By Kacee Flores
Yuc9@txstate.edu
Comal County Courthouse, built in 1898. 
The view down San Antonio street from The Plaza in Historic Downtown. 
San Antionio St., The Downtown Antique mall is featured behind it. 
Many well-loved local businesses such as New Braunfels Coffee located on 489 Main Plaza, keep the small town charm. 
Outside local piano bar Moonshine & Ale, where locals can enjoy a variety of spirits while getting live entertainment. 
A packed Moonshine & Ale on a Saturday night, during their All Request Piano show. 
Waitress Nadia Garcia serving drinks to patrons enjoying the piano show. 
James Morgan, Longtime employee of New Braunfels Smokehouse, showing off a fresh turkey leg. 
Reagan Brunkenhoeffer, New Braunfels local, eating a turkey leg from a local vendor New Braunfels Smokehouse during Wurstfest. 
Kinder Tanze, which translates to “Children Dance,” A 50+ year old youth German Dance group performing in Wursthalle at Wurstfest. 
Carey Malek, New Braunfels local, shows off his large collection of Wurstfest pins.
On I-35 between Austin and San Antonio lies one of the fastest growing cities in the US, New Braunfels. Spanning at about 45 miles of hill country and home of both the Comal and Guadalupe River, New Braunfels has erupted with new businesses and residents alike. Named one of the top places to live in the country, the impact of the growing population and visitors year-to-year is felt by everyone – not only by local businesses, but also those who live in the historic city.
Established in 1845, New Braunfels holds many historic buildings. For example, according to the New Braunfels website, Texas’ oldest bakery, Naeglin’s bakery and also the states’ oldest dancehall, Gruene Hall, lie in the expanding city. Businesses such as these that are still operating, as well as newer ones housed in historic buildings, like Moonshine & Ale, try to preserve the small-town feel for the likes of the locals. “That’s something we really think about,” says Alyssa Alsobrook, manager of the downtown piano bar when asked about maintaining the bars local vibe. “We try to keep the same atmosphere every single week… friendly bartenders, familiar faces behind the bar, I mean we have the same girls every weekend. I think people still come here because it feels like New Braunfels.” Alsobrook also mentions how she feels the town’s growth is vital to keeping historic downtown operative. “We get people in here every week who’ve just moved to town and are exploring. They fall in love with the place, become regulars and bring their friends. Growth brings new energy and that keeps downtown alive.”
The small-town feeling is what appeals to a lot of new residents. “New Braunfels is the sweet spot,” says Austin Smith, a former student at Texas State and now a project manager for a construction site in New Braunfels. “Not as crazy as Austin, not as sleepy as some small town. There’s good food, good bars and people have been welcoming. It’s got that local vibe but still feels like there’s stuff happening every weekend.” The New Braunfels website states that the towns population has increased by 71% since 2010, which is more than triple that of San Antonio (21%) and almost double of Austin (37%).
The increasing number of young residents like Smith, also means more opportunities to socialize. “Oh yeah people are super social. Actually, on Wednesdays, Pour Haus has a run club and it’s growing more and more every week,” says Smith. “I’ve met a ton of people my age there, and also just going out you see a lot of the same people every weekend. That’s another way I’ve made friends.” Many students such as Smith are moving to New Braunfels post-grad, one reason being that the city is in the middle of Austin and San Antonio, giving those who are employed in the major cities a somewhat easy commute.
The growth shows no signs of stopping. Many new small and big businesses are coming to town, such as Texas Roadhouse, Sprouts Grocery and Kennedy’s, a new Irish pub in development downtown, is making many local businesses weary.
But Alyssa Alsobrook isn’t weary.
“I’m not really worrying about if these newer places that are popping up will affect our business. So far, we are still doing great, because as I mentioned before we are pretty established. There also is no live request piano elsewhere downtown, so that makes us stand out,” says Alsobrook. “You still have the old buildings, the plaza, all that charm, but it’s surrounded by so much new development now. It’s kind of like two worlds mixing together. The old New Braunfels and the new one that’s growing fast.”
The city of New Braunfels has a certain charm only found in small towns, with emphasis on local traditions such as Wurstfest, a German sausage festival that began in 1961. Wurstfest brings a large influx of tourists to New Braunfels, with 2024 fall visitors increasing 6% from 2023 to 2024 as reported by visitnbtx.com. For Reagan Brunkenhoefer, Texas State University student and New Braunfels native, the 10-day-long festival is more than simply a tourist attraction. “When I was younger it felt more authentic, like everyone actually celebrated the traditions. Now a lot of it feels more like tourism – people come for Wurstfest, drink beer and leave. It’s still fun but it’s different when you grew up with it.”
Whether New Braunfels residents and businesses like it or not – the town’s population is booming. It’s up to them to uphold the historic traditions and atmosphere to pass onto newer generations, no matter how big or small New Braunfels becomes.
