Hutto – If you head northeast of Austin and turn off of Highway 79, you’ll find the happy town of Hutto. It’s known for Hippos and a hole in the wall that has one heck of reputation.
“You get a real feel of the town when you come in here,” Michele Ventresca said.
Warren Smith is the proprietor here, and he purchased the Texas Cafe and Pie Shop in 2018 after he retired.
“My wife asked me what we were going to do and we bought the Texan Café, “ Warren said.
The format Army Captain wasn’t ready to call it a career.
“Obviously, in the military you serve,” Warren said. “So I’m a service kind of guy.”
He did what any rationally retired person would do and bought his favorite restaurant.
“We were customers here for 10 years,” Warren said. “When I was hunting for something to do, I was going to buy a business, this just all fell into place and we were blessed with the opportunity to buy it and it’s been a blessing ever since. In my prior career, I was a business guy. So I know books and how to make money.”
Fortunately, making money at the ol’ Texan Café is easy as pie.
“Probably one of the best pies I’ve had,” Juan Jimenez said.
The list of pies they have here goes on and on, and everyone has their favorite.
“I like the Chocolate Fudge or the Strawberry Cream Cheese,” Jennifer Huff said.
Jennifer is a nice as pie, and she makes all pastries in these parts.
“They’ll stop me and they’ll be like, ‘Oh, you make such wonderful pie. I love your pie. You make them right,’” Jennifer said. “Always brings a smile to my face. I like bringing a smile to other people’s faces.”
We pulled up to the counter for some pie, and Jennifer’s daughter, Vanessa Huff, took us on a pie flight.
“So this is our coconut cream pie,” Vanessa said. “This is our top seller. Something unique that we don’t always have is our Strawberry Cheesecake. These ones we can make anywhere to 30 cheesecakes so they’re on rotation. She keeps a rotation of them. This one is really good. It’s our top fruit cheesecake.”
If you’re ever hungry in Hutto, remember the Texan Café for a quick meal and the perfect piece of pie.
“Eat pie every day,” Michele said. “Maybe it’ll make your life better.”