# Texas Featured > Texas's local businesses, and the people behind them ## Posts - [Royers Round Top Cafe: The Family Cafe in a Tiny Texas Town Known for Pie](https://texasfeatured.com/royers-round-top-cafe-pie-round-top-texas/): Bud and Dr. Karen Royer moved from Houston in 1987 and took over a 40-seat cafe. Today Royers is known for pies like the Texas Trash Pie. - [Czech Stop: The West, Texas Bakery and Gas Station Serving Kolaches Along I-35](https://texasfeatured.com/czech-stop-west-texas-kolaches/): Since 1983, Czech Stop has kept travelers fed with kolaches and Czech pastries at Exit 353 in West, Texas, halfway between Dallas and Austin. - [Excelsior House Hotel: A Riverboat-Era Inn in Jefferson Built in 1858](https://texasfeatured.com/excelsior-house-hotel-jefferson-texas-history/): Captain William Perry built a home, offices and hotel on Big Cypress Bayou in 1858. Today the Excelsior House bills itself as Texas's oldest continuously operated hotel. - [The Big Texan Steak Ranch: The Amarillo Family Restaurant Behind the Free 72-Ounce Steak](https://texasfeatured.com/big-texan-steak-ranch-amarillo-72-ounce-steak/): R.J. "Bob" Lee opened the Big Texan on Route 66 in 1960. Its 72-ounce steak challenge began with a bet and is still going. - [Chinati Hot Springs: A West Texas Desert Spring With More Than a Century of Stories](https://texasfeatured.com/chinati-hot-springs-west-texas-history/): A 113-degree spring in the Chihuahuan Desert has been used for hundreds of years. Its owners have included a ranching couple, an artist and a photographer. - [Marfa Book Co.: The West Texas Bookstore Called World-Class Since 1999](https://texasfeatured.com/marfa-book-co-west-texas-bookstore/): Marfa Book Co. opened in 1999 in a town best known for art. It now combines books, a gallery and a coffee and wine bar. - [Rocketbuster Boots: The El Paso Workshop Making One-of-a-Kind Handmade Boots](https://texasfeatured.com/rocketbuster-boots-el-paso-handmade/): In a 1900 warehouse in El Paso, a small team cuts, paints and stitches custom boots. The shop was once traded for a 1953 Cadillac hearse. - [Luckenbach, Texas: How Hondo Crouch Turned a Hill Country Crossroads Into a Music Legend](https://texasfeatured.com/luckenbach-texas-hondo-crouch-history/): A town with one general store and a handful of residents became world famous. The story begins with Hondo Crouch, a beer joint and a dance hall. - [Wildseed Farms: From a Houston Seed Business to Texas's Wildflower Farm Near Fredericksburg](https://texasfeatured.com/wildseed-farms-fredericksburg-wildflowers/): John and Marilyn Thomas started planting wildflowers in 1981. Today Wildseed Farms in Fredericksburg has fields, a nursery, a winery and a biergarten. - [Garrison Brothers Distillery: The Hill Country Distillery That Became Texas's First Legal Whiskey Maker](https://texasfeatured.com/garrison-brothers-distillery-hye-texas/): Founded in 2006 in Hye, Garrison Brothers is Texas's first and oldest legal whiskey distillery, and welcomes more than 50,000 visitors a year. - [Natural Bridge Caverns: How Four UT Students Discovered One of Texas's Largest Cave Systems in 1960](https://texasfeatured.com/natural-bridge-caverns-discovery-story/): In 1960, four University of Texas students squeezed into a narrow shaft on the Wuest ranch and found a vast cave network. Today it is a major attraction outside San Antonio. - [Gruene Hall: Inside Texas's Oldest Continually Operating Dance Hall, Built in 1878](https://texasfeatured.com/gruene-hall-new-braunfels-oldest-dance-hall-texas/): A tin-roofed dance hall in New Braunfels has hosted music since 1878. George Strait, Willie Nelson and Lyle Lovett have all played its small stage. - [Threadgill's: The Austin Filling Station and Beer Joint Where Janis Joplin Found Her Voice](https://texasfeatured.com/threadgills-austin-kenneth-threadgill-janis-joplin-history/): Kenneth Threadgill opened a filling station with the county's first beer license in 1933. His Wednesday night singing sessions helped shape Austin's music scene. - [Kreuz Market: Lockhart's Barbecue Landmark That Moved Its Coals in 1999](https://texasfeatured.com/kreuz-market-lockhart-barbecue-history/): A Lockhart meat market started selling barbecue in 1875. Charles Kreuz bought it in 1900, and when the market moved in 1999, the pit master carried the old coals to the new pits. - [Louie Mueller Barbecue: Three Generations of Smoke in Taylor, Texas](https://texasfeatured.com/louie-mueller-barbecue-taylor-texas-three-generations/): Louie Mueller opened his Taylor barbecue joint in 1949. His son Bobby ran the smoker for decades, and grandson Wayne is the pitmaster today. - [Amy's Ice Creams: How a Tufts Pre-Med Student Started an Austin Scoop Shop on Guadalupe Street](https://texasfeatured.com/amys-ice-creams-austin-founder-story/): Amy Simmons learned the ice cream business while studying pre-med in Boston. In 1984 she opened her first Austin shop, and the locally owned company has grown carefully since. - [BookPeople: How Austin's Grok Books Became One of the Country's Largest Independent Bookstores](https://texasfeatured.com/bookpeople-austin-independent-bookstore-history/): Two couples opened Grok Books near UT in 1970 with a $5,000 budget. Today BookPeople fills a huge store at Sixth and Lamar with more than 100 staff. - [Ninfa's on Navigation: How a Houston Tortilla Factory Taco Stand Helped Popularize Fajitas](https://texasfeatured.com/ninfas-on-navigation-houston-fajitas-history/): In 1973, widow and mother of five Ninfa Laurenzo opened a taco stand to save her struggling tortilla factory. Her tacos al carbon changed Tex-Mex. - [Mi Tierra Cafe y Panaderia: The Cortez Family's Market Square Landmark Since 1941](https://texasfeatured.com/mi-tierra-cafe-y-panaderia-san-antonio-cortez-family/): Pedro and Cruz Cortez opened Mi Tierra to feed the farmers who sold produce at San Antonio's Market Square. The family business is still going 80-plus years later. - [Joe T. Garcia's: The Fort Worth Family Restaurant With a Patio Garden and No Fuss Since 1935](https://texasfeatured.com/joe-t-garcias-fort-worth-family-mexican-restaurant/): Mamasuez came to Fort Worth from Michoacan in 1911. Her family's restaurant on North Commerce Street turned 90 in 2025, and her grandchildren still run it. - [Fredericksburg's German Roots: How Immigrants Shaped Hill Country Business](https://texasfeatured.com/fredericksburg-german-roots-hill-country-business/): Founded in 1846 by German settlers, Fredericksburg still carries its heritage in its bakeries, breweries and Main Street shops. - [10 Ways to Support a Local Texas Business (Besides Spending Money)](https://texasfeatured.com/ways-to-support-local-texas-business/): Small businesses need more than sales. These ten free actions help a local Texas business grow. - [East Texas and the Piney Woods: Small Towns, Big Hospitality](https://texasfeatured.com/east-texas-piney-woods-local-business-guide/): Tyler, Nacogdoches, Jefferson and the Piney Woods are full of family-owned shops, nurseries and cafes. Here is what to look for. - [West Texas and Big Bend: Small Businesses at the Edge of the Map](https://texasfeatured.com/west-texas-big-bend-local-business-guide/): In wide-open West Texas, local businesses are lifelines and landmarks. A look at what makes the region's independent spirit special. - [San Antonio and South Texas: Tradition, Flavor and Family Businesses](https://texasfeatured.com/san-antonio-south-texas-local-business-guide/): Multigenerational family businesses, Tex-Mex traditions and Rio Grande Valley citrus: a look at South Texas's local economy. - [Austin and Central Texas: Beyond Keep Austin Weird](https://texasfeatured.com/austin-central-texas-local-business-guide/): Austin's local-first spirit goes well beyond a slogan. A look at the independent businesses of Austin, Round Rock, Waco and Central Texas. - [Dallas-Fort Worth: Finding the Independent Side of the Metroplex](https://texasfeatured.com/dallas-fort-worth-independent-business-guide/): The Metroplex is famous for big corporations, but its local businesses are where the personality lives. Here is where to look. - [Houston and the Gulf Coast: Where Local Businesses Reflect the World](https://texasfeatured.com/houston-gulf-coast-local-business-guide/): Houston is one of the most diverse cities in America, and its independent businesses show it. A guide to the Gulf Coast's local scene. - [A Local's Guide to Texas Hill Country Small Businesses](https://texasfeatured.com/texas-hill-country-small-business-guide/): Wineries, peach stands, antique shops and family-run kitchens: what to look for when you explore the independent side of the Texas Hill Country. - [Why Shopping Local in Texas Matters More Than You Think](https://texasfeatured.com/why-shopping-local-in-texas-matters/): From Houston taquerias to Hill Country wineries, local businesses shape the character and the economy of every Texas town. Here is why choosing them matters. ## Pages - [Get Featured](https://texasfeatured.com/get-featured/): Run a business in Texas? Apply to be featured on Texas Featured. It's free, and we'll tell your story the right way. - [About](https://texasfeatured.com/about/): Texas Featured shares the stories of Texas's local businesses and the people behind them. - [Stories](https://texasfeatured.com/stories/) - [Home](https://texasfeatured.com/): We tell the stories of the shops, makers, ranchers, and founders who make the Lone Star State feel like home. Getting featured is always free. [comment]: # (Generated by Hostinger Tools Plugin)