The New Pioneer
by Belle Lancaster
W
ith the Marfa
zip code tat-
tooed on her
left
wrist,
Virginia
Lebermann is proud to
call West Texas her
home. “It’s difficult to
make things happen in
Marfa, but it’s that strug-
gle that keeps me vibrant
and
alive,”
says
Lebermann. Co-founder
of Ballroom, owner of the
Capri
and
the
Thunderbird
Hotel,
Lebermann is one busy
woman. As she walks
through the grounds of
the Capri, she gets asked
multiple questions by
three different people, then silences her
ringing phone to sit down with me and
her dog, Tiny. She smiles, and after
she exhales says, “Sweetie, it’s just
crazy over here.”
The Capri seems to be
Lebermann’s main focus at the
moment. The building itself has been
primarily used as an event space for
several years. Only recently has a new
kitchen, tea room, bar, and VIP
lounge been added. It has a 1920’s
speakeasy vibe, with a West Texas
flair. Exposed adobe walls accent a
newly-designed mahogany bar that’s
lined with brass bar stools topped with
turquoise leather seats. The space
functions as a restaurant, bar, and
front desk office for guests checking
into the Thunderbird Hotel. A night-
time visit displays patrons happily bel-
lying up to the bar, ordering signature
drinks, tapas and small entrees. A
group in the front tea room describes
their secluded seating area as a private
gangster booth. The hidden nooks
throughout the building and garden
provide a sense of discovery to anyone
visiting the Capri for the first time.
Lebermann is a wonderfully hos-
pitable, creative and practical woman,
who doesn’t mind getting her hands
dirty. She and her husband Chef
Rocky Barnette are often found having
business meetings in the garden, or
14
Cenizo
working hurriedly during dinner serv-
ice. Chef Barnette is classically trained
and has an extensive resume. He was
the executive Sous Chef for four out of
his nine years at the Inn at Little
Washington, in Washington, Virginia.
He has cooked state dinners at the
White House, and has cooked for the
James Beard Foundation in New York
City. He often speaks to clients about
locally-sourced food and his pre-
Columbian Mesoamerican influences.
If you’re the type of person that does-
n’t want to talk about food, but would
rather taste it, the restaurant opens at
6:00 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday, and closes
around 10 p.m.
As a young woman fresh out of grad
school, Lebermann and her friend
Fairfax Dorn shared ideas on creating
a forum for creative people to express
themselves. They wanted to offer peo-
ple who live in urban settings the space
to think and experience life in a rural
environment. They both successfully
manifested their vision with the open-
ing of Ballroom in the fall of 2003.
Ballroom is a non-profit organization
that has brought several art-based pro-
grams to Marfa. The building itself
functions as an office for employees
and as a gallery space. Regular gallery
hours are Wednesday through
Saturday, 10:00am-6:00pm, and
Sunday 10:00am-3:00pm.
Second Quarter 2016
ing power in Marfa, with
its somewhat transient
population. “I come
from a long line of rene-
gade Irishmen, who were
primarily focused on
being their own boss,”
says Lebermann. She
later adds that the
women in her family
were also strong matri-
archs. When asked about
her challenges as a
female entrepreneur in
West Texas, she initially
shies away from the
question, but then states
how it’s difficult for any
person to become an
Photo courtesy Belle Lancaster
entrepreneur. “It defi-
The historic Thunderbird Hotel
nitely adds that extra layer of compli-
opened at the end of 2004 under new
cation that otherwise wouldn’t be there
ownership. Lebermann and her part-
if you were a man,” she concludes.
ners at the time bought the motor-
Lebermann’s introductory West
lodge and renovated the 24 rooms into
Texas trip began in Terlingua at the
a boutique hotel. Two of the original
age of 30, where she rented a house for
stakeholders left to pursue ventures of
a year. During that time, she kept
their own, leaving Lebermann and one
returning to Marfa and said, “I fell in
small shareholder. The rooms are
love with it because of the Lannon
spotless and shout “Welcome to
Foundation, the bookstore, and the
Marfa!” with their cow hide rugs and
Chinati Foundation. It felt like a beau-
contemporary minimalist decor. If
tiful, small Texas town with an inter-
you’re the kind of person that must
national twist.” Lebermann mentions
have a TV to watch your program-
that at one time she wanted to be a
ming, then steer clear of the
photojournalist in war-torn countries.
Thunderbird. Even though it’s without
“I don’t know why, but it just sounded
television, vintage bikes, typewriters,
like something I really wanted to do,”
and record players are available for
she says. Perhaps Marfa provided her
guest use. The hotel has a couple hun-
with just the right amount of challenge
dred records in its vinyl collection to
to keep her engaged.
choose from.
New employees line up behind us to
Weary travelers wanting to check in
speak with Lebermann. It seems that
wander around Lebermann’s maze-
her work is insurmountable, but some-
like compound. They eventually read
thing tells me she wouldn’t want it any
the signs that lead them across the
other way. As we depart, I ask her one
street to the front desk/bar in the
last question about her favorite spot in
Capri, where a delicious breakfast with
West Texas. She smiles and says,
homemade mesquite bread, locally
“Anywhere where I’m alone with
raised eggs, Texas meats & cheeses,
Henry (her son) and Rocky.”
yogurt, freshly squeezed orange juice,
For more information on the Capri
French tea and locally roasted coffee,
or Thunderbird Hotel please visit
should make it up to them.
www.thunderbirdmarfa.com or call
Some people are born entrepre-
432-729-1984.
Information
on
neurs, and Lebermann is one of them.
Ballroom can be found at www.ball-
She’s got that grit that’s given her stay-
roommarfa.org or at 432-729-3600.