Kletus Rack Room celebrates grand re-opening

By BRITTANY FHOLER

Cove Leader-Press

The owners of Kletus Rack Room celebrated its grand re-opening with free hotdogs and sodas at its new location in the Cove Terrace Shopping Center Saturday.

The bar and pool hall, previously located on E. Business 190 in the shopping center next to Buddy’s Furniture, was opened by Richard and Brenda Session in 2016 after they noticed a need for a different recreation option for Cove residents.

The pool room and bar originally only served snacks until the summer of 2017, when Bryan Agosto approached the couple and asked to cook for them.

Agosto had been cooking and selling Puerto Rican style food from a food stand in the Buddy’s Furniture parking lot, according to Richard.

The new addition of Agosto brought a need for a full-size kitchen and a larger space, which led the Sessions to relocate to Cove Terrace Shopping Center, at 314 Cove Terrace.

The new location opened its doors during the first week of February, but the grand opening wasn’t until Saturday.

The bar and pool room opened its doors at 1 p.m. and stayed open until 2 a.m. To celebrate the grand opening, they served free hot dogs and canned sodas.

The normal business hours for Kletus Rack Room are Monday- Saturday, with Agosto opening the restaurant in the morning, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., and Session opening the bar at 5 p.m.-2 a.m.

The restaurant has two lunch specials of one serving of meat such as fried pork or fried chicken with either two or three sides such as white or yellow rice, pasta or potato salad, French fries or beans.

They also serve classic Puerto Rican dishes such as Tripleta, Pastelillo, Sorullos and Limbel and American style food like hotdogs and hamburgers.

Behind the bar top that Sessions made himself using bottle caps, glitter and resin, Sessions and his wife serve beer and wine.

They also have a Bring Your Own Bottle policy. One of the specials they offer is for $10, if someone brings their own bottle of liquor, Session will mix up whichever drinks a customer wants using the drink mixers he has on hand.

Kletus Rack Room has four pool tables, a juke box, and a card table up front for people to play poker, dominoes and other games.

At the previous location, Saturday mornings and early afternoons were times that kids could come in and play pool.

Session said this is a goal they want to implement and put emphasis on at their new location as well.

Session aims to keep the pool hall and bar family friendly and open to children as well as adults, he said. He has no plans to obtain a license to sell liquor, adding that he doesn’t want the “hardcores”.

Smoking is not allowed inside the building, but people can smoke and drink outside. This adds to the welcoming and open atmosphere they are trying to establish, according to Brenda Session.

Since they reopened, they’ve seen an increase in the number of patrons who stop by, joining the number who are considered regulars, Brenda said.

Saturday evening saw new customers as well as old ones, as well as a birthday party. Richard explained that they do allow the reserving of space for birthday parties, with price depending on the number of people and what drinks they will all be having.

Cove resident Cindy Smith and her son stopped in Saturday afternoon to have a drink and show their support.

Smith shared that Kletus Rack Room is the only place she and her family go to for family nights, starting when Kletus was located on E. Business 190 and following to the new location.

“Kletus is the greatest thing to happen to Copperas Cove,” Smith said. “It’s a nice family-run business that you’d be proud to bring any of your friends or family to.”

Smith added that one of the main reasons behind that is that Session is friendly and makes a person feel like family, compared to other bars where the bartender doesn’t know the customer’s name.

“This is the next best ‘Cheers’,” Smith said. “He [Richard] knows your name and he recognizes you.”