B
ears in the Davis Mountains are
almost a thing of myth.
Although there were reports of
tracks in Fort Davis after the
Rockhouse Fire, bear sightings are
more common in the Big Bend parks.
There is, however, a bear in the high-
er elevations of Fort Davis that’s not as
elusive, one that’s spawned migrations
of visitors for generations. Nestled in
the mountains at Indian Lodge State
Park, inside the Fort Davis State Park,
the locals call it Black Bear Restaurant.
Somewhere between a Baby
Boomer and a Generation X-er, the
aging Black Bear is at long last prepar-
ing for its first hibernation. It will close
after Labor Day weekend, 2015, for
approximately one year to get a much-
needed bear hug. No one takes credit
for starting the tedious process of hack-
ing through the lengthy bureaucratic
tape required to remodel a state facili-
ty, but it likely originated in Austin.
Indian Lodge was constructed in
the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation
Corps (CCC) as part of the New Deal
work relief program enacted during
the Depression. In the 1960s, Texas
Parks and Wildlife Department added
24 rooms along with the Black Bear
restaurant and a swimming pool. The
volume of customers served by the
restaurant now surpasses the capacity
of its design. Because the add-ons
weren’t part of the CCC original work,
the restaurant isn’t designated as his-
toric; thus the delays that happen to
the updating of historic sites can be
avoided.
The renovation will cost approxi-
mately $1.75 million. In times past,
cigarette taxes funded the state parks,
but in 1993 the funding source
switched to sporting goods tax. The
parks receive less than 40% of this tax,
however, which hasn’t been enough to
combat the effects of time and
increased popularity. A change is on
the horizon though: at the time of this
writing, Texas House Bill 158 passed
in both the House and the Senate and
is on the governor’s desk. Filed in
November of 2014, the bill dedicates
almost all the sporting goods tax to
state and local parks. This provides
substantial funds for maturing parks
preparing for repairs and updates to
their infrastructures.
The project at the Black Bear
includes the complete renovation of all
systems, structural upgrades for seismic
forces, and the replacement of all MEP
(mechanical electrical plumbing) sys-
tems. The dining room will occupy the
current kitchen space, the kitchen will
move behind the mural wall. The cur-
rent handicapped parking will be relo-
cated. The electrical transformers and
the handicapped parking spaces on the
upper level will move into the moun-
tain to make room for the new kitchen.
Yes, into the mountain. No blasting is
allowed in parks, so carving out space
from the rocky Davis Mountains will
be done by the contractor’s choice,
perhaps by water blasting, or gigantic
corkscrew drilling.
The conference room downstairs
will grow by dismantling the closets as
well as the support columns that sprout
throughout the room. Advances in
construction over the last half century
will allow the new structure to contain
the upgraded support. Two ADA
bathrooms will be added downstairs.
They will install a small catering
kitchen with ovens, speed racks and
sinks – much needed equipment that
will expedite service during events. For
Cenizo
the staff, this means serving during
conferences and banquets will be a
21st century experience instead of a
catering dungeon. For the customer,
this means a fluid, enhanced event
experience.
With the dry goods storage down-
stairs away from the restaurant, the
current supply chain is halting and
arduous. Although there’s a dumb
waiter, it’s not large and tends to have
a mind of its own, going on strike at
inopportune times. The new kitchen
will have all of its supplies adjacent to
it; just like a grown-up restaurant. The
new kitchen will have three prep areas,
and existing equipment, such as con-
vection ovens and fryers, will be used
in the new space. Other kitchen equip-
ment was appropriated from Big Bend
Ranch State Park, which ended their
food service in 2014. Another big coup
for the Black Bear is getting an eleva-
tor. With the updated, more efficient
design, and an elevator to enhance
linking of the facility as a whole, the
arteries of the Black Bear will have a
better flow.
Swamp
continued on page 27
Thing is
Third Quarter 2015
13