If you ask Scott Roberts, there was no way Roxie’s would have been anywhere else but in Hays County.
“The Roberts family has been in the Driftwood area since 1870 [or] 1880,” says the restaurant owner, the son of original Salt Lick proprietors Thurman and Hisako Roberts. “We even went to school here.” It’s no wonder, then, that his newest business has opened in Buda’s historic Mill & Grain Co. at 308 S. Main St.
Thurman Roberts was well known in the town for his work on the local school board, where he passionately fought for school integration. He’s one of the reasons Roxie’s is what it is today, but so is Roberts’ grandmother, Roxanna.
“After World War II, my father was in the bridge-building business,” Scott says. “He and my mother would leave and they’d be gone Sunday to Friday, so we mostly stayed with my grandmother.” The younger Roberts recalls working in Roxie’s gardens and his “always cooking” grandmother feeding nearby ranch hands.
“If you went to church in Driftwood you wanted to be invited over to her house to eat on Sunday,” he reminisces. “We try to recreate that experience of going to her place and back it up with the same quality of product and food she served.”
That starts with childhood staples chicken fried steak and fried chicken, Roberts’ favorite menu items. He also shouts out the biscuits that begin every meal, and the restaurant’s unlimited sides – a feature he lovingly refers to as “The Experience.”
“With this family-style experience,” he says, “there’s no refill on the proteins, but all the side dishes are unlimited. Whatever’s leftover you can take home with you. We try to be as friendly as possible. [We] try to be Hill Country friendly and maintain the quality of the product like we’ve always done.”
There certainly ended up being plenty to take home as we dined on chicken fried steak and burgers, accompanied by myriad sides like mashed potatoes, creamed corn, and green beans with bacon. The fried chicken and the chicken fried steak definitely lived up to the top billing Roberts gave them.
Although Roxanna Roberts didn’t drink alcohol and the original Driftwood Salt Lick (the mini-chain now has locations in Round Rock and in Austin-Bergstrom International Airport) is famously BYOB, there’s a full bar at Roxie’s that serves drinks inspired by how Scott Roberts feels his grandma would have drank. Roxie loved peaches, so there are peach Bellinis and even a peach-flavored Old Fashioned. “We squeeze all of our juices fresh,” he raves of his cocktails. “We’re specializing in a tequila that comes from Mexico, but the owners live here in Buda. That’s as local as you can get on tequila because it has to be made in Jalisco.” And, of course, there are plenty of Salt Lick Cellars wines, with grapes harvested from the family’s own Driftwood property.
“We planted Tempranillo, Mourvèdre, Syrah, and Grenache because we believed Texas could produce wines that stand on their own, and we’re proud to offer something that feels authentically rooted in the land,” Roberts says.
Even the building’s decor was heavily inspired by Roberts’ grandmother. “My daughter and some other people on my staff did the interior to try to make it feel like you’re going to my grandmother’s house,” he explains. “We recreated one side of the house and the front of the house inside here to try to make it more and more like Roxie’s original place.” A recreation of Roxie’s chimney, family photos, and even the original flooring from the home (used as decor this time around) bolster the restaurant’s cozy, familial atmosphere.
Roberts’ pride and love, for not only his family, but also the place he’s from, is palpable in every inch of the restaurant, and in every word on the menu. “I grew up here, so I feel comfortable, and I like that Hays County is getting more tourist-oriented,” he says. “If it’s tourist-oriented, there’s a reason to keep the natural beauty in place.”
His memories of Buda and Driftwood have inspired Roberts to keep his roots in the area, and if the early popularity of Roxie’s is any indication, the South Austin metro will continue to support him just as he and his family have supported them.
