Knebel’s Tavern • Pflugerville
Knebel’s Tavern • Pflugerville
Written by Pam Stephenson Friday, 05 September 2008
Since Knebel’s Tavern’s early beginnings as a confectionery shop, it has been well known by Pflugerville residents and beyond.
Brothers Paul (P.B.) and Ed Knebel opened Knebel Bros. Confectionery Shop in 1919 when they returned home from World War I. The store was located on Main Street next to Leppin’s Hardware and the Pflugerville Mercantile. Ed later opened a bottling plant near Gilleland Creek before moving to Austin to open the 7UP bottling plant.
Almost 15 years after it opened, Knebel Bros. Confectionery Shop began serving alcohol.
“In 1933, after Prohibition, voters allowed the sale of alcohol again, and P.B. changed the shop to serve confectionery in one half and alcoholic beverages in the other half, [which was] the tavern,” said the late Hub Kuempel when interviewed for the Pflugerville Oral History project.
He said it was often called PBK’s Place by locals.
The grandson of the owner of Leppin’s Hardware, Oliver Leppin, said he and the other children who accompanied their parents or grandparents were treated to a soda when they went to PBK’s store.
PBK’s became known as Tuff’s Tavern in 1952 when son Burwell “Tuff” Knebel took over after his father passed away. Tuff’s mother, Emma, continued to help run the tavern with Tuff. In 1956, the tavern moved from its Main Street location to the north side of Pecan Street, next to what was then the Pfluger Meat Market. There was a door between the meat market and Tuff’s Tavern and regulars would slip in and out of the two establishments to get a beer or grab some food. The drinks were served on a bar P.B. purchased in the 1920s.
“I remember in May 1983 a group of customers carried the bar across the street to the new location on the south side of Pecan Street,” Emma said.
The bar still exists in the tavern today, though it remains the property of Tuff’s daughter, Jan Selman.
Tuff worked at the store by himself, which was open every day of the year, closing early only on Christmas Eve and opening late Christmas day for those who had no place to go. It was not until 2000 that Tuff hired a part-time person to help him serve the customers. In 2002, he added air conditioning.
As proprietor of the local hangout, Tuff knew many of his customers by first name. He knew each customer’s beer preference and whether they preferred bottle or can.
“When my husband and I took over the tavern [in 2002], we found that the customers expected me to know all their preferences,” Jan said.
Tuff tried serving keg beer for a while, but quickly reverted to bottles and cans. 
For generations, Knebel’s Tavern has been used often as a place for reunions and gatherings of Pflugerville students and local employees.
“The tavern was a family place all these years,” said Tuff’s widow, LaNelle Knebel. “There was never a fight in the place. Tuff wouldn’t allow it.”
The family sold Knebel’s Tavern in January 2008. Now officially called “Tuff’s Tavern,” much of the original memorabilia remains on the walls, and barbecue and beer are still the fare.
0 Comments 