Neal's Restaurant

A lot of preparation goes into the dishes, whether it's the 14-16 hours of smoking for its brisket, the hand cutting of meat or the in-house baker at each location who makes homemade desserts, such as peach cobbler and banana pudding.

"I take home almost a pint [of banana pudding] every night and [eat some] as I'm watching the late night news," Hall said. "That's my guilty pleasure."

Hall said longtime Spring resident Tommy Neal opened the first Neal's in the mid-80s on Rhodes Road. Business was so strong at the 16-table restaurant, that Neal moved it to its current location on FM 2920 for more space. Neal, who operates Neal's Berry Farm, sold the business four years ago to owner Guillermo Sierra.

"[Sierra] and his family love food," Hall said. "They've lived all over the world and living here in Texas now and calling Texas home, they wanted to immerse themselves in being as much a part of Texas as they can. There's no better way to do that than to own a Neal's."

Although much of the menu has remained the same, Neal's made a change more than two years ago by expanding to a second location. Hall said the company was initially overwhelmed by the popularity of the second restaurant, admitting the customer service was lacking.

He said Neal's refocused its efforts over the last year on improving customer service and making the food consistent between the three restaurant locations. The business continues to grow, he said, and they hope to expand to the Conroe or Woodlands area in the near future.

Hall said Neal's dedicates itself to helping the Spring community. In addition to involvement with local churches, charities, chambers of commerce and Klein ISD, Neal's has become a sponsor of Klein Bearkat football.

He said the football team visits every Friday around 3:30 p.m. to eat with staff, a tradition he hopes will continue for years to come.

"Neal's has been a pillar of the community for a while," he said. "There are people who come in here who've been eating here since 1986, and some of their kids and grandkids go to the schools. It's very important [to Neal's] to be viewed as something that supports the local charities [and] other local businesses. That just goes right in line with our philosophy of business."

Southern breakfast

Neal's Country Caf recently began serving home-cooked, Southern breakfast seven days a week from 8–11 a.m. The restaurant serves breakfast dishes, such as Belgian waffles, pancakes, hash browns, grits and biscuits and gravy. The other two Neal's restaurant locations serve breakfast from 9–11 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The restaurant's breakfast menu has been successful thus far and is especial

Weekly specials

• Mondays – Seniors buy one entree, get one half off
• Tuesdays – Kids eat half-price
• Wednesdays – All-you-can-eat fried catfish for $15.99
• Thursdays – All-you-can-eat-barbecue (ribs, brisket, sausage) for $15.99
• Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays – Homemade chicken and dumplings for $4.99
• Follow Neal's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/NealsRestaurant for a variety of special offers.

From the menu

• Chicken-fried steak: Hand-cut, hand-breaded steak served with two sides, baked potato, sweet potato, house salad or soup. $10.99 (regular). $16.99 (large).
• Rib-eye and shrimp combo: An 8 ounce or 12 ounce hand-cut and hand-seasoned rib-eye steak served with seasoned jumbo shrimp and two sides, a baked potato, a sweet potato, a house salad or a bowl of soup. $23.99
• (8 ounce). $27.99 (12 ounce).
• Barbecue: Smoked barbecue favorites include brisket, large pork spare ribs and link sausage. $9.99 (beef, brisket and sausage sandwiches). $11.99 (brisket, sausage or combo dinner). $13.99 (ribs).
• Hamburgers: Half-pound, hand-seasoned burgers are hand-cut and served with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and choice of side. $8.99–$14.99.
• Sides: Neal's side dishes includes french fries, fried okra, homemade macaroni and cheese, green beans, black-eyed peas, mustard potato salad, steamed broccoli, homemade coleslaw, lima beans, sweet corn, mashed potatoes and warm cinnamon apples. $2.49 each.

Neal's Restaurant, 4750 FM 2920, Spring 281-288-0704, www.nealsrestaurant.comhttps://www.nealsrestaurant.com, Hours: Mon.–Thu. 11 a.m.–9 p.m., Fri. 11 a.m.–9:30 p.m., Sat. 8 a.m.–9 p.m., Sun. 8 a.m.–8 p.m.

Neal's Restaurant, 17045 Stuebner Airline Road, Spring 281-826-0200, www.nealsrestaurant.com, Hours: Mon.–Thu. 11 a.m.–9 p.m., Fri. 11 a.m.–9:30 p.m., Sat. 8 a.m.–9 p.m., Sun. 8 a.m.–8 p.m.

Neal's Country Cafe, 5203 FM 1960 West, Houston 281-583-0100, www.nealsrestaurant.com, Hours: Mon.–Sat. 8 a.m.–9 p.m., Sun. 8 a.m.–8 p.m.