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R ound Top Brewing has finally opened its doors, in the turn-of-the-century Peake House in Minden Square, and owners Brooke and Paul Michie have cooked up a new menu of dark brews and healthy, comforting dishes to warm bellies and lift spirits this holiday season. "For winter, we're planning to brew a honey brown ale with our friend's local honey, a winter warmer stout, and a few lagers ahead of spring," says Brooke. The local honey will be from the same source as the delectable honey butter that she and brewmeister husband Paul make at their neighboring venture, Lollitop Sweetshop. The nano-brewery and taproom also offers top local and national beers, as well as a selection of boutique wines. New eats include seasonal salads, hearty soups, chef-crafted pâtés and spreads, pressed sandwiches, and unique tacos — some stuffed with wild game — on pillowy house-made tortillas. Round Top Brewing, 101 W. Austin St., roundtopbrewing.com. Candice Cowin (Continued from page 18) TOP J ust in at press time: Fundraising kicks into high gear for the Fayetteville Community Center & P e r f o r m a n c e Theater, a big-picture idea that melds performing arts, historic preservation, and place-making for a new cultural and community nexus spun around Fayetteville's charming town square. The 1875-era E.J. Knesek Building, catty-corner from the town's iconic courthouse, was acquired in 2019 by a group of citizens and business owners who came together to found a nonprofit to make the new center possible. The beloved building has a rich, vital history as the past HQ for Frank Spacek, an agent who connected the area's early flow of Czech immigrants to homes and employment. Subsequently, the Knesek Building housed Fayetteville's first newspaper, Vestnik (published by the Czech fraternal society SPJST), followed later by the Fayetteville Fact. Merry times occurred when the Buck Horn Saloon and its popular second-floor dance hall held court during the turn-of-the-century. Now the Knesek is ready for its next act, as a 150-seat theater with public rooms for meetings, community gatherings, conferences, and other special occasions, complete with catering kitchen. Austin firm Heimsath Architects has been tapped to make this architectural transformation possible, estimated at between $4.5 and $5 million. (Read our profile on late founder Clovis Heimsath on page 46.) Support this visionary new center and savor a delightful night of live performances at the inaugural gala for the future Fayetteville Community Center & Performance Theater, billed as a A Night at the Theater. Calendar this date: Saturday, February 26, 2022, 5 pm, at Windy Knoll, Round Top; Joan Herring and Wendy Wilkins Burks step up as co-chairs. Take in dramatic stage plays throughout the evening, while Texas A&M University String Quartet performs. Seated dinner. Tables from $2,500; contact Joan Herring, 713.818.9766, j o a n @ b l a c k b i r d l o d g i n g . c o m , fayettevillecommunitycenter.org. Catherine D. Anspon A NEW BREW A GRAND NIGHT OUT Round Top Brewing The future Fayetteville Community Center & Performance Theater PHOTOS JACK THOMPSON 20