony Larue, Pat Green, Cody Jinks, Butch Hancock, Dean Dillon, Wanda King, Zack Harmon... and of course, the Store's neighbor and friend, George Dunham with his band the Bird Dogs.
For Tim the motivation isn’t profit, it's connection. Building community and seeing a smile spread across a patrons face when they realize what they’ve stumbled into – that’s his payoff.
He thanks his General Manager Hannah Barrera and Bar Manager Perry Serna for ensuring the place runs with heart. Whether it’s Hannah fine tuning a customer’s dining experience or Perry slinging jalapeño margaritas and bourbon, they all share a love for this “true country place.”
Tim’s only wish for the future is simple: that the Bartonville Store stays the same, even after he’s gone. His daughters Jenny and Kayli help maintain the store, and he hopes to make it a family legacy.
Nearly a century and a half after The Bartonville Store’s establishment, Tim hopes to keep the lights on, the music playing and the community smiling.
Building community and seeing a smile spread across a patrons face when they realized what they’ve stumbled into – that’s his payoff.