Immaculate barbecue

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Deanna Orona and family resurrect classic barbecue hub with Crossvine Market

After 104 years in business, an old store known to many as “The Heart of Waelder,” closed its doors last November, much to the dismay of patrons far and wide.

But thanks to a few good folks in the area, it is up and running again, this time under the name “Crossvine Market.”

The Crossvine “family,” which includes Deanna Orona and her husband Rudy, their sons Clay and Cody, Dimas Vargas, Abelardo Ibarra, Randy Tovar and Joann Serafin, are working hard these days resurrecting the classic barbecue and grocery store, and are determined to make it better and more popular than it has ever been.

“On our opening day, we sold 340 rings of sausage,” Deanna says. “I was overwhelmed, because we had prepared a lot the night before. Then at 10:30 in the morning, I see Abelardo running into the cooler. I asked him what he was doing, and he said he had to put more meat on. People had already been ordering sausage at 8 o’clock, like for breakfast. Next thing you know, it’s 8:30 at night, and he’s just now finishing serving. It was crazy.”

Deanna also talks about the mini-grocery store/deli in the front part of the building and how the family is giving it a little more pizzazz.

“There was already a grocery store here, and somewhat of a deli,” Deanna says. “We have incorporated a little more deli into it by offering deli sandwiches and ice cream.”

But the driving force behind Crossvine Market is the barbecue restaurant in the back. Deanna says she was overwhelmed when they opened, because she had no idea so many people go to the store for the barbecue.

“They come from all over – San Antonio, Houston, Fort Worth, even two guys from Utah came by,” she says. “There was a guy from Weimar who has been coming here for 25 years, and as soon as he found out we opened back up, he’s been back every day.”

Deanna says she and Rudy are leasing the building itself, and that they bought ownership of the business.

“We did change the name, and we just opened Saturday, April 27,” she says. “We acquired it eight weeks ago – it just took us that much time to renovate it to where it needed to be.”

It’s not only a small world, but a small state as well. Deanna says the same contractor who renovated the Driscoll Hotel in Austin helped her with Crossvine’s resurrection.

“He was a real big help with making it over,” she says. “We did a lot of painting and upkeep, and expanded the area so we could seat a lot more people.”

When it comes to giving credit where credit is due, Deanna imparts that it was her husband who came up with the idea of bringing back the immaculate barbecue to the people of Waelder.

“Rudy had the idea of taking over the business after it closed in November,” she says. “This place was considered the hub of Waelder for many years, and people got to missing the place very badly. We found out it was for lease and for sale, and we just went for it. Then all of a sudden, the renovation became a community project, as we had lots of people in the area roll up their sleeves and volunteer.”

Deanna also says that many folks had fond memories of the store, and that that was their motivation to roll up their sleeves and help get it up and running again.

“I went to Gonzales County [archives] and asked them about the history of the building,” she says. “They researched it and came back and told me it was established in 1909 by the Johnson family. But because they didn’t have to take out a bank loan, there was no deed to it.”

After the Johnsons, the Eureste family came along and took over the business, which they held for many years.

“That was my uncle Daniel Eureste and my aunt Martha Eureste,” Dimas says. “I worked with them off and on for many years, even when I was a little kid. They were the ones who taught me how to barbecue.”

Despite the barbecue’s immaculate flavor and legendary cult following, Deanna will be the first to admit she is far from being a culinary prodigy. She emphasizes the fact that she comes more from the business side of things, while Dimas, Abelardo and Randy specialize in the secrets of making great barbecue.

“I worked for Texas Benefits Solutions in Gonzales, and worked for an insurance brokerage company handling insurance benefits for small and large benefits,” she says. “I got my degree in public administration, and worked municipality benefits for the city of San Marcos. I didn’t have any background whatsoever in running a barbecue restaurant! No culinary experience of any kind. That’s why we’ve got Dimas, Abelardo and Randy doing the cooking. Unlike me, they know how to make some bona fide barbecue. We’re trying a new kind of barbecue sauce, too, and, so far, everybody likes it.”

Abelardo remembers working at the store back in his high school days and beyond.

“I cooked here for eight years, then left,” he says. “I came back when the previous owner was here and helped him out for a while. Then I left again. Now when Deanna came and opened it back up, I came back again. I love cooking. I also do a lot of cooking for the school and the fire department.”

As expected, Dimas, Abelardo and Randy don’t like to give out any of their barbecuing secrets – particularly when it comes to their rub.

“Oh, yeah,” Dimas laughs as he kind of stares off into space. “We tend to ‘forget’ things!”

“Hey, I’ve known these guys for a long time and I love ‘em,” Deanna chimes in with a laugh. “And they still turn their backs to me – even when they’re making the beans!”

So how does it feel to serve wonderful food to the people of the Waelder community and beyond?

“Working on the weekends is great,” Abelardo says. “You meet more people from everywhere, and you get to hear their stories about when they were kids and their parents brought them here, and their grandparents brought them here. They’ve got so many great memories that they hold on to, and they can share ‘em with their kids when they bring ‘em here.”

Dimas has fond memories of his own, particularly one that involved getting shipments to people in places you’d never think had heard of Waelder, let alone its barbecue.

“When my uncle was here, we used to ship sausage via U.P.S. to places like Washington, D.C. and California,” he says. “Big orders, sent out far and wide. Our cooking was really popular, and always will be, we hope.”

Deanna says some customers have to wait 30 minutes to get a particular cut of meat, because everything on the menu is served on a daily basis.

“One lady actually waited 40 minutes for fajitas because she wanted them that bad,” she says. “To me, that spoke volumes about the quality of food they receive here.

“Once an older couple came from Katy,” Deanna adds, almost as an afterthought. “She was from Waelder and he was from Gonzales. They were eating our sausage, and later commented that they hadn’t had sausage that good in 20 years. So they made a reference to the old recipe, which we’re using now, and that made me feel good that they were excited about coming back and tasting the flavors of their past.”

Deanna also says the store, while functioning and excelling as well as before, it is still not finished, and that new things are on the horizon.

“The store is still a work-in-progress,” she says. “One big thing we’re going to introduce is the addition of fountain machines, which are coming soon.”

Amid all this talk of memories, Deanna has a memory of her own. And she’s barely been on the job a week. And, yes, the memory was born from another memory.

“One customer, a man who served food at the Alamodome, said Earl Campbell brought him here 25 years ago, and he’s been coming back ever since,” Deanna says. “That’s another example of how people seem to make this store such a big part of their lives.”

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