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Dale Cockerell stands outside of his Walburg restaurant, Dale’s Essenhaus. -
The dining room at Dale's. -
A plate of fried catfish and shrimp, Friday’s special at Dale’s. -
, An old sign shows Walburg’s population, including “1 old grouch,” jokingly noting the space’s previous owner. -
The original pool tables from Joe’s Place were converted into dining tables at Dale’s Essenhaus. -
Outdoor seating at Dale's.
In September 1997, Dale Cockerell bought Joe’s Place, a Walburg bar and restaurant about 15 minutes outside of downtown Georgetown at 3900 Farm to Market Road 972. Now, almost 26 years later, Dale’s Essenhaus has maintained its status as a staple in the community and continues to serve beer, burgers, barbecue and Southern classics like chicken fried steak to those passing through the small town.
“I love people and I want them to have good food at a fair price,” Mr. Cockerell said.
Mr. Cockerell named the restaurant Dale’s Essenhaus — or eating house in German — because Walburg had historically been a German community.
“But in today’s world everyone just says, ‘Let’s go to Dale’s,’ ” Mr. Cockerell said. “They don’t even say Essenhaus anymore.”
Before taking ownership of the business, Mr. Cockerell had no restaurant experience. He was an entrepreneur who owned dry cleaners and laundromats. Overtime, he’s become a pro, and created a space where familiar faces come for the food and kinship.
While Mr. Cockerell has expanded the business into being a full restaurant with a banquet hall and a biergarten, he’s always tried to stay true to the original bar’s roots. Back when Georgetown was a dry city, Joe’s Place was one of 7 bars in Walburg. Even after the other 6 bars closed, Joe’s Place stayed open. It was a hang-out spot for Southwestern University students, area farmers and anyone else looking to drink beer, eat burgers, play pool and have a good time.
The history of the spot can be tracked throughout the building. Some of those original pool tables are now over 100 years old, Mr. Cockerell said. He has converted them into dining tables to maintain the history. Joe, the previous owner, was known to be a bit of a grump, so someone put a sign outside that said “WALBURG: POP. 59 AND 1 OLD GROUCH.” The sign is still propped up in the corner of the restaurant, underneath the TV. Beside it, there’s an old, wooden candy display case that is being used to store coffee mugs. On top of the display case, there is a bucket with a piece of paper taped on it that was torn out of a waitresses’ order notepad the reads, “SWEAR BUCKET!! $1!”
Jolie Rizzo has been a waitress at Dale’s for about a year. She goes to Stephan F. Austin in Nacogdoches but comes back to work at Dale’s during holidays and summer break. She has a lot of fun working at Dale’s, and she said that it’s a really great environment. Her favorite part of the job is hearing their live music. There is a two-man band that plays on Wednesdays and there are full bands that play on Friday and Saturday nights. On Thursdays, there’s karaoke.
Regular Jim Stuewe said he can hear it all from his house a few acres behind Dale’s. Although he enjoys hearing the live music performances, he joked that hearing his friends do karaoke isn’t always the easiest thing to listen to.
Mr. Stuewe eats lunch at Dale’s every day. Mr. Stuewe sits at the same table each day with his service dog Greta — a small, well-trained terrier — in the chair beside him. He even has his own special on the menu. The “Stuewe Special” is a halfpound hamburger patty without a bun, served with a side salad. It’s listed as one of the “lighter options” on the menu. Mr. Stuewe said he ate that everyday for a year and lost 20 pounds.
Despite earning his place on the menu, Mr. Stuewe doesn’t order his namesake much anymore. Dale’s weekday specials, he said, are usually too good to pass up. Monday’s menu offers fried chicken on the bone. Tuesday is meatloaf day, while specials Wednesday include a smoked pork chop and homemade chicken and dumplings. Mr. Stuewe recommended the ribs when “Dale’s Award-Winning BBQ” is on the menu Thursday, and Friday offers fried catfish and shrimp. There is a framed photo of Greta and Mr. Stuewe hanging on the wall by the booths in Dale’s.
They aren’t the only customers with their photo in the restaurant. On the side of every napkin dispenser, there is a flier with a photo of long-time customer Gregory Alrdt, wishing him a happy birthday. Anytime someone with a birthday at the restaurant, Mr. Cockerell said he rings a cowbell and gets everyone in the restaurant to sing “Happy Birthday.” “Whether they’re a kid or 90 years old,” the owner said.
Johnny Simick is one of Dale‘s Essenhaus’ longest regulars. This upcoming September 1 doesn’t only mark Dale Essenhaus’ 26th anniversary, it also marks the day that Mr. Simcik started eating lunch here. Mr. Simcik has played a crucial role in making Dale’s Essenhaus what it is today. He helped Mr. Cockerell fence in the biergarten and has been the plumber and electrician since it opened.
Mr. Cockerell said Dale’s is a great place for family dinners and events. He converted a 100-year-old barn into a banquet hall that can be rented for private events. A main draw for the community, though, is Dale’s large biergarten, where children can run and play freely on the community center’s playground. Parent’s can hang out at the picnic tables waiting for their order, or can dance to live music on the dance floor.
However, Mr. Cockerell said that Sun City residents do most of the dancing.
“Sun City is probably over 50 percent of our business,” he said. “They want to eat good and have a good time. People don’t move to Sun City to die, they move there to enjoy life. And according to most of my customers, this is the best restaurant around.”
The customers at Dale’s can thank Miguel Gallegos and his wife for the delicious meals. Mr. Gallegos is both the head cook and general manager. He has worked at Dale’s for 12 years and his wife, Daysi, has been cooking with him for the last 10 years.
Dale’s isn’t like other rustic, roadhouse-style restaurants. Mr. Cockerell said they use high-quality ingredients and each entree comes with two vegetable sides like red cabbage, fried okra or collard greens. In season vegetables are grown by locals, and Mr. Cockerell grows the squash and potatoes himself.
“We don’t open no cans,” he said. “Our vegetables are fresh or fresh frozen. ” Mr. Cockerell said.
With 20 employees helping make Dale’s run, Mr. Cockerell is hoping to be more hands off in the future.
“I just want to be the PR person and go around and thank [the customers] for coming,” he said.
Most of Mr. Cockerell’s family members have worked in the restaurant including his wife, his daughters and his grandsons. When his granddaughter Reagan Sharpe, was 6, she took it upon herself to fill out a job application. It was framed, and used to hang on the wall.
Mr. Cockerell is hoping to completely hand off managing the business to his daughter.
“Now I want this quote in the story,” Mr. Cockerell said. “Say, ‘My daughter Kim Anderson is now running the place for her dad, and she’s been the best manager we’ve ever had.’ ”