The Hernandez family lived in Port Aransas for over 40 years, and they said they never intended to leave—not even when Hurricane Harvey was bustling toward them in August 2017.
“From the time my dad was 7 years old, he knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to be a cook,” Avery Hernandez, known as Little Avery, said.
Avery’s father, hailed by customers as Big Avery, began working in restaurants when he was 12 years old. He worked his way up from stocking groceries to bussing tables and eventually cooking, before opening Avery’s Kitchen in 2011. He said it was his dream.
Then came Hurricane Harvey. At first, Big Avery and his wife, Sandy, planned to stay through the storm, but once they noticed other islanders were evacuating they decided to leave.
