Axe ’Em, Jacks!
Continued from "Local Lumberjacks Mean Business" story.
Auntie Pasta's, Clear Springs and The Fredonia Hotel
Food and beverage, hospitality
The father-son team of Richard '72 and Bud '07 DeWitt is dedicated to providing the Nacogdoches community with delicious Italian food at Auntie Pasta's; comfort food at Clear Springs; and a boutique hotel and convention center featuring 1st City Café, Nine Flags Bar & Grill and Republic Steakhouse at The Fredonia Hotel.
When asked to name their favorite restaurant in their portfolio, the DeWitts zeroed in on menu items instead.
"Fried catfish, fried shrimp and onion rings at Clear Springs are a must," Richard said. Bud agreed and followed up with, "The lasagna at Auntie Pasta's is great, and the Korean tacos at 1st City Café in the Fredonia are a favorite, but you have to save room for dessert at 1st City."
While earning his business degree at SFA, Richard began eyeing one historic building on Old Tyler Road next to the railroad tracks that served as part of the first refrigerated warehouse west of the Mississippi. He thought it would make a great restaurant, and he wasn't the only one.
While Richard was establishing the first Clear Springs location in New Braunfels, Rossini's Restaurant opened in the Nacogdoches warehouse and served Italian cuisine as SFA opera professors and students serenaded the diners throughout the 1980s. When Rossini's closed, Richard bought the building for the second location of Clear Springs, which opened in 1994. Later, he would renovate the back storage area into the Mexican restaurant Nacho Mama's. When the Mexican restaurant market in Nacogdoches grew oversaturated, the DeWitts opened Auntie Pasta's Italian restaurant in 2001 in the Nacho Mama's portion of the building. Luckily, Nacho Mama's queso and rice are still served at 1st City Café.
While earning his hospitality administration degree, Bud worked at Clear Springs and Auntie Pasta's as a dishwasher, server and bartender on his way to being promoted to general manager at the Clear Springs location in Tyler. While he spent some downtime at Nine Flags Bar & Grill at the Fredonia, he had no inkling that he and his dad would later buy and renovate the hotel. They reopened it in 2017 with the help of John McLaren, the hotel's general manager (see "Labor of Love" in the fall 2017 issue of Sawdust).
Like the rest of the hospitality and restaurant industry, the DeWitts' businesses took a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, said Jeremy Niuman '01, general manager of Hill Country Restaurants, the group of restaurants owned by the DeWitts, including Gruene River Grill and the original Clear Springs in New Braunfels.
But all three businesses continue to thrive and hire SFA students and alumni. Bud attributes the restaurants' and hotel's continued success to the general managers, staff and his dad.
"Dad's a perfectionist. That's one reason we've stayed consistent and successful, along with the hard work, blood, sweat and tears of our managers and employees."
auntiepastas.com
936.569.2171
211 Old Tyler Road
clearspringsrestaurant.com
936.569.0489
211 Old Tyler Road
thefredonia.com
936.564.1234
200 N. Fredonia St.
Owners
Richard DeWitt Jr. '72
President of Hill Country Restaurants and Fredonia Hospitality
Richard "Bud" DeWitt III '07
Chief operating officer of Hill Country Restaurants and Fredonia Hospitality