Wimberley enjoys Cars and Coffee

The monthly Coffee & Cars show in Wimberley has a car for every taste.

George Graham is there with his immaculate 1978 AMC Pacer, an odd little car that George notes “fits right in with Austin weird.”

Ryan Saldana and his five-year-old son Mick, came from Bastrop in a 1968 Chevy pickup. “It took me three trucks to make this one truck,” says Ryan.

And, Rickie Kleen, from Lockhart, is happy to point out that there are no windows in the back of his 1949 Jeep panel delivery truck. “That’s what makes it special,” he says. ”Most of them have glass.”

There are new cars and old cars, gleaming cars and rusty ones, easily recognizable models and oddities rarely seen. The one thing they have in common is that their proud owners will tell you about their babies all you want.

The Coffee & Cars event is sponsored by the Wimberley-based 12 Kings Car Club. It’s held the first Sunday of each month from 8-11 a.m. in the Brookshire Brothers parking lot on Ranch Road 12, right next to Blanco Brew coffee house. You can’t miss it.

Coffee & Cars is a chance for the public to get up close and personal with the vehicles and chat with the owners, who drive in from all over.

When the first show started in 2018, organizers expected maybe 15 or 20 cars and 60 turned up. “We were stunned at the turnout for that first show,” says Mike Cochran, one of the organizers and president of 12 Kings.

If the weather cooperates, there could be 100 cars, trucks and motorcycles. Car owners come from all over the area to take part, but the 12 Kings club is centered around Wimberley. There’s a Ranch Road 12 insignia in the club’s logo.

“It’s a come-and-go type of thing,” says Mike, who shows off his 1968 Ford Bronco every month. This month, for example, when the owners of a 1949 Willys truck decided to head home, a 1954 International Harvester pickup pulled in to take its place.

“Most every big city has a Coffee & Cars show,” says Mike. “We encourage people to stay and eat and shop in Wimberley.”

If you are out and about on a Sunday morning, club members love it when folks to stop by, have a cup of coffee and stroll among the cars. You’ll see vintage Chevys, hot rods, sports cars and limited-edition Mustangs. A brand-new Ferrari or Lamborghini might show up. The show is presented with the help of Brookshire Brothers, Blanco Brew, King Feed and Brinkman Construction.

Coffee & Cars is not the only event 12 Kings stages.

The club is busy. Organizers stage monthly cruises. Later this month, for example, the members will caravan to New Braunfels for some bowling, burgers and a brew or two — and, of course, car talk. Each April, they put on the car show at the Wimberley Arts Festival — it’s the highlight of the year.

The 12 Kings Car Club has 31 members and prides itself on welcoming everyone. It’s not just a club for hard-core gearheads.

“We’re family oriented,” says Mike, who lives in Woodcreek North. “We take our 18-month-old grandson along. We don’t want to be a boy’s club.”

To find out more go to www.12kingscarclub.com.