In the heart of Dripping Springs, where live music fills the air and plates of comfort food make their way from the kitchen, Homespun Kitchen & Bar feels just like its name suggests: familiar, welcoming, and unpretentious.
For mother-and-daughter owners Jennifer Walker and Candace Fernandez, however, Homespun is more than a neighborhood restaurant. It is a piece of their family’s history—and a place they hope will remain part of Dripping Springs for generations.
Fernandez grew up in Dripping Springs when the town looked very different from the rapidly growing community it is today. The building that now houses Homespun was once home to Mama’s Muffins, a bakery owned by the mother of one of Fernandez’s childhood friends, and she fondly remembers stopping there for a pastry before school. So when the space became available just as she was preparing to enter the restaurant business, she knew she wanted it.
Homespun opened its doors in 2013, although the restaurant was not quite what the pair originally envisioned. Walker and Fernandez initially considered opening a wine-and-tapas concept, but when they realized friends nearby were already doing something similar, they decided to pivot.
The result was a full-service restaurant and bar that became one of the first of its kind in town.
“It was kind of a whirlwind, to be honest,” Walker says.
The restaurant may have started with a change of plans, but the food itself was anything but an afterthought. Fernandez recalls growing up in a home where most meals were made from scratch, and she often helped her mother plan the family’s weekly dinners. Those meals are reflected in Homespun’s menu.
Macaroni and cheese, deviled eggs, and Sunday fried chicken were staples of Fernandez’s childhood. Today, Homespun puts its own spin on familiar flavors, pairing Southern comfort food with farm-to-table influences and dishes inspired by various culinary traditions.
“It’s a little Southern comfort mixed in with a little bit of everything else,” Walker says.
That philosophy extends beyond the food. The restaurant’s name was intentionally chosen to reflect the atmosphere the family wanted to create. Fernandez remembers searching for a name that felt genuine and captured the personality of the restaurant.
“If you Google the word, it means honest, simple, unpretentious—and that is our vibe,” she says. “That is what we want, and we hope that when people come into Homespun, that’s what they feel.”
For the mother-daughter duo, creating that feeling also means incorporating pieces of the community into the restaurant itself. A countertop at the front bar was made from a 100-year-old schoolhouse floor from San Marcos, while the bar in the outdoor pavilion features reclaimed gym flooring from Dripping Springs Middle School.
There is even a little red wagon with its own Homespun history.
When the Dripping Springs farmers market was located across the street, the restaurant’s chef would use the wagon to haul fresh produce back to the kitchen. The family continues to source locally whenever possible.
Homespun has grown over the years, developing an extensive whiskey and Scotch selection. What started with customers requesting more whiskey eventually became a collection that includes allocated bottles and hard-to-find selections.
In addition to growing its menu, Homespun has grown physically, developing the pavilion space and outdoor bar. Affectionately known as the “Spun Out Bar,” the pavilion gives guests another place to settle in, with outdoor seating, a full-service bar, and 12 televisions so sports fans can keep up with the game. It has also become a favorite spot for events, celebrations, and casual get-togethers.
Live music is another part of the restaurant’s identity, with performances Wednesday through Saturday. Between the music, bar, patio, and scratch-made food, Homespun is designed to be a place where people can stay awhile, whether they are meeting friends for dinner, grabbing a drink after work, or gathering with family.
But building that kind of gathering place has not always been easy.
Homespun has endured the challenges of the restaurant industry, including staffing difficulties and the disruptions of the coronavirus pandemic. The restaurant has also weathered not one, but two floods—the first in October 2015 and another, particularly devastating, flood in May 2019, when four feet of water filled the building right before Mother’s Day. The family managed to reopen within a week.
Those experiences inspired an enduring motto at Homespun: “Come hell or high water.”
More than a decade after opening, Homespun remains exactly what Walker and Fernandez intended—a family-run restaurant with no investors, deeply connected to the place where it began.
As Dripping Springs grows, Walker hopes newcomers will discover not only the food and music but the history behind the restaurant.
“We have generations of our family still living in Dripping Springs,” she says. “We want this to be a safe spot for people to come get a from-scratch meal.”
And perhaps most importantly, she says, “We want to continue to be here to serve you.”
HomespunKitchenAndBar.com | facebook.com/homespunkitchenandbar
“It’s a little Southern comfort mixed in with a little bit of everything else.” - Jennifer Walker
“'Homespun' means honest, simple, unpretentious—and that is our vibe. That is what we want, and we hope that when people come into Homespun, that’s what they feel.” - Candace Fernandez