Meet the regulars behind Donn's Depot's iconic Christmas decorations in Austin

Kelsey Bradshaw, Austin American-Statesman
Updated ·8 min read
Johnna and Bill Appenbrink dance Dec. 13 to honky-tonk piano man Frank Cavitt at the festive, heavily decorated Donn's Depot.
Johnna and Bill Appenbrink dance Dec. 13 to honky-tonk piano man Frank Cavitt at the festive, heavily decorated Donn's Depot.

Nutcrackers stand at attention alongside the liquor bottles. Lights shimmer, stockings line the bar, and Santas peek out from every corner. If ever there was a time to use the phrase, "It looks like Christmas threw up in here," it's at Donn's Depot during the holidays.

"When people walk in, if they've never been here before, they trip out," said Matt Adelman, the general manager of Donn's.

Matt was 8 years old when his parents, Donn and Arleen Adelman, bought the bar in 1978. Back then, it was simple: Donn and Arleen, who are now 84 and 81, respectively, might put out a Christmas tree near the dance floor, but it wasn’t the must-see Christmas destination it would become.

"It was just a few things here and there,” Matt said. “It was never a big project like this, I think, until Michelle came along."

More: Trail of Lights opened Friday night. Do you know these fun facts about the Austin event?

General Manager Matt Adelman, whose parents, Donn and Arleen Adelman, bought the bar in 1978, said this year's holiday decor might be his favorite so far. "It was tightly done," he said.
General Manager Matt Adelman, whose parents, Donn and Arleen Adelman, bought the bar in 1978, said this year's holiday decor might be his favorite so far. "It was tightly done," he said.

He’s referring to Michelle Beebe, bartender and venue manager at Donn's. Beebe and Tammi Schissler, another bartender and venue manager, are the ones who took Christmas at Donn’s to another level 10 or 15 years ago. Their goal is to make it bigger every year, and, with a lot of help, they have.

The real tacks and command strips holding the holiday magic at Donn's together are its 40 to 50 regulars who gather in November for a day of decorating. The small bar is divided into sections, and each regular is responsible for their own section.

"None of it is possible without the people that come in and make it," Beebe said. "It's because of our Depot family."

"It's because of our tribe," chimed in Schissler, who has been working at Donn's since the 1990s.

More: Here are 6 festive ho-ho-holiday cocktails to try in Austin this season

Freedom, laughter, love and acceptance

Alissa "A.B." Bassana started visiting Donn's on trips from Dallas in the '90s and became a regular in 2001 after her move to Austin. Her conservative, on-the-record estimate of how many nights she spends at Donn's each week is three. She'll come for happy hour or end up at Donn's after a night out listening to live music.

"As soon as you walk through that door, everything melts away. The world is outside, and in here it's just about freedom and laughter and love and acceptance," Bassana said. "And the music is great."

Alissa "A.B." Bassana, a regular at Donn's Depot, said Arleen Adelman has referred to her as her daughter. "It's really special. They are one of the kindest families in all of Austin," she said of the Adelmans.
Alissa "A.B." Bassana, a regular at Donn's Depot, said Arleen Adelman has referred to her as her daughter. "It's really special. They are one of the kindest families in all of Austin," she said of the Adelmans.

Bassana took over decorating the boxcars in the back of the bar around 15 years ago. The boxcars are kind of like an intimate hallway up a few steps from the wooden dance floor – they're small and the corners are a bit hidden.

"All the attention was on everything up front when people walked in (to Donn's), and the boxcars got neglected. So I adopted the boxcars, and every year we just add something new. We add something each year just to make it special," Bassana said.

Wrapping paper covers parts of the walls in the boxcar area, festive tablecloths abound, and, of course, there are lots of strings of lights.

"More is more when it comes to Donn's," Bassana said.

More: 10 Christmas pop-up bars in Austin that you don't want to miss

Christmas lights and snowflakes decorate the bar as customers converse at Donn's Depot. There are 40 to 50 regulars who gather in November for a day of decorating the bar, with each regular responsible for their own section.
Christmas lights and snowflakes decorate the bar as customers converse at Donn's Depot. There are 40 to 50 regulars who gather in November for a day of decorating the bar, with each regular responsible for their own section.

Donn's is about the people

Teresa Garza is holding a skinny, travel-sized measuring tape up to a window at Donn's Depot, noting its size for next year's Christmas decorations.

"We got to keep it fresh," she says.

Garza is always thinking of the next decoration she wants to bring to Donn's, more than one person tells us. After our interview with Garza, she pulled her homemade Santa hats covering the backs of bar stools off to take home and wash. In between the Santa hat maintenance and planning for 2024, Garza pointed out which of the dozens of her paper snowflakes hanging from the ceiling might need touch-ups after this holiday season.

Have we made it clear yet that Garza cares a great deal about Donn's? The 67-year-old has been visiting the bar for 33 years and has been in charge of decorating the front section since 2014. That was the first year she made the hundreds of snowflakes, and it has been a bit of a group effort at times.

Teresa Garza, a regular at the Donn's Depot, has been in charge of decorating the bar's front section for the holidays since 2014. "We got to keep it fresh," she says.
Teresa Garza, a regular at the Donn's Depot, has been in charge of decorating the bar's front section for the holidays since 2014. "We got to keep it fresh," she says.

"The flat ones were a lot of people cutting them out. It was a night we didn't have enough people to play dominoes, and I pulled them out like, 'OK, we're going to cut stuff.' I'd be in Brownsville visiting relatives and say, 'We're going to cut stuff,' until we got enough," Garza said. (Garza is part of a group that plays dominoes at Donn’s called the “Domino Girls.”)

The snowflakes hang on fishing lines that are attached to the ceiling. Some are flat, and others are 3D. The big, 3D flakes are made with sheet music paper with Christmas songs on them and take about 45 minutes to cut and glue. Garza starts work on the snowflakes every year in October, figuring out which ones can be repaired and which will need to be replaced.

Garza can only get to Donn's a few times every year as she's busy with work. But she keeps coming back.

"It's the people," she explained. "They're just real friendly and inviting."

Michelle Beebe, a bartender and venue manager at Donn's, sits at the bar. "None of it is possible without the people that come in and make it," Beebe says of the holiday decor.
Michelle Beebe, a bartender and venue manager at Donn's, sits at the bar. "None of it is possible without the people that come in and make it," Beebe says of the holiday decor.

A regular-turned-employee-turned-family

When we meet Todd Fitt, he's cutting up limes in a back section of the bar, located off the bathrooms. Fitt is in charge of the blow-ups: a snowman, T. Rex, penguin, a gnome and Santa Claus on a roof behind the bar. The blow-up decorations were his mom's idea during a visit three years ago.

Fitt was a regular at Donn's before ending up employed there in 2011.

He worked at other bars in Austin and would often order a round at Donn's over the phone before last call as he closed up elsewhere. Then he started to come for "Jeopardonn's," a "Jeopardy" watch party at the bar. Fitt eventually became friends with Beebe and Donn Adelman and Schissler. So, when he got fired from his previous gig in 2011, it made perfect sense that Schissler would hire him to work the door.

Todd Fitt, a regular-turned-employee at Donn's Depot, is in charge of the inflatable holiday figures that stand above the bar.
Todd Fitt, a regular-turned-employee at Donn's Depot, is in charge of the inflatable holiday figures that stand above the bar.

"I have the best bartending gig in Austin. It's my favorite bar. It's the only bar I hang out at," Fitt said. "It's basically my family."

No one at Donn's Depot is doing that corporate mumbo-jumbo stuff when they refer to one another as family. They really mean it. You can tell by how Beebe looks on at Schissler as we chat with her and by how everyone speaks to each other in a way that only years of history together can provide.

"It's the same thing as a family. It's like, 'Hey, I love you, but you were a pain in the butt today.' And you get over it," Fitt explained.

More: Christmas movies, TV shows set in Texas to stream this holiday season

Fitt's preferred parts of working at Donn's lie outside of the holiday season. For him, it's chatting with regulars every day and the private concerts.

"My favorite thing is on Fridays when Donn plays, and he sets up the piano and plays 'As Time Goes By' for me. My favorite movie is 'Casablanca,'" Fitt said.

Chris Gage plays on Mondays, and as he sets up he'll play "The Entertainer" for Fitt.

"Every Monday and Friday I get a private concert. It's my favorite part of the day to just listen to Chris and listen to Donn play the piano when I'm the only person here," he said.

Bartender Michelle Beebe greets a customer as she serves drinks at the bar at Donn's Depot.
Bartender Michelle Beebe greets a customer as she serves drinks at the bar at Donn's Depot.

More: Here's how to get your house on the Statesman's new holiday lights map

'Our regulars are our heart'

You can't talk about Donn's Depot without talking about Schissler. Schissler started working at the bar as a cocktail waitress in 1990 after answering an ad in the American-Statesman. She almost blew off applying to Donn's because she couldn't find the bar, but her friend knew how to get there. The pair were on their way to see "Pretty Woman" when she stopped to apply.

Schissler started work around Halloween and has since become revered by regulars and fellow employees. She doesn't have a specific section during the holiday decorating day; the whole bar is her domain. Schissler’s knick-knacks from home can be found throughout the bar. She points to a Santa hanging off the wall as hers as we talk.

She used to decorate a huge Christmas tree with Donn, but they've since shifted to a pre-lit tree, which is still nice, Schissler said. The tree she decorated with Donn would take most of the decorating day to get done. Donn liked the old tree a certain way — it had to be perfect, she said.

Tammi Schissler, who started working at Donn's Depot in the 1990s, is talked about like a celebrity by regulars and fellow employees. But she pays no mind. "I'm just lucky to be around," she said.
Tammi Schissler, who started working at Donn's Depot in the 1990s, is talked about like a celebrity by regulars and fellow employees. But she pays no mind. "I'm just lucky to be around," she said.

Schissler knows regulars who have been coming to Donn's since the 1970s. Which is the Donn's Depot way, it seems. All the regulars we talked to plan on staying regulars as long as they can.

"Our regulars are our heart," Schissler said.

"If I can afford (living in Austin), yeah," Garza said of staying a regular for 33 more years.

"If I don't work here, I'm not staying in Austin," Fitt said.

"Good lord willing and the creek don't rise," Bassana said.

"It's a good place to be. I would say that not everybody gets Donn's. But the people who get on board are the best people in the world," Schissler said.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: How Donn's Depot became Austin's iconic Christmas holiday spot