More One on One With Hyde Park Bar & Grill’s Bick Brown

Bick Brown is, without question, one of the most creative and dynamic restaurateurs in Austin. He’s been at the helm of the enduringly popular Hyde Park Bar & Grill for 39 years and was involved with the opening of Chuy’s while also opening the highly acclaimed Zoot off Lake Austin Boulevard.

RB: Bick, tell me about the genesis of Hyde Park Bar & Grill.

BB: Well, I worked in restaurants in Corpus Christi. One was called The Torch and it was owned by a local legend, Harry Porter. I learned a lot from him about how to build a loyal customer base. It was a terrific experience.

After graduating college I worked around Austin at Victoria Station and then for Mike Young, one of the premier restaurant owners in the city. I helped him launch the first Chuy’s on Barton Springs. I had also been thinking about opening my own place.

Then in 1982 I managed to find a space in Hyde Park with a supportive owner who helped me put the restaurant together. I wanted to do a true neighborhood bar and grill with great burgers and fries and basic comfort foods. And the Hyde Park neighborhood really supported us.

Our business grew by word of mouth and gradually we began to attract  customers from Tarrytown, Travis Heights, Lakeway, Round Rock, and across the city. Our menu began to expand as well.

RB: The success of many great restaurants usually depends on a core group of key employees. I understand you’ve been fortunate in that area!

BB: Rob, it’s been amazing. We have a core of virtually indispensable employees who have been with me for years. Our bartender David Abel has been here 39 years, from the beginning. I’ve offered him management jobs but he’s turned them all down. He loves what he’s doing and he intends to keep doing it. Fantastic! Remarkable guy. And our prep cook Jed Herring has been with us for 36 years. He too has been invaluable.

RB: And your wife and partner Erika was another great employee?

BB: Yeah, we met while she was a server at the Hyde Park location. I’m very lucky!

RB: I have a number of personal favorites at Hyde Park: the dumplings, the veggie burger, and without question the Cajun redfish, but the burning question I must ask is how did you come up with those amazing Hyde Park fries?

BB: Well, I kind of borrowed some of the idea from my time at Victoria Station. They did these breaded fries and I took that and tried it at our restaurant. We buy fresh potatoes every day – nothing frozen – peel them and coat them with a special mix we’ve developed. Then they’re deep fried in oil that’s filtered and regularly changed.

RB: Well that’s critical!

BB: It is, Rob. You know I can I smell when a restaurant reuses oil the minute I walk in the door.

RB: I totally agree!  Nothing worse than the first bite of chicken or catfish when they reuse the oil! Well, I think I can speak for my readers when I say that your fries deserve all the many accolades and awards they’ve received.

BB: Thank you.

RB: The COVID-19 virus  has been an incredibly difficult challenge for local restaurants. How did you handle that at Hyde Park?

BB: We closed inside dining and went to 100% curbside and takeout. This revealed a few flaws in our systems so we had to make some changes in expediting to get the food to our customers faster. But we improved that pretty quickly. We were also very conscientious about making sure our people wore gloves and face masks. You know, Rob, we got through the first wave, struggled through the second one, and hopefully we’ll see …

RB: I heard that. Bick, when you dine out where do you go?

BB: We actually don’t go out that often but like Fonda San Miguel, Red Ash, Comedor, and Julio’s. But this town has seen a lot of new young chef-driven talent. It’s really incredible. Great to see!

RB: Thanks, Bick, and continued good fortune on both the Hyde Park and Westgate locations!

BB: Thank you Rob, hope to see you soon.