Hill’s Cafe: Demise of an Austin Icon?

I have known Bob Cole as a friend and industry colleague for over 30 years. I was pleasantly surprised when he ventured into the restaurant business about a decade ago after he acquired the venerable Hill’s Cafe on South Congress. I ate there several times and always enjoyed it for the Hill Country roadhouse that it was (even if I was not of fan of the famous yellow gravy). Jennifer and I even played there one night a few years back.

Thus I was sad to see the article in the Statesman last week detailing the financial decline of Hill’s. Bob Cole always wears his heart on his sleeve, so I was not surprised at this candor with the reporter. What shocked me is how dire things had apparently become. Was Hill’s about to become another victim of the “new” Austin cuisines (à la Arkie’s and the Holiday House)? Had it become an anachronism?

After some thought, I believe the answer is somewhat more complex. Cole’s cash reserves could have been depleted by the opening of Hill’s BBQ on Steck, or his reinvention of the old KOKE-FM. When budgets are strapped, restaurants often tweak little things that might escape the attention of the casual customer, but not that of the regulars (of which Hill’s had many). Indeed, in the last six months I’ve received more than the usual number of emails and calls suggesting that things might have been a little “off” at Hill’s. Nothing drastic, but over time, enough perhaps to make a difference. Of course this is speculation, but restaurant financing and cash management can be brutally difficult. These difficulties can trickle down to the waitstaff and the kitchen crew. And then morale can begin to decline.

Like many celebrities who have taken a shot at the restaurant biz, Bob has probably realized that proverbial grass the did indeed appear greener. I’d hate to see Hill’s fade into Austin culinary history. The food is still pretty good, and there is so much history there. But the industry is brutally competitive today, much more so than in 1947 when Hill’s opened. I think some rebranding would be useful, and the peripatetic and extremely talented Cole has to realize that even he cannot be ubiquitous. Focus on the biggest issue and solve that! Best of luck big guy!