ALPINE — The death of Harry Mois in September 2022 sent a wave of grief through many Alpine residents who had spent some 15 years visiting his little tavern — Harry’s Tinaja — on Holland Avenue to sip beers with friends. Tourists also streamed in on many days after they read about Harry’s in publications across the country or were intrigued by the bar’s front awning, rows of logs adorned with animal skulls and horns.
Whether visiting or local, many described Harry as the friendliest bartender they’ve met, which is contrary to what you’d expect from someone with a low, gruff, German accent and an often quiet demeanor. Hundreds attended a memorial party at the bar after his death at age 61, and then the speculation began: “What’s to become of Harry’s Tinaja?” was on everyone’s mind. Harry’s son Michael was not intent on running it (and was just in college at the time), so the family sold the building, and it sat vacant with former patrons driving by its dark windows, wondering if and when someone would bring back the warm, welcoming pub.
“I really fell in love with the place. It’s just super cool,” said Tim Wilson, who purchased the property last year and plans to reopen it this spring. “It had a loyal following and the idea was to bring it back, but with new picnic tables. I am going to leave everything else alone.”
Wilson — an El Paso resident who visits Alpine often — also owns Railroad Blues up the street, another popular bar and music venue, as well as the Whiskey Dicks and Soggy Peso restaurant/bars in El Paso and New Mexico.
“I remember it being open and there was never, ever a dull moment at Harry’s,” said Harry’s son, Michael Mois. “It’s a pretty big deal for me, and I thought it was pretty awesome that [Wilson] is keeping it as Harry’s still. For a little bit I was thinking about taking over, but I was already doing my own thing in college.”
In addition to a long wooden bar backed by several taps where regulars caught up with each other, Harry’s patio was also a gathering spot where patrons could grab some pop-up food and listen to music on good-weather days.
Wilson said he would have kept the picnic tables, but the insurance company wasn’t keen on old wood with “splinters.” “The tables that are there, unfortunately, have had a lot of asses on them,” he said. “So, I will have some much nicer picnic tables. That’s probably going to be the nicest thing on the whole property, to be honest with you.”
Staying, Wilson said, will be the long-enduring decor: Walls plastered with antlers, bumper stickers and signs of every variety (including “Don’t Marfa my Alpine”) and beer mugs — the kind of junk that makes people feel at home. The only other thing Wilson said he might do is “knock the dust off all that.”
According to an obituary published in The Big Bend Sentinel, Mois was born in Schwandorf, Germany, and ultimately became brewmaster at several breweries in Germany and Denmark. After years of traveling — often on motorcycles — he settled in Alpine and opened the Edelweiss Restaurant and Brewery in 2005 at the Holland Hotel.
Mois opened Harry’s Tinaja in 2007, which “quickly became a home away from home for locals,” the obituary said. “Harry had an uncanny and perhaps unmatched ability to bring people of all walks of life together in merriment. He hosted baby showers, bachelor and bachelorette parties, birthdays, retirements, and of course, all the important sporting events, always supported by a loyal team of bartenders whom he loved in his ‘rough around the edges’ way.”
Michael Mois remembers walking from the then-home of the Alpine Christian School he attended on Holland Avenue to stay under the watch of his father at the bar, since his mother Tresa, now deceased, had cancer at the time. “I met a lot of people there and these people impacted my life in a good way,” he said. “And they still are awesome.”
“I can’t tell you the amount of people that have gotten ahold of me one way or another to just ask, ‘Hey, when’s the [reopening] happening?’” he added.
Wilson said he is still handling TABC permitting, but Harry’s should be open in the next couple of months. During that time, he said he’s going to look into photos and other items to recognize the bar’s past. “That’s going to be our next step,” he said, “to put all that kind of stuff on the wall.”
