Bazaar, a restaurant, bar and cocktail lounge hybrid, has made its debut on The Square. Although it’s currently open to the public, Bazaar will have its grand opening on April 25 after further renovations and preparations are completed.
“Essentially, the room’s not complete,” Omar Dawoud, Bazaar business partner and TXST alumnus said. “I’d say we’re probably 90% complete. Same with our menu, both beverage and food. We still got a lot more to roll out… By the time we are around the grand opening, we will be fully ready and complete, but right now, we’re still at a soft opening stage.”
Bazaar has been preparing to open since late 2023. The bar held soft openings for friends and family on March 19-20, followed by a sneak peek on March 21 and finally opened its doors to the public on March 22. Allison Meyer, the bar’s general manager, said business has been great so far.
“It’s obviously a very lively environment, and it’s great to see everybody coming out to kind of check out what’s been going on because there’s been a little level of ambiguity,” Meyer said. “It’s nice to see everyone pop in to get to see what’s going on in here.”
Bazaar was built with the intention of being unique. This is visible through modern decorations, ambient blue lighting and unique in-house drinks and food items. Bazaar business owners Omar, Mike Dawoud and Jack Zimmerman said they wanted to bring something different to San Marcos that people can appreciate.
“We put a lot of effort into the concept as a whole… the interior design, the lighting, the cocktails and now the food,” Zimmerman said. “We’re really focusing hard on before we do our grand launch in a few weeks. We put a lot of effort into all elements of the business. We want to be here a long time so we wanted to start things off right.”
Initially intrigued by the bright neon green sign hanging outside the bar, Sara Smith, a San Marcos local, said she was excited to finally see the inside of Bazaar and experience the atmosphere for herself at the soft opening on March 20.
“I was really impressed,” Smith said. “I really appreciated the way they designed everything. It’s very atmospheric and aesthetic and it definitely sets a vibe when you’re there. I thought it was really unique and the menu offerings were unique and pretty good.”
More than anything, Smith was drawn to the ability of the space to cater to a wide audience. As a 32-year-old woman, she sees the versatility of Bazaar and said she feels comfortable bringing her younger friends or her dad to the bar.
“From my perspective as somebody who is older, but still wants to go out and explore downtown San Marcos, it’s nice to have places that cater to maybe a more elevated experience or something that I would want to take a group of my peers to,” Smith said.
As Texas State alumni, Omar and Zimmerman saw the opportunity to bring something new to San Marcos. Zimmerman is most excited to see how the space is used by the public because of its unique characteristics.
“The school has grown so much [and San Marcos] has grown,” Zimmerman said. “Omar and I both went to Texas State, and we thought that there was an opportunity to do something that can get people excited. We introduced cocktails and a fun, vibrant environment and some great food.”
According to their website Bazaar is open from 5 p.m. to late Tuesday through Saturday. The cut-off for food is 10 p.m. In the future, Bazaar is looking to offer brunch as well.
“Come in, have fun and check out what we’re doing. We’re trying to do something a little bit different from everybody else,” Meyer said. “I think there’s room for us to be here, and we’re not trying to negate anything that anybody else is doing. We’re just trying to have a different offering.”
For more information follow Bazaar on Instagram @bazaarsmtx.
