LA COSTE, Texas – The old West Side favorite Acadiana Café is making a comeback — this time in Medina County.
Owner Dave Saylor closed the restaurant in August. Rodney Hitzfelder, a good friend of Saylor, is now the new owner.
“I bought the Acadiana Café name, the intellectual property rights, the recipes, everything from him, and he agreed to help me get going. He’s still helping me,” said Hitzfelder. “He taught our cooks how to fry the catfish exactly the way they do it at Acadiana. The recipes are the same.”
Hitzfelder said the cafe has a special place in his heart.
“People went to Acadiana for special occasions,” he said. “We spent many birthdays for my parents there, anniversaries. Other people went there for family reunions and that type of thing.”
The purchase and reopening are part of a bigger investment he’s made into reviving The La Coste City Hotel, a 113-year-old building in the town.
“We’re here in a 1912 railroad hotel,” he said. “It was originally built to service the town and possibly the Medina Dam at that time.”
Hitzfelder’s family has been in the La Coste community for 170 years. He knows a lot of about the area’s history and hotel buildings.
He showed KSAT photos that look back at the building, including renovations that took place in the 80s.
In 2022, he started his own renovations, making it a hotel, bar, restaurant and live outdoor venue scene.
“Our population’s exploding, people are discovering you don’t have to go to San Antonio for everything, and so they’re coming this way,” he said.
The renovations are still ongoing, and he said he has more plans for the hotel and areas around the town.
Hitzfelder said he hopes to continue making history for the old hotel.
“We’re going to try,” he said. We’re going to keep it here as long as we can, and if I pass it on to somebody, hopefully they’ll love it as much as we do.”
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