Britt’s Wine & Dine occupies the Old Elder School, which was at one time a segregated school for Black students in Kilgore. Later in its life, it became an alternative school until it was closed about 15 years ago. The school was part of a campus that produced award-winning music programs, Future Farmers of America groups that won national contests, and choral groups that were well-known across all of East Texas.
Think about what that means for us today: Children who were told they were less than — who were literally separated from the rest of Kilgore — built something extraordinary inside these walls. Excellence, creativity, and community happened in my building against serious odds. And now that same building is a place where everyone is welcome, where learning still happens where knowledge taste so good (wine education), and where community gathers over a shared table.
That is a profound American story. It’s rooted in place, it’s true, and it’s mine. No other winery in East Texas has anything close to this.
Davis notes that “people want to know the history of the school” — which tells me the appetite is
already there. Check out this story: Issuu
Chapter One
The Floors Remember
Before the wine flights and the pairing dinners, before the awards and the loyal regulars who drive in from Longview, Tyler, and Shreveport — this building held something else. Children. Teachers. A school band that won national competitions. Future Farmers of America chapters that earned first-place awards across the state. A choral group that lit up all of East Texas. They were Black students in Kilgore during segregation. They were told, in the plainest possible terms, that they were separate. And inside the Elder School, they built something extraordinary anyway. The building sat quiet for years after it closed.
Then Britt Davis walked in.
“People want to know the history of the school. We’re the next chapter. And we’re going to make
sure it’s a good one.”
— Britt Davis, Owner
