Buddy Holly
04-11-2007, 12:31 AM
Cowboy Breakfast is heading for The Rim
Web Posted: 04/11/2007 12:14 AM CDT
John Goodspeed
Express-News
Waders may trump boots at next year's Cowboy Breakfast.
The record-breaking grubfest will hit the trail again to hitch up at its fifth post — Bass Pro Shops, San Antonio's biggest outdoor retailer.
The move from Crossroads of San Antonio mall not only will mean better access and more room for the 30th annual event but also the potential of a daylong celebration involving other retailers at The Rim and more funds for the breakfast's scholarship fund, vice chairman Bert Mazac said.
"It's going to be a lot more than just a free taco," said Mazac, who, along with other officials from the breakfast, Bass Pro Shops and Thomas Enterprises Inc., The Rim's developer, were scheduled to make the announcement this morning while presenting $10,000 to the Alamo Community College District for five full scholarships for the culinary program at St. Philip's College.
"We've been in the same little package for so long, the move will not only increase our exposure with the location and the pairing with a well-known retailer but also pump up the event and give it a higher profile and more credibility," Mazac said.
Though Bass Pro Shops officials have not firmed up plans, they will offer a variety of outdoor-themed events inside and outside the store at the breakfast Jan. 26, the unofficial kickoff of the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo.
Some 30,000 people attended this year.
"The folks who go to the rodeo are outdoor folks, so it's a good fit for Bass Pro and our customers," promotions manager Lorraine Lawrence said.
"It's a real opportunity for us to jump on that bandwagon and help make a bigger splash for the Cowboy Breakfast," Lawrence said.
The breakfast and Bass Pro Shops also share a few corporate partners, including Toyota and Johnsonville Brats, she added.
The Cowboy Breakfast started in 1979 with a handful of cooks and grills in the parking lot of Central Park Mall, its home for 23 years, as a way to fill the bellies of trail riders beginning the annual trek to the rodeo. It grew to feed upward of 50,000 with mostly donated items and the help of about 500 volunteers.
In 2001, the Guinness Book of Records christened it the World's Largest Cooked Breakfast after clocking 18,941 people served in an hour.
Construction at the mall shooed off the breakfast, which bounced from Cowboys Dance Hall to Sunset Station before landing at Crossroads Mall for four years.
Controversy erupted in 2006 when safety and cleanup concerns led Mazac to cancel the biscuits and gravy. The public outcry promptly moved them back on the menu.
"Bass Pro Shops will be a big shot in the arm," he said, "and as long as we don't get rid of the biscuits and gravy, we'll be OK."
So far, Bass Pro Shops is not lobbying for adding fish tacos.
As for the waders ...
"No, you still can wear your cowboy boots, but you better wear a camo hat — and I know where you can get one," said Lawrence of Bass Pro Shops.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA041107.01B.cowboy.breakfast.3a6c771.html
Web Posted: 04/11/2007 12:14 AM CDT
John Goodspeed
Express-News
Waders may trump boots at next year's Cowboy Breakfast.
The record-breaking grubfest will hit the trail again to hitch up at its fifth post — Bass Pro Shops, San Antonio's biggest outdoor retailer.
The move from Crossroads of San Antonio mall not only will mean better access and more room for the 30th annual event but also the potential of a daylong celebration involving other retailers at The Rim and more funds for the breakfast's scholarship fund, vice chairman Bert Mazac said.
"It's going to be a lot more than just a free taco," said Mazac, who, along with other officials from the breakfast, Bass Pro Shops and Thomas Enterprises Inc., The Rim's developer, were scheduled to make the announcement this morning while presenting $10,000 to the Alamo Community College District for five full scholarships for the culinary program at St. Philip's College.
"We've been in the same little package for so long, the move will not only increase our exposure with the location and the pairing with a well-known retailer but also pump up the event and give it a higher profile and more credibility," Mazac said.
Though Bass Pro Shops officials have not firmed up plans, they will offer a variety of outdoor-themed events inside and outside the store at the breakfast Jan. 26, the unofficial kickoff of the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo.
Some 30,000 people attended this year.
"The folks who go to the rodeo are outdoor folks, so it's a good fit for Bass Pro and our customers," promotions manager Lorraine Lawrence said.
"It's a real opportunity for us to jump on that bandwagon and help make a bigger splash for the Cowboy Breakfast," Lawrence said.
The breakfast and Bass Pro Shops also share a few corporate partners, including Toyota and Johnsonville Brats, she added.
The Cowboy Breakfast started in 1979 with a handful of cooks and grills in the parking lot of Central Park Mall, its home for 23 years, as a way to fill the bellies of trail riders beginning the annual trek to the rodeo. It grew to feed upward of 50,000 with mostly donated items and the help of about 500 volunteers.
In 2001, the Guinness Book of Records christened it the World's Largest Cooked Breakfast after clocking 18,941 people served in an hour.
Construction at the mall shooed off the breakfast, which bounced from Cowboys Dance Hall to Sunset Station before landing at Crossroads Mall for four years.
Controversy erupted in 2006 when safety and cleanup concerns led Mazac to cancel the biscuits and gravy. The public outcry promptly moved them back on the menu.
"Bass Pro Shops will be a big shot in the arm," he said, "and as long as we don't get rid of the biscuits and gravy, we'll be OK."
So far, Bass Pro Shops is not lobbying for adding fish tacos.
As for the waders ...
"No, you still can wear your cowboy boots, but you better wear a camo hat — and I know where you can get one," said Lawrence of Bass Pro Shops.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA041107.01B.cowboy.breakfast.3a6c771.html