Savhan Smith starts her morning off with kolaches from Dos Gatos Kolache Bakery.
She’s a regular customer and finds the shop’s LBJ Drive location to be a convenient walk from her apartment to campus.
“The kolaches are definitely different than your ordinary Shipley’s,” Smith said. “Compared to, like, Shipley’s, their kolaches are way better. My apartment is like right there so, it’s like an easy little, on my way to campus, little treat.”
The cozy kolache bakery was founded by Seth and Chase Katz in 2009 and features a variety of Czech Texas kolache flavors such as Philly cheesesteak, ham and swiss along with vegetarian options. For over a decade, the brothers have worked to expand their entrepreneurial spirit and have since opened five restaurants throughout San Marcos.
Dos Gatos was the brother’s first business. Initially, the shop was solely run by them. The brothers always wanted to become business owners and the opportunity to start their own kolache bakery stemmed from one of their friends.
“We had a family friend who ran a kolache bakery and was willing to share her secrets with us,” Chase said. “We felt like that was a good opportunity, we always want to try to bring something new to San Marcos.”
With Chase being a Texas State alumnus, he said his love for the San Marcos community motivated him to want to start his business in the local area.
Since founding Dos Gatos in 2009, the brothers have opened a second location at 243 Wonder World Drive. They also own Pie Society, North Street Curry Shop and Zelick’s Icehouse.
“I definitely imagined it becoming more. I had no idea what it was gonna become,” Chase said.
New, inventive and diverse are the Katz brothers’ establishments. Each restaurant provides something different for the community to try. Chase said a lot of thought went into each of the establishments and how they can be new and different from what San Marcos already offers.
The brothers opened Zelick’s in 2011 and decided to name the icehouse after their grandfather, Jack Zelick Katz, who provided the brothers a loan that helped start Dos Gatos.
The icehouse’s location is originally home to the site of a 1930s gas station. It has since been renovated into a patio bar where guests can enjoy drinks, live music and games like horseshoe.
“There was not a really great patio in town,” Chase said. “You got a lot of places that opened up after us, like Louie’s or Railyard or a couple of other places with patios, but really we wanted to have a great patio and a nice outdoor bar. So that was what we did, what we felt made Zelick’s unique as well as the products we were serving. We’re really focusing on Texas products, but also quality.”
The brothers’ latest restaurant is North Street, a beer bar that also serves Indian-inspired dishes. Chase said the restaurant was a need due to the lack of Indian-inspired cuisine in the area.
“We make Indian-style curries with what we say is approachable Indian flavors. There isn’t another restaurant that’s focused on Indian flavors. So, that was something that was important to us there, is bringing something different with the Indian flavors,” Chase said.
Kira Brinton, a cashier for Dos Gatos, has worked for the bakery for more than half a year and previously worked at Zelick’s Icehouse. She says each of the Katz brothers’ restaurants is unique, but all feature a relaxed environment for customers.
“There aren’t many icehouses in San Marcos, and I feel like Zelick’s is a nice outdoor place and with North Street, there’s not a lot of Indian food options, so that’s super fun,” Brinton said.
Customer experience is an important part of each Katz brother location. Chase said the food served is only half of what makes guests come back.
“What we’re always saying is that the people that come into our establishments are our guests, and we’re trying to give them a great experience from, you know, the minute they get out of the car in the parking lots till the time they leave,” Chase said.
After 12 years since starting their first business, Chase believes that he and his brother’s accomplishments are solely tied to the people who have supported them and believed in their work.
“The culture of our business is really important. It’s all about the people that are coming to see us,” Chase said. “So, I think that combo of unique places and offerings, great staff and giving guests a good experience has made it successful.”