About Us
About Main Street House
Our Story
A Romance of Art and Hospitality
As owners and managers (Suzy and Keith Hankins), we have made art part of our lives since we married in 1990. Purchasing local art during street festivals or fundraising events was a way to not only decorate our new home but to support aspiring artists and their work.
Fast forward to 2015 when we opened an art gallery in downtown Brenham (Back Lot Gallery) which focused on giving aspiring and emerging artists a place to show their work and learn the business. After several years of purchasing artwork from the gallery artists, we realized our home was running out of wall space!
At the same time, downtown Brenham was seeing wonderful growth with new entertainment venues and fine dining options. As owners of the boutique hotel, Ant Street Inn, we realized more overnight guest rooms were needed in downtown, but couldn't expand the inn due to property limitations.
The solution to both these predicaments was to open another bed and breakfast! What is now Main Street House was born in the fall of 2016! Combining contemporary furnishings and artwork by Back Lot Gallery artists, we created a one of a kind bed and breakfast that guests have enjoyed ever since!
Since we were starting from scratch, we decided to take this opportunity to do things differently from our larger property and offer a level of technology, flexibility and comfort more difficult to achieve in an older commercial building. As President of the Texas Bed and Breakfast Association at the time, Suzy had visited a lot of B&Bs and wanted to take ideas from other Great Stays of Texas and make Main Street House a place of options -- check-in options, breakfast options, and relaxing choices! Over time, Main Street House has become a quiet place of healing and wellness with guests enjoying coffee on the front porch, yoga on the back deck, fresh smoothies for a snack or simply reconnecting with a travel companion over a game of cards! Families have celebrated birthdays, weddings and reunions by renting out the entire house. Business travelers have made themselves at home, corporate teams have brainstormed and actors have rehearsed lines before a show!
Everyone has a story! Thank you for taking time to read a chapter out of ours! We always enjoy hearing our guests' stories during their stay and look forward to hearing part of your story during your stay! After all, when two stories collide, they become part of the same story!
Amenities
Also known as guest comforts - what makes a stay relaxing and refreshing
We have all the things you would expect from a full service bed and breakfast - maybe a few things you wouldn't expect!
All rooms have the following items for your use:
Soft comfy robes, fancy soaps/shampoo, luxury towels, shower cap, sewing kit, shoe shine cloth, first aid kit, amazingly soft toliet paper (yes, it matters), Smart TV with Bluetooth capabilities (more details below), filtered water, chocolates, feather and non-feather pillows, two comfortable chairs, a soft rug to bury your toes in, and black-out curtains! They also all have a king size platform bed and private bathroom.
The house has the following items you have to share:
Iron and ironing board, lawn chairs, outdoor yard games, indoor games, coloring books, brain builders such as word searches, ice machine, ice buckets, wine glasses, soft drinks and beer in the fridge, Blue Bell Ice Cream in the freezer, snacks, yoga mats (some simple routines available), coffee and tea and hot chocolate available all day and night, an open kitchen (we explain this under the breakfast section), free off-street parking, huge deck with grill (additional fees may apply to use the grill), an amazing front porch and a Little Free Library in the front yard.
We know that's quite a list! So, here are some details on some of more important items:
TECHNOLOGY:
While the house is over 100 years old, it literally oozes technology, with 49-inch 4K SmartTVs that automatically connect with the FREE wireless internet in every room; the 65-inch 4K SmartTV in the Gathering Rooms has the same connectivity. Each TV also has an Apple TV connection and the ability for you to sign into your own streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu or one of many others.
Just want to listen to music? Each television has a sound bar which can be connected to your smartphone via Bluetooth. Just pair your phone with the sound bar and in moments your own playlists are filling the room! Our walls are solid shiplap so the sound doesn't travel too far outside your room, but please be respectful of other guests!
Common Areas:
Feel free to enjoy the common areas during your stay! The baby grand piano and guitar love attention, so if you play, please spend some time visiting with them! The orginal built-in cabinets house games, puzzles, cards, juggling balls (you never know what talents need to shine), brain books, coloring books and art history books to enjoy! If you use them, please return them to where you found them.Outdoor games and lawn chairs can be found in the downstairs closet by the stairs.
Parking
There are five (5) guest parking spaces behind the house. The four on the left have signs with a pineapple in front of them, and the one on the right, up close to the deck, is painted on the concrete. If you have a large vehicle, you will need to park on the street... turning around can be a bit tricky in the back! No trailers are allowed on property. If you are traveling with a trailer, please contact us prior to arrival and we will give you instructions where you can park your trailer legally!
Cooking on Property:
The grill out back is shared with our long-term tenants and B&B guests. Therefore, you have to reserve the grill! There is a small fee to use our gas grill but it includes grill tools, foil and oil. It does not include the food. Other than the microwave, refrigerator and toaster, the kitchen is not to be used for cooking meals during an individual stay. Whole house rentals can make arrangements for cooking privileges in advance. Contact us for details.
Snacks and Beverages:
The butler's pantry is always open and full of treats! This is where you will find the ice machine, ice buckets, wine glasses, bottle openers.... you get the idea! This is also where the coffee, tea and hot chocolate supplies are located! We even have locally roasted Independence Coffee beans you can grind fresh! Last but not least, this location has pre-packaged snacks for you to enjoy during your stay!