'Breastaurant' Chain Owner Buys Texas Town, Renames it Bikinis

July 19, 2012— -- The owner of the Texas "breastaurant" chain, Bikinis Sports Bar and Grill, purchased an abandoned town off Craigslist and has made plans to turn it into a seasonal tourist destination.

Doug Guller, CEO of ATX Brands LLC, which owns Bikinis Sports Bar and Grill, purchased the town of Bankersmith, Texas, in Kendall County, two hours driving distance from Austin, and renamed it in honor of his restaurant.

"We've been looking for the past year and a half," Guller said of his purchase. "We went out and visited the location and we couldn't pass it up."

Guller said his broker found Bankersmith for sale on Craigslist, but would not disclose the seller's identity or how much he paid for the unincorporated town. The deal was finalized in May.

"It was a transient town for many years," said Guller. "It's probably had a population of one or two for the past 13 years."

Guller said the town's population was at its peak in the 1920s, when 40 people lived there.

"The town doesn't exist," said Elizabeth Alvarez, Texas Almanac editor. "I don't know what the wording of the ad was, but he must have purchased some land where the town site was. It's not like purchasing a town, because it's not a town and hasn't been for a really long time."

Alvarez said Bankersmith is located in what denizens refer to as Texas Hill Country in south central Texas.

Guller is the de-facto mayor of the unincorporated town, and said he has plans to appoint a sheriff and a postmaster. He is working on a Bikinis Bill of Rights, he said.

Guller said he's even deciding on town slogans.

"The two I've come up with are 'It's always sunny in Bikinis, Texas,' and, 'The prettiest place on Earth.'"

Guller does not have plans to put a Bikinis Sports Bar and Grill in the town, but plans to turn the old post office into the Bikinis hall of fame, featuring the history of the skimpy two-piece from its invention in 1946 all the way up to present time, he said.

He also plans to rework an abandoned bus in town into a bar.

"We're just looking to have a fun destination for a few weekends a year, maybe more, to have a big party," he said. "In the spirit of keeping Austin weird, this is just another weird thing that we can add to the mix and have a great time with."

Guller has no plans to relocate closer to Bikinis from his home in Austin, but said that he envisions the town being open to tourists from March to August.

He is planning the first Bikinis, Texas event in March 2013.