raising the bar

Meet the dynamic Houstonians selling vintage barware in the Heights

Kids may be headed back to school, but cooler weather remains on vacation. As people trickle back into town, everyone will be wanting to play catch-up — the most likely venue: home! Whether it’s a large, end of summer extravaganza, or just an apéritif, folks are entertaining…and solo cups need not apply.

Setting up a home bar can be a somewhat daunting task, but knowing where to shop is half the battle. No worries if space is an issue, minor real estate at one end of a table will do just fine in a pinch. Once a space for a bar has been appropriated, it’s time to shop.

On a recent afternoon spent browsing booths at Heights Antiques on Yale, I found myself facing an impossibly delightful menagerie of vintage barware on display. Brightly striped shelving housed dozens of ice buckets, glasses, and candy-colored swizzle sticks, while multi-tiered tabletops were covered with pitchers, collectible ashtrays, and even ice cream sundae dishes.

The variety on display is remarkable. This place has something for everyone — from golf enthusiasts to caftan-wearing Golden Girls types, Baker’s Barware has it covered.

Baker’s Barware is owned and operated by husband and husband team Adam and Jay Hitt. They began collecting in 2015 and decided in 2022 to parlay their shared passion for vintage barware into a business. Aside from their popular Instagram account, they do not sell online. Adam and Jay have over 100 sets of glasses in their personal collection, and they constantly rotate items in their Heights location so that everything stays seasonal.

CultureMap caught up with the Baker’s Barware duo to learn more:

CultureMap: How did you two get into vintage barware?
Adam: By accident, honestly. We started with one set of double old fashioned glasses over 10 years ago. They had red polka dots, matched our personal style, and were unlike anything we'd seen before.

Our curiosity piqued and we quickly started buying more sets of glasses until it turned into a passion for collecting really unique and rare sets. We didn't know anything about barware at the time — the history, the designers, the styles, but we've really traveled far down the barware path over the years. It's been a great journey and we've met so many other barware collectors and resellers along the way. It's really a great community.

CM: What type of bar item is your best seller?
Adam: It's a great question! Double old-fashioned glasses are our best sellers, but we offer so many other types of barware. When we started selling, we initially stocked only vintage glasses and a few ice buckets, but we quickly expanded our selection to cocktail shakers, bottle openers, ashtrays, swizzle sticks, pub jugs — there's really something for everyone. We bring our customers a variety of unique pieces to select from.

Some months we sell a ton of bottle openers, while other months ice buckets are the hot ticket item. We recently had a customer buy over 20 ice buckets, while another customer bought half our collection of Americana barware the day after we put it out! While that's not the norm, we understand our customers are often looking for pieces to compliment their existing collection while other customers are looking to start small. Wherever you are on your barware journey, we probably have what you're looking for.

CM: Your instagram is so fun! Do you have a background in marketing or just a great eye?
Adam: Thank You! That really means a lot. My husband and I have no background in marketing. Our careers are in completely different fields.

While we often use our page to promote items we have for sale, the ultimate goal is to take our followers on a journey. Imagine a person walking through a museum and observing and studying masterpieces from famous artists. They can relate to them and experience the art. For us, vintage barware is art, too — with masterpieces and artists of its own. There were so many designers like Georges Briard and Culver that created incredible designs, patterns, and styles. We hope our page is like that museum.

We want to showcase barware for our followers and have them connect and share their impressions, and maybe buy it as well. We strive to incorporate that digital experience into our physical sales space as well. We intentionally use lots of color and lighting to create a fun space to shop. Today's trends of extreme minimalism and muted color palettes are limiting — especially with current barware designs. You'll be hard pressed to find barware with any real personality in big box retailers, which is why vintage shopping is so much more appealing. We hope the vintage barware we bring is a breath of fresh air for people looking for barware that reflects their personality.

CM: What’s your personal aesthetic?
Jay: Our home is a curated cozy blend of the 1960s ‘East meets West' style, combining Hollywood Regency and Chinoiserie with traditional and modern furniture. My husband’s incredible eye for decor makes our space unique and timeless.

CM: What’s the best way to care for vintage barware?
Adam: The most important questions of all! My selfish response is to never use vintage barware so it never gets ruined, but that takes all the fun out of it. Most of our customers have barware as showcase pieces only, but if you're going to use it, absolutely never put it in the dishwasher, ever. Vintage barware is handwash only! Also, never use hot water, especially if the glass has 22-karat gold or embellishments. Hot water destroys gold and can dull the high gloss finish of colorful designs. This also goes for sponges with abrasive surfaces. Glass scratches.

Simple soap and a light touch is all you really need to clean a glass. Remember that vintage barware isn't made anymore, so while it still serves a practical purpose, we should treat it with respect and love so we can pass them on to future barware lovers.

Insulated ice buckets are the must-have accessory for a front porch iced tea catch-up session with friends and neighbors. Sonic Drive-In recently began selling their famous ice by the bag. Coincidence? We think not!

Courtesy of Baker's Barware

Find colorful glasses at Baker's Barware.

barware home-design shopping sustainability the-heights vintage

Marburger Farm updated

Round Top's 43-acre antique show unveils renovations for spring 2026

Courtesy of Marburger Farm

Visit Marburger Farm March 24-28.

The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus believed that the only constant in life is change. Since 1997, the Marburger Farm Antique Show, which typically closes out both the spring and fall editions of the Round Top Antiques & Design Show, has largely remained unchanged. As enthusiastic Marburger tailgaters listen for that opening triangle to ring, everyone has their well-established and particular beeline-paths prepared in advance. But this year, change is a’comin’.

When the fall show closed last October, Marburger began a huge renovation project that included the full restoration of its historic buildings, including the original Marburger Farmhouse, Legler House, Coufal House, Zieger House, Silver Dollar Saloon, Gulf Warehouse, Dance Hall, Bingo Hall, Blacksmith Shop, and the General Store. Notably, the restoration has made it possible to add heating and air conditioning to these structures.

New additions debuting this spring include The Canteen, which is a large food pavilion overlooking the previously-underutilized pond; The Parlor, a design showcase space; a live music stage; enhanced pathways; and a communal green space designed for gathering and celebration. Over the summer, the addition of two large climate-controlled sheds and updated seating and lounge areas throughout the grounds will complete the project.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Marburger Farm Antique Show (@marburgerfarm)

“This is a much more intentional undertaking to really breathe life into those buildings,” Marburger CEO John Sughrue tells CultureMap. “It’s going to be very obvious — when on the property — what we’ve done. The vision for what we’re doing was establishing a greater sense of place, and a greater sense of community.”

While fans may worry that these improvements may impact the charming and rustic aesthetic that shoppers have come to expect at Marburger, the overall experience should remain the same. Once randomly strewn across the 43-acre property, the historic structures have been gathered together around a newly-hardscaped central square. New green spaces are intended to evoke a sense of nostalgia, the layout inspired by the Texas Courthouse Square. At one end, the western-facing pavilion will overlook the pond and rolling hills, and adjacent to that, the familiar 90,000-square-feet of tented shopping remain unchanged.

“One thing that is apparent about Marburger is that people have a real sense of connection with it, a sense of history, and take a personal interest in it,” says Sughrue. “You’ll see that in the level of craftsmanship, the placemaking, and how we have, in essence, redeveloped the existing historical buildings.”

One of the things Sughrue is enthusiastic about is the ability to participate in the winter show, as well as inviting exhibitors who left for climate-controlled venues to return home to Marburger. Improved facilities for their local and beloved food and beverage vendors make for expanded offerings and shorter lines — a notion sure to please even the most staunch Marburger purists.

“We are trying very much to maintain the Texas heritage of Marburger,” Sughrue says. “I consider us guardians or stewards of the brand. I consider Marburger a brand like Blue Bell Ice Cream or the State Fair of Texas. There is something very much rooted in the land, very much rooted in how generations now have engaged with Marburger and in Round Top. We are trying to hold tight to being a heritage brand, while positioning for the future — that’s what we’re trying to do.”

Sughrue is all too aware of some of the sentiments that were shared five years ago when Marburger was purchased by “these Dallas guys” [real estate development firm Brook Partners]. In the last four years, they have listened to vendors and guests alike to learn how they can improve the show experience for their core audience: top exhibitors, designers, architects, and vendors. While he finds the relatively-recent glitterati element in Round Top to be amusing, it’s not something he’s interested in attracting or catering to specifically. So, everyone can let out a sigh of relief on that concern.

“These are designers who come into Round Top, and to Marburger in particular, and they are very important to our success. We attract some of the best exhibitors in the country, if not the world,” explains Sughrue. “Day one they meet with designers who have flown in from all over the country. Our focus is being a resource to those designers and architects — that’s what’s driving our business. We are not a lifestyle offering, and we are not trying to be all things to all people.”

At the end of the day, Sughrue’s overall goal is connecting the best exhibitors to the best buyers. “Everything else that happens in Round Top is just noise.” He loves the generational aspect of Marburger, oftentimes noticing three generations shopping together in the tents.

“Y’all make a tough crowd, I’ll tell you that,” Sughrue says with a laugh. “I think we are going to get more of it right than wrong, and what we get wrong — we are going to listen very hard to people — we are going to make that right. I promise you that. Marburger captivates me. It just devours all of my time and attention, but how lucky am I?! All these issues surround purpose-driven lives, and we get to work on Marburger to bring a community of people together to celebrate design, antiques, Texas. It’s like the American Dream is alive and well on the Round Top fields during Marburger. It’s just an incredible collection of people.”

Visit the refreshed Marburger Farms from Tuesday, March 24 to Saturday, March 28. Purchase tickets at marburgerfarm.com.

Courtesy of Marburger Farm

Visit Marburger Farm March 24-28.

marburger farm round top shopping

raising the bar

Meet the dynamic Houstonians selling vintage barware in the Heights

Marburger Farm updated

Round Top's 43-acre antique show unveils renovations for spring 2026

Fine dining chef serves up casual sandwich shop in Houston suburb

This is the salary you need to live comfortably in Houston in 2026

2 Texas beaches near Houston swim among 10 best in U.S. for 2026