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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 27, 1987)
Tuesday, January 27, 1987/The Battalion/Page 9 ^Rebuilt Smetana Grocery still popular gathering spot in and ran;. TCH and its amesti: e. Ave >26 lerslii;! Ulllllli. on 1-2611 s IENT By Cindy Bomba Reporter Photos by Doug La Rue I A Duddley’s Draw in Smetana, Texas? Smetana Grocery may be a grocery store, but its atmosphere of ten resembles the informality of Northgate. I Smetana is located five miles west of downtown Bryan on Texas High way 21. I The store has been rebuilt three times, but it remains the most popu lar gathering place for young and old of the community. ■ What other grocery store allows customers to enjoy a cold beer while they shop, play a game of dominos or shoot a friendly game of pool? I The community of Smetana was founded in 1887, when Jacob Sra- mek opened the Smetana Grocery and officially named the community Smetana. Sramek’s store served as ' post office and grocery store and he postmaster and storekeeper. I Sramek named the community af ter the 19th century Czech com poser, Bedrich Smetana, who com- Jfosed songs of protest against the oppressive Czech rulers and patri- i songs to unite the Czech people into a nation. I His store was the only building in town for many years and developed ^nto a natural meeting place for the community. I Sramek opened his store in the fete 1800s (nobody remembers the pmact year). ■ In 1928, his son, John Sramek, took over the family store and built a ^■ew Smetana Grocery to replace the ^ftiginal. He didn’t take over as post- ^Biaster — the post office wasn’t in 1 aie new store — but he served as jus- ti( e of the peace. K In 1972, Lee Don Bienski, John’s grandson, took over as storekeeper ■while working on his doctorate in chemistry at Texas A&M. After completing his degree, Bienski taught at A&M for one year. . I Realizing his roots were in Sme- fena Grocery, he left teaching and assumed the life his grandfather and great-grandfather had lived. If After operating the store for 10 years, Bienski and his wife, Carolyn Davis, Brazos County Court secre tary, decided they needed a larger, more efficient store. B In 1982, he started putting his ideas for a new store on paper and Davis started to prepare the towns people for the new building. When the new store opened Dec. 31, Bienski had a hard time convinc ing some of his friends to leave the old store and come to the new one. The new two-story building houses the grocery store downstairs that eventually will offer a delicates sen as well as the fresh meat and veg etables Bienski and Davis grow. The back of the first floor has ta bles for talking and drinking; be yond these are two pool tables. % Bernhard Reiser is the young German architect who designed and built the new store. Reiser lived in West Germany when Bienski first telephoned him in 1984 to design the store. The next year Reiser came to the United States to build it. Daniel Matlek, left, and Bernhard Reiser discuss the installation of the counters in the main room of the new Smetana grocery store. er I ntenantf V JAN 31 Engineering, Computer Science, BANA And Business Majors.** Find Out Where You Fit In A Big 8 Firm The Management Information Consulting Division of Arthur Andersen & Co* Invite you to a presentation/reception on Thursday, January 29. 1987, at 6:30 p.m. at the College Station Hilton. Casual attire. We will be on campus interviewing graduate students in business and computer science as well as undergraduates in business, engineering, BANA and computer science on February 9 and 10, 1987. a Arthur Andersen Bernhard Reiser, the German architect who de- minute to relax outside by his VW van. Reiser * signed and built the new grocery store, takes a had the van shipped in from Germany. This former Smetana grocery store is destined to Bienski represents the third generation of his become a barn for the Bienski family. Lee ,P«n family to take over running the Smetana store. © |^8iM Un/p FjsIi m Camp ^9gie TtsA" •e* COUNSELOR Applications Open: Jan. 26 Close: Feb. 6 213 Pavilion