Cuero Approves Coffee Shop Rezoning and a $750,000 Grant Bid
Cuero council unanimously approved a final rezoning at 515 E. French St. for a downtown coffee shop and authorized a $750,000 state grant application, the Victoria Advocate reported.
The Cuero City Council has unanimously approved the second and final reading of a rezoning ordinance for 515 E. French St., clearing the way for a downtown storefront of the Neverending Cup coffee shop, the Victoria Advocate reported after the council’s Monday meeting.
The item appears on the official Nov. 9 agenda as Ordinance 2026-21, a second reading to amend Chapter 9 of the city’s planning and development regulations by changing the official zoning map for 515 E. French, Lot 8 and 9, Block 110, Cuero Division, DeWitt County, from NC-R1 Neighborhood Conservation Single Family Residential Use to C-1 Commercial General Use. The agenda notes that the change had already been approved by the Planning and Zoning Board. Official minutes from that 5 p.m. meeting had not been reviewed for this report; the account of the vote comes from the Advocate, which said the council approved the ordinance unanimously. The paper said the Neverending Cup now operates as a mobile coffee and book shop.
A $750,000 grant application, with no project named yet
The same agenda listed Resolution 2026-37, authorizing submission of a Texas Community Development Block Grant Program application to the Texas Department of Agriculture for the Community Development Fund. The Advocate reported that the council approved that resolution unanimously and that the application is for $750,000. City Manager Wayne Burger told the council the competitive grant requires a 10 percent local match of $75,000, the paper said. The dollar amounts are from the newspaper account; the posted agenda item title does not itself state a figure.
Burger cautioned that Cuero’s previous success in securing community development grants could make the city less competitive in the current cycle, but said council authorization was still required to apply. “If we score high enough, we’ll put a project together,” he said, according to the Advocate. The paper reported that no specific project has been identified for the potential funding.
Park rental rules, a workforce kiosk and a February parade
The council also approved new rental fees and guidelines for three city-owned facilities listed on the agenda: the Walkthrough area in the 100 block of East Main Street; the Library Pavilion in the 200 block of East Main Street; and the Cuero Basketball Pavilion at 112 Leonard Roy Harmon Drive. Parks Director David Danish said the fees are intended to offset the cost of city employees preparing the facilities, including setting up tables and chairs when requested, the Advocate reported. Each location will require a nonrefundable $100 rental fee and a refundable $50 deposit. Groups requesting tables and chairs will pay an additional nonrefundable $50 fee and a separate refundable $50 deposit.
The paper said the council also adopted guidelines limiting use of the facilities to events open to the public, including community garage sales, craft markets and gatherings sponsored by churches or schools. Private functions, including birthday parties, weddings, receptions and dances, will not be permitted. “It’s just putting some parameters in place and to be able to move forward,” Danish told the council.
The agenda also included a one-year agreement with Workforce Solutions Golden Crescent to place a workforce pod at the Cuero Municipal Library, and a request from the Tri-City Empowerment Council for a lighted parade and road closures on Feb. 6, 2027, along a route from 210 Hutcheson St. to Daule Street. The Advocate reported both items were approved. Under the workforce agreement, the city will provide space and Workforce Solutions Golden Crescent will install and maintain a digital kiosk for job listings, career guidance and applications for employment-related financial assistance, the paper said.
Viola Holman, who founded the Tri-City Empowerment Council in 2012, thanked the council and cited Matthew 5:16, the Advocate reported. The paper described the group as a faith-based nonprofit and said the proposed route ends near its headquarters in the historic Daule School building, which, founded in 1892, was Cuero’s first educational institution for Black children.
City Hall is at 212 E. Main Street, Cuero, Texas 77954, according to the city’s Mayor and City Council page, which also lists the regular meeting time as 5 p.m. on the second Monday of each month. The phone number on that page is 361-275-6114.
Related reading: Cuero Puts Travis' 'Victory or Death' Letter on the DeWitt County Courthouse Lawn.
