Ever circled McMakin Road on a Saturday night, looking for a spot near The Bartonville Store, and passed the open lot right next to the building? That lot has a job. It isn't land left over for later. It's the store's septic leach field, and it has to stay open ground because the building has no sewer connection. The Dallas Morning News reported in April 2026 that the same space could hold about 50 parking spaces.
The field limits parking, the days the store can open, and the size of private events it can take on. Since July it has also been the subject of a lawsuit against the Town of Bartonville. If you plan to catch some of the fall lineup at 96 McMakin Rd, it helps to know how much of the experience is shaped by plumbing.
What the Lot Does Instead of Holding Cars
The Bartonville Store doesn't run on sewer, so owner Tim House has to keep a leach field for sanitation. According to the Dallas Morning News, that leaves room for roughly 50 parking spaces sitting empty, and on busy nights parking gets scarce. The same report says the limit has made larger special-occasion events, such as wedding receptions, hard to host.
House has also linked the septic system to the store's schedule. In Cross Timbers Gazette's July 24, 2026 report, he said a sewer connection would let the Old Town businesses swap their large septic systems for more parking and open an extra two or three days a week. The line in question already runs along McMakin Road, 23 feet from the store, and is maintained by Fresh Water Supply District No. 7.
So the short week and the tight Saturday lot come from the same cause. Right now the store packs its music, its Sunday market and its dinner crowd into the days it can open, around a field that has to stay empty.
How a Corner Store Ended Up in Court
The sewer question at this address goes back further than the current restaurant. Put together from local reporting, the timeline looks like this:
- 1882. The original Bartonville store is built near the corner of Jeter and McMakin Roads. It later burns, and most of the building that stands today dates to the mid-20th century.
- Late 20th century to 2013. It runs as a family-owned convenience store with a cooler of Dr Pepper and a lunch counter serving pressed ham sandwiches. It closes in 2013 and the property is sold to the town.
- 2017. A buyer who wanted to open a Western-style restaurant asks the town council for a sewer connection. The council votes no, and the deal falls apart.
- 2018. Tim House buys the property, knowing it has no sewer. He told the Dallas Morning News he'd heard a rumor that a discount chain wanted to tear the building down, and he wanted to keep it.
- 2019. After a year of renovation, the store reopens as a restaurant and music venue. It draws Texas names like Dale Watson, Wanda King and Butch Hancock.
- 2022. House takes the sewer issue to the town council and is voted down.
- January to April 2026. House goes to monthly council meetings asking to get the issue on the agenda. On April 21, nearly 30 people speak during public comment: about 20 in support, about six opposed and a few with general comments.
- July 21, 2026. House and three other Old Town Bartonville businesses sue the town to get a connection to the line.
The renovation explains the room you walk into today. According to the Dallas Morning News, House and his crew kept the original doors, put in new flooring and redid the walls. They added a back fire pit, a game room with leather couches, and a stage covered with an antique Oriental rug, set in front of the old Bartonville Food Store sign.
Where Things Stand in October 2026
When the suit was filed, the town told Cross Timbers Gazette that its legal counsel had advised it not to comment. The town's posted agenda for the October 13, 2026 council meeting doesn't list a sewer item. We haven't found a ruling or settlement in the local reporting we reviewed.
House described the goal this way to Cross Timbers Gazette:
"None of us are trying to change the character of the town, and there wouldn't be any noticeable difference to anyone. It would just help us run our businesses more efficiently."
The opposing view is just as clear in the reporting. Cross Timbers Gazette reported that at the April meeting, speakers against the connection said they want Bartonville to stay rural and the town to keep its current policies. They also said the McMakin Road businesses knew they'd be on septic, and some worried an exception could open the door to larger or higher-density development later. On capacity, Kevin Mercer, general manager of Denton County Fresh Water Supply Districts No. 6 and 7, told the Dallas Morning News the line could take only a few more businesses. "We certainly do not have the excess capacity for the town if they wanted to serve urban development or residential developments," he said, as Cross Timbers Gazette reported.
The support also came from well beyond town limits. The same Cross Timbers Gazette account reported that April speakers came from Bartonville, Double Oak, Highland Village, Lewisville, Flower Mound, Denton and Lake Dallas, and that some wore shirts reading "You gotta fight for your right to potty."
Planning a Visit Around the Short Week
Until a court rules otherwise, the store keeps a compressed schedule, and its own website doesn't fully agree with itself. The homepage lists Wednesday 5 to 10 p.m., Thursday and Friday 3 p.m. to midnight, Saturday 11 a.m. to midnight and Sunday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The About page lists Thursday through Sunday only. Wednesday events do appear on the October calendar, but call ahead before driving over midweek. The store says it takes reservations for parties of any size, which is a good idea on a big Saturday given the lot.
Here's what the store's events page lists for the next stretch of October. The page shows no year or update date, and event times can run past the regular posted hours, so check details before you go.
Date | Event | Time | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
Wed., Oct. 14 | The Swap presented by 3418, an acoustic song swap with Joey Green and Erick Willis, with an opening set by 4x4 | 7 to 11 p.m. | Ticketed |
Thursdays, incl. Oct. 15 | Thursday Blues Jam with Mark Sena and his Jam Band | 7 to 11 p.m. | Free |
Fri., Oct. 16 | Mike Morgan, Jim Suhler and Texas Slim | 8 to 11 p.m. | Ticketed |
Sat., Oct. 17 | Highwaymen Tribute with Raised Right Men | 8 to 11 p.m. | Ticketed |
Sundays, incl. Oct. 18 | Bartonville Farmer's Market | 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. | Not listed |
Sun., Oct. 18 | Mattie Rose Birthday Bash, six acts through a 6 p.m. set by Mattie Rose & The Stellatas | 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. | $15 at the door |
Sundays, incl. Oct. 18 | Open Mic with Justin Collins | 2 to 4 p.m. | Not listed; reservations taken |
Wed., Oct. 21 | Bartonville's Battle of the Bands | 7 to 10 p.m. | Free |
October 18 is the day to watch for crowds. The farmers market, the all-day birthday bash and the open mic overlap on the same Sunday, and an all-day $15 ticket lets people come and go. The Battle of the Bands is the more relaxed choice. Solo and duo acts compete for a $250 paid Friday night gig and full bands for a $500 one, with a four-judge panel counting for 80% of the result and audience paper ballots for the other 20%.
The song swap has local roots too. The Dallas Morning News reported that George Dunham hosts a monthly song swap at the store and that his band, the Bird Dogs, plays there regularly.
Jeter's Meat Shop, Inside the Same Four Walls
Not everyone who visits the store comes for a show. Jeter's Meat Shop is a butcher counter inside the building. Ahead of the store's 2019 reopening, Cross Timbers Gazette described the plan as a grass-fed, grain-finished Prime butcher shop featuring Texas-raised Wagyu from the Rosewood Ranches herd. A 2021 Cross Timbers Gazette profile described a meat shop selling 15 to 16 cuts sourced from Rosewood Ranches. The butcher-case listing includes Wagyu cuts, jerky, hot dogs, sausages, bacon, ribs and Wagyu butter, all for pickup during business hours. Since Jeter's runs on the store's hours, the short week covers it too.
On the dining side, the menu runs from pancakes, biscuits and sausage gravy, and chicken and waffles to Nashville hot chicken and shrimp and grits.
Another Bartonville Afternoon Nearby
If McMakin Road is packed, Bartonville's horse country has something else on the calendar. Hidden Lake Farm at 1201 Broome Road hosts its Halloween Show on October 25, followed by a Thanksgiving Show on November 15 and a Christmas Show on December 6. The main arena sits beside a 4-acre lake. Spectators at daytime shows are welcome to bring fishing poles between classes, and the farm says concession food is always for sale and there's plenty of shade.
The court case will decide whether The Bartonville Store gets that lot back for parking and adds days to its week. For now, Thursday's free blues jam and Wednesday's Battle of the Bands are the easiest ways in, and October 18 is the date to plan around if you want the full day.
If you love Bartonville for corners like McMakin Road and want someone who follows these local stories as closely as you do, Tamara Thompson would be glad to compare notes over a song swap or a Sunday market visit. Let's Connect.
