Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Sbisa, Bernard
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1864-1928
History
Bernard Sbisa was born in Austria and raised in New Orleans. In 1864, he opened a commercial hotel in Matamoras, Mexico, and four years later opened the Washington Hotel and Restaurant in Galveston, TX. In 1874, Bernard Sbisa opened another hotel, the Grand Southern Hotel in Galveston, TX. He met his wife while operating the Grand Southern Hotel. In January 1878, he accepted a position as manager of the Sustenance Department (food services) at Agricultural & Mechanical College of Texas (TAMC) and was later made Steward of the Mess Hall.
Bernard and his wife lived on campus in an apartment in the Mess Hall building. The Sbisas were beloved by the campus and praised for their culinary and social skills. Their daughter, Rita Sbisa, was very active in campus social life and help found a Bicycle club that promoted healthy living and social activities through bicycling. Bernard Sbisa passed away in 1928. Rita Sbisa married Eugen W. Kerr (Class of 1896), and they both lived in Cuba with their three children.
Sbisa Dining Hall, built after a kitchen fire destroyed the original mess hall, was named in honor of Bernard Sbisa in 1926.