Stagecoach Inn reopens historic restaurant

SALADO, Texas - After a brief hiatus, Salado's Stagecoach Inn celebrated the reopening of its historic restaurant. 

Local perspective:

"It's a totally different atmosphere, but it’s really good because it’s more down-to-earth, more contemporary," said Rene Carter, a restaurant visitor.

Carter and her mom drove down from Temple on Friday to visit the Stagecoach Inn’s recently reopened restaurant.

"When it was closed down, it was, it kind of just put a damper on it because it was the landmark, you know," said Carter.

Despite the restaurant’s nearly 80-year history, it closed in June 2023 while under different management.

"I remember coming to the Stagecoach Inn as a little girl, and so my family I actually got baptized in the creek right here in Salado, so it’s very cool to be a part of," said Kayte Muniz, the proud new general manager of the restaurant.

She worked with Georgetown's Monument Café to revamp the menu.

"They have been very successful in their operations," said Muniz. "We’re proud to say that they’ve partnered with us to help us and kind of establish really good recipes and build that foundation which they created at the café."

But it wouldn’t be the Stagecoach Inn without the famous hush puppies. They were first served in 1947 before there was even a menu. The cooks needed to buy time to run to the grocery store.

"So we have our hush puppies that we have, Rusty's (the owner of the Monument Cafe) wonderful recipe, and then we do have other featured items on our menu," said Muniz. 

The inn itself is 165 years old, and Muniz hopes the restaurant will be at the core of what brings people together for its next chapter.

"Generally, just kind of drawing back to that history of Stagecoach and being able to provide kind of a one-of-a-kind dining experience for our guests that grew up here and also just building what we’re going to be in the future," said Muniz. 

Muniz added the bakers are working on perfecting the iconic strawberry kiss before they decide if it goes back on the menu.