Johnson Building

This hollow tile building at 806-810 Main Street was erected in early 1941 for J. F. Johnson at a cost of $1,200.
The newspaper reporting of business addresses is a little confusing, but it appears that the first business at 806 Main Street was the Panama Cafe which opened in March 1941.  In August 1942 the owners advertised "For Sale: Nice new cafe doing plenty of business. Just right for man and wife to handle, seating capacity about 40, Panama Cafe".  It appears they were not able to sell the business and finally just closed it down.  In December 1943, the World War II Ration Board offices moved to 806 Main Street "in the building formerly occupied by the Panama Cafe".
White Auto Store (which sold appliances as well as auto parts) was in this space by May 1949. About a year later, in late April 1950, there was a fire that started near the back of the store.  The store was closed for about a month for repairs, then reopened.  At the end of November, the White Auto Store suffered an even more devasting fire. The heat was so intense, the display windows at the front of the store cracked and the cars on a toy train in the window melted. The owner was charged with arson, but found not guilty in a jury trial.   In September 1952, White Auto Store reopened two doors down (at 810 Main) under new ownership where it operated until 1959.
After the fire, the building was once more renovated, and Frank's Cafe opened.  The March 29, 1951, Kerrville Mountain Sun reported "New Name, New Location For Frank's Cafe.  Free coffee will be served Monday at the formal opening of Frank's formerly the Chicken Pie Shop at their new location at 806 Main Street.  The popular restaurant will move to the larger quarters only two doors from the present location, on Friday and Saturday.  Frank's will be operated by the owners, Mr and Mrs. Frank Zumpf."

The first business at 808 Main was Kerr County Abstract Company.  They were here a couple of years when White Auto Stores moved in. It's not clear to me if White Auto Stores occupied two spaces for a while, or if it simply moved next door.

The first business at 810 Main appears to have been the World War II Price Control Board, later joined by the Area Rent Control office.  About the same time the Price Control Board and Rent Control office moved out, in the summer of 1946, James H. Blake announced me had moved the B & L Furniture Store to 810 Main to enlarge his showrooms. By 1952 the White Auto Store was in this space, followed by the Lucretia Michon Rothman dance studio.

These are only the first of a number of small businesses have come and gone from these spaces since.