The Halles: Antiques, Art, and After Hours Energy
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Time to read 7 min
Some venues you shop and some you settle into for the day, and The Halles is the second kind. Thirteen buildings sit right on Highway 237 at the edge of Round Top, filled with antiques, art and design, and once you've parked you can shop all morning, grab lunch from Chef Gino's kitchen, cool off with a frozen drink at the bar, and, if you've booked one of the casitas out back, walk to bed at the end of the night.
If you want Round Top with a little breathing room, this is your spot. Many of the halls are air conditioned, the kitchen runs from breakfast tacos through a sit-down dinner, and there's a gym and a Cowboy Pool on the property, so you can make a whole day of it without ever getting back in the car.
"We love giving old things new life, out in Round Top!"
How It Started
Before it was The Halles, this stretch of 237 was The Boneyard at Round Top. Round Top Publishers, the company behind PaperCity's Round Top guide, took it over in 2021 with Jim Kastleman leading the charge, and brought in Dallas designer Todd Fiscus to lay out the land so the pavilion looks across the meadow toward the lake. The first halls were ready in time for that spring's show.
There were seven buildings that first spring, and the campus has kept adding on until it reached the thirteen you'll walk today.
You'll find The Halles right where 237 carries you into Round Top and back out again, which is exactly why we think of it as Round Top's front door.
The name gets asked about a lot. Kastleman has explained it as a nod to a German word and to Round Top's history, which runs deep with German settlers, and the pavilion was always meant to feel like an old-school dance hall, the kind of room built for a long dinner and a crowded floor afterward.
It's still very much a family operation, with Jim and Ben joined by Ben's wife Jordan and her brother Wylie, while Zuzana runs the gym and trains clients right on the property.
The buildings are half the fun. Most of the halls went up in reclaimed lumber and tin sourced close to home, as a nod to the farm country all around, and one of them started life as the neighbors' barn, so you're hunting for old things inside buildings that got a second life of their own. For an antiques lover, that's a pretty perfect setting.
What You'll Find Inside
The mix is wide and beautifully edited: American and European antiques, French and Provencal pieces, contemporary art, rugs and textiles, lighting and furniture, plus antique and new jewelry, vintage and new clothing, hats and handbags. Art installations are tucked in among the antiques and artisan furniture, so give yourself time to wander each building instead of skimming the front booths.
The thirteen halls outline the property, so work your way building to building and circle back to anything you can't stop thinking about. Because the lineup mixes antique and new, it's also a great stop for knocking out a few gifts while you're hunting for the house.
Many of the halls are air conditioned, which you'll appreciate the minute the afternoon heats up, and with every hall under a roof, a rainy show day barely slows you down here. It all makes The Halles a place to take your time and really look, whether you're hunting a statement light for the dining room or a pair of earrings for yourself.
The dealer lineup changes from show to show, and The Halles posts its current vendors on thehalles.com, so pull up the list before you go if you're hoping to find someone specific. Then come with your measurements handy, because between the furniture, the rugs and the lighting, it's very easy to leave with more than you planned.
The Halles Facebook Page
Eat, Drink, And Stay The Night
Chef Gino Llanes runs the kitchen, and Round Top regulars may know him from DUO at Market Hill. He cooks Mexican food with an Italian and Mediterranean twist, and he also offers chef dinners and cooking classes through the year. During the show, mornings start with breakfast tacos, lunch is quick bites you can eat between halls, and dinner is a seated affair, so make a reservation if it's on your list. Over at Paloma's Place the bar pours frozen drinks, cocktails, beer and wine, which makes for a very good afternoon break.
Then there are the casitas. Five carbon-neutral concrete casitas sit on the property, built with 3D concrete printing, and you can see the printed layers in the walls. Casitas 1 and 2 are studios, 3 and 4 have one bedroom, and 5 has two bedrooms and two baths, so a couple can grab one and a whole crew can book the row, with group rates available.
They were printed by Hive3D, a builder whose 3D-printed projects run from the Brenham and Burton area all the way out to Marfa, using printed concrete in place of traditional cement. The Halles has even hosted a conversation on the future of building, so if architecture is your thing, sleeping in one of these is half the reason to book.
There are three RV hookup spots too, and everyone staying gets the Cowboy Pool, which doubles as a hot tub or a cool dip, plus the full gym. Staying on site during show week means you can shop, eat dinner, soak and sleep without moving your car, and anyone who's made the late drive back to a rental after a long day in the fields knows exactly how good that sounds.
Get Your Workout In
If you're the type who packs sneakers for vacation, you're going to love this one. The Halles Gym is open every day from early morning until late at night, and your pass unlocks the door from your phone, so you can sneak in a sweat before the halls open and still make it back for breakfast tacos. A day pass covers a single drop-in, and if you're in town for the whole show, the one-month pass is made for exactly that trip and pays for itself fast if you go more than once. Want a little extra push? Zuzana is a certified personal trainer, and you can book a one-on-one session with her right from the gym's schedule.
Jordan Geibel and Paloma at her Halle’s shop
Dinners, Parties, And Private Events
The Halles throws a good party. A designer dinner has become a tradition here, and past tables have gathered names like Martyn Lawrence Bullard and Kathryn Ireland, who hosted a night inspired by Marrakech, Lela Rose with her Lela Rose Ranch collection, Alexa Hampton and Jenn Gracie.
Leigh Keno of Antiques Roadshow has held an appraisal day here benefiting Camp for All, the Benjamin Moore Color of the Year party has been hosted on the property, and Butcher's Ball has brought its chef dinners here, so the calendar leans as much toward good food as it does toward good design. During the show there's live music in the afternoons, and the Finders Keepers makers market brings in a whole different kind of shopping.
The hospitality pavilion looks out over the meadow and the lake, seating up to 150 for dinner and up to 300 for a party. It's been the setting for rehearsal dinners, graduations, birthdays, company events and private dinners, and the venue can line up catering and a bar through the vendors it works with. If you're the friend who always ends up planning the girls' trip, add the group casita rates and you've got the whole weekend in one spot.
Between Shows
The Halles keeps going after the show packs up. Gino's is open most weekends, usually Thursday through Saturday evenings plus Sunday brunch, and The Halles posts any changes on its Instagram. There's curated shopping on the campus year round, the casitas take bookings between shows, and the gym is open every day. If you've fallen for the quieter, off-season side of Round Top, it's an easy place to base a getaway, and when you want the full dealer lineup, plan around the show calendar.
Plan Your Visit To The Halles
The Basics
Location: 1465 N State Highway 237, Round Top, Texas 78954.
Shows: The Halles opens its shopping halls for the Round Top shows. Its dates don't always match the wider show, so check thehalles.com before you plan your days.
Hours: Posted each season on their website. During the show, the kitchen covers breakfast through dinner and the bar opens late morning.
Food and Drink: Gino's kitchen and the Paloma's Place bar, both on site.
Gym: The Halles Gym, open daily, with day passes, a one-month pass and personal training with Zuzana.
Staying: Five 3D-printed casitas, from studios to a two-bedroom, plus three RV hookups, with the Cowboy Pool and gym for guests. Group rates available.
Stay Connected
Website: thehalles.com
Instagram: @thehallesatroundtop
Facebook: The Halles at Round Top
Chef Gino: @gnollanes
The Halles Gym: thehallesgym.com
