After 10 years of driving a truck around the Austin area, Geoff Beverly said he had almost forgotten his own dream of opening a restaurant.

Geoff and his wife, Sharon, were inching towards retirement when he happened to come across an empty storefront in Manor. The Beverlys briefly ruminated on switching lifestyles to restaurant owners before applying for a loan online. Just five weeks later the couple opened Y’all’s Cafe in Manor.

“After 10 years of driving a truck ... it just worked perfect,” Geoff said. “I had the ideas in my head for years.”

The Beverlys’ restaurant in Manor had about 10 items total when it opened. Two years after Y’all’s Cafe opened in Manor, the Beverlys moved their Cajun-style restaurant to Round Rock. Since the move, Y’all’s Cafe boasts twice as much space, has added dozens of menu selections and has doubled its staff.

“We learned our bumps and bruises in Manor,” said Geoff, who still preps food and cooks on the line.

Now the restaurant is enjoying success catering to both lunch and dinner crowds while enjoying active Sundays serving Round Rock’s church crowd, according to Geoff.

“I think we’re up to [cooking] 100 pounds of oxtail every Sunday now,” Geoff said.

The oxtails over rice is the only dish that Geoff considers to be true soul food served at Y’all’s Cafe. Instead, Geoff says he cooks “Cajun home cooking” from his home state of Louisiana—such as collard greens, cabbage, etouffee and brown gravy.

Y’all’s Cafe’s menu is speckled with bayou-influenced modifications to Texas home cooking classics such as the restaurant’s spiced mashed potatoes or the Bayou Fried Chicken, a half-chicken that is deeply seasoned and breaded before it is lightly fried.

“We’re Cajun and home cooking, and you don’t see that in too many restaurants,” Geoff said.

Geoff spent the decade in the cab of his truck modifying recipes from his mother’s cookbook. Family played a large role in Y’all’s Cafe’s success, according to Geoff, after his mother set aside money for the restaurant and his sisters came to Manor to help cook when the restaurant opened.

“When your budget is tight and [family] comes down to help, it’s priceless,” Geoff said. “Success is the quality time you have with each other.”

Y’all’s Cafe
2000 S. I-35, Ste. G1, Round Rock
512-243-8014
www.eatatyalls.cafe
Hours: Closed Mon., Tue.-Thu. 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.-7 p.m.