For nearly three decades, Hoover’s Cooking has been part of the fabric of East Austin. Now, its founder is reflecting on the journey that built the restaurant and looking ahead to what comes next.
On this episode of Titans of Texas, host Casey Claiborne sits down with Hoover Alexander, owner of Hoover’s Cooking, to trace his story from growing up in East Austin and learning about food from his family to getting his start as a dishwasher and eventually building one of Austin’s best-known home-cooking restaurants.
Hoover shares how his family’s farming and ranching roots influenced his approach to food, the lessons he learned working his way through the restaurant business, and how he and his partner opened Hoover’s in 1998 on little more than credit cards, used equipment, and determination.
The conversation covers:
Hoover also explains why he calls this new phase “rewiring, not retiring,” with plans to keep the Hoover’s brand alive through catering, sauces, honey, storytelling, cooking demonstrations, and a potential cookbook combining recipes with the stories of his life.
00:00 — Introduction & Meet Hoover Alexander
01:25 — Growing Up in East Austin
04:02 — Family, Farming & Ranching Roots
07:32 — From Dishwasher to the Restaurant Business
10:50 — Learning to Cook & the Mentors Who Shaped Hoover
16:07 — The Road to Opening Hoover’s Cooking
21:10 — Building Hoover’s on a Shoestring Budget
25:18 — Leadership, Employees & the Power of Community
31:04 — COVID and the Challenges Facing Hoover’s
36:13 — “Rewiring, Not Retiring”
38:03 — Honey, Sauces & the Future of the Hoover’s Brand
40:09 — Storytelling, a Cookbook & Hoover’s Legacy