AUSTIN, Texas — The more people the merrier for David Mossell.
"What I love most about this place is it reminds me of home," Mossell said. I tell people when they walk in the door I say come into the house."
As co-owner of Cherry Creek Catfish, Mossell said he's proud of the food they serve.
"We focus mainly on catfish and shrimp and oysters," he said.
Cherry Creek Catfish sits off Manchaca, across the street from Crockett High School.
"I think this is an iconic South Austin place," Mossell said.
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It opened in 1994, but Mossell and his business partner, Danny Lenertz, bought the place in 2011. Together, they wanted to bring a West Texas-style restaurant to Austin.
Feast your eyes on the Cherry Creek Trio. It comes with two catfish fillets, three shrimp, two pork ribs and two sides. In this case, green beans and coleslaw.
Given the restaurant name, you know catfish is a specialty. In this kitchen, it's made five ways including blackened, lemon pepper and Cajun style.
"But we also have, I think being from San Angelo, the best chicken fried steak in Austin."
I mean, can you argue? This looks hearty, to say the least.
"We have a half a pound hamburger that is very good it's on a sweet roll that my partner picked out. Its a very nice hamburger," Mossell added.
Traditional American plates, your pick of seafood and the best jalapeno hush puppies you'll find. And let's not forget about the great service.
"Our service is wonderful. We have wonderful servers and our bussers and our hosts and our kitchen- it's just everyone works together," he said.
Just ask Mama Gigi Hayhurst. She was a long-time familiar face at Hills Cafe before it closed.
"It was disappointing when Hills Cafe shut down. They are right down the street. I was there the last few days because they were shorthanded," said Mossell.
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Eventually, he brought Gigi over to Cherry Creek.
"We all have one goal. Our goal is to make the people who come here happy," said Gigi Hayhurst.
"You walk in here and you feel like you are part of the community, " added Mossell. That's the feeling you get at Cherry Creek- a nice homey vibe.
And Mossell hopes to keep it that way for a long time. "Change is what happens in life but I'm gonna fight tooth and nail to keep this home because we are part of this community," said Mossell.
Cherry Creek Catfish is located at 5712 Manchaca Road. They're open every day.
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