Belmont Social Club offers good food and live music

The Belmont Social Club, a local food and live music attraction, recently opened its doors to the public. Purchased from original owner Dick Goss, the venue has been vastly renovated while still retaining its old rustic grandeur, thanks to both the hard work and tender loving care of new owners Johnny Abrameit and Johnny Zoboroski.

Abrameit, the interviewee, managed the Seguin City Market for many years, and Zoboroski, his partner, owned Judges Barbeque and has worked as an executive chef.

“Dick decided he was going to close the business on September 6,” said Abrameit. “At that point, it seemed only natural to Johnny and I to take over on September 7. Dick had a little bit of barbecue still left to cook on the 7th, so that was the day we ended up doing our demo. Judging from the amount of customers we got, we decided that no matter how much we loved the building, it just wasn’t going to be big enough to accommodate our needs. So we started adding on to it.”

Abrameit and Zoboroski determined that in order for their dining space needs to be met, as well as having space for live music to give it a dance hall kind of vibe, they would need to make an addition to the original Goss store.

“Our expansion included an extra back room for dining, extending east-to-west about 20 feet,” said Abrameit. We also added a 20- foot stage area for the bands to play on. But no matter how much expanding we did, we wanted to keep the building rustic and country looking just like it always was. We took the original tin that was on the west end of the building, and used that for our 20- foot addition. We then added a new roof, and took the tin from the old roof and added it to the outside of the building. We did some bulldozing to clear out the brush out back, and put in some new restrooms as well.”

With the clearing out of the area behind the club, as well as numerous windows serving as the southern wall of the building, staff and visitors alike can be treated to the sight of white-tailed deer jaunting across the back pasture.

“The sight of the wildlife out back just makes people feel that much more at home, myself included,” said Abrameit. “It’s a real treat to be sitting having lunch with your friends and look out and see that kind of country environment.”

The owners also purchased the old house behind the store from Jimmy Kelley, Dick Goss’s cousin, and are considering turning it into a separate attraction all of its own. “We’re planning on rebuilding the old house and turning it into some type of bed and breakfast,” explained Abrameit. “But we really want to get this restaurant up and running smoothly first. That’s our number one goal.”