Springhill Restaurant on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026 In Pflugerville, Texas. Springhill Restaurant will close on Oct. 16, 2026 after over four decades of service.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Carroll Humphrey has greeted customers at Springhill Restaurant for more than four decades, watching generations of families gather over fried catfish, fried shrimp and chicken-fried steak. Now, at 85, he’s preparing to say goodbye as the longtime Pflugerville restaurant closes Oct. 16.
Humphrey and co-owner Jack Payne said fewer customers are eating out, leaving them unable to afford the rent on the 6,000-square-foot building at 2505 W. Pecan St. Payne said the economy has kept many regulars at home.
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Humphrey said he used to come to the restaurant every day since he first opened it in 1985 to cook or greet customers, but can’t visit as often now because of health issues. He and Payne recently sat at the table where they have gathered for weekday lunches with friends for years, including former restaurateur Chris Carby and Texas Disposal Systems Inc. co-founder Jimmy Gregory.
The group calls it the “Liars’ Table.”
“It’s where a bunch of guys get around and tell a bunch of lies,” Payne said with a laugh. Payne said he sits at the table daily for the buffet lunch.
Gregory said he has been eating at Springhill for years. “This is a place for stories to be told, where marriages have been set and where divorces happen,” he said. “These family-style restaurants are a dying breed.”
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Pflugerville City Council Member Rudy Metayer said his parents have been eating at Springhill since it opened. He plans to visit before it closes, he said.
Emily Hoffman, a waitress at Springhill Restaurant, serves customers on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026 In Pflugerville, Texas.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
“It’s one thing to have great food and another thing to have great atmosphere and another thing to have great hospitality, and it has all three. It’s an iconic part of Pflugerville and that’s the part that’s sad for a lot of people because it’s closing.”
Humphrey, 85, said he got the idea to start the restaurant, which is named after the nearby Spring Hill neighborhood, after he drove past the building that was for lease in 1984. He had already gained several years of experience running restaurants, including several Kentucky Fried Chicken stores in Waco and in Tulsa, Okla. That experience included meeting Harland David Sanders, known as Colonel Sanders, the founder of KFC, he said with a smile. He also started his own businesses including selling pizza by the slice in Houston and a downtown Austin lunch place called The Window Box, known for its chocolate pecan pie.
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He became interested in opening a fried catfish restaurant because he had seen similar restaurants in East Texas and had friends who told him how well another restaurant, the Catfish Parlour, was doing in Austin, he said. At the time Pflugerville had a population of several hundred people, but he knew the restaurant would draw people from Williamson County and Travis County, he said.
“We used to get a lot of people from Taylor, Round Rock and Austin,” Humphrey said. “The people of the area kept us going. The volume was pretty good and we had outstanding employees. The people you surround yourself with can make you or break you.” He also opened other Springhill restaurants in Bee Cave and on Airport Boulevard in Austin, but they have since closed.
Carroll Humphrey, owner and founder of Springhill Restaurant on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026 In Pflugerville, Texas. Springhill Restaurant will close on Oct. 16, 2026 after over four decades of service.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
A sign displays business hours outside Springhill Restaurant on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026 In Pflugerville, Texas. Springhill Restaurant will close on Oct. 16, 2026 after over four decades of service.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Springhill Restaurant on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026 In Pflugerville, Texas. Springhill Restaurant will close on Oct. 16, 2026 after over four decades of service.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
A gas pump is displayed below a sign outside Springhill Restaurant on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026 In Pflugerville, Texas.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
A sign displays daily meal specials at Springhill Restaurant on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026 In Pflugerville, Texas.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Collectibles and antiques are displayed on shelves at Springhill Restaurant on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026 In Pflugerville, Texas.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Signs and other decor hang from the rafters at Springhill Restaurant on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026 In Pflugerville, Texas.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Neon and metal signs and other decor hang from the rafters at Springhill Restaurant on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026 In Pflugerville, Texas. Springhill Restaurant will close on Oct. 16, 2026 after over four decades of service.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Neon and metal signs hang from the rafters at Springhill Restaurant on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026 In Pflugerville, Texas. Springhill Restaurant will close on Oct. 16, 2026 after over four decades of service.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
The party room at Springhill Restaurant on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026 In Pflugerville, Texas. Springhill Restaurant will close on Oct. 16, 2026 after over four decades of service.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Carroll Humphrey, owner and founder, left, and Jack Payne, co-owner, right, at Springhill Restaurant on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026 In Pflugerville, Texas.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Carroll Humphrey, owner and founder of Springhill Restaurant, sits at a table in the restaurant’s party room on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026 In Pflugerville, Texas. Springhill Restaurant will close on Oct. 16, 2026 after over four decades of service.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Carroll Humphrey, owner and founder of Springhill Restaurant on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026 In Pflugerville, Texas. Springhill Restaurant will close on Oct. 16, 2026 after over four decades of service.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Emily Hoffman, a waitress at Springhill Restaurant, serves customers on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026 In Pflugerville, Texas.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Neon and metal signs and other decor hang from the rafters at Springhill Restaurant on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026 In Pflugerville, Texas. Springhill Restaurant will close on Oct. 16, 2026 after over four decades of service.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
A photo including Carroll Humphrey, owner and founder of Springhill Restaurant, far left, is displayed at the restaurant on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026 In Pflugerville, Texas. Springhill Restaurant will close on Oct. 16, 2026 after over four decades of service.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
The buffet at Springhill Restaurant on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026 In Pflugerville, Texas.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Signs and other decor hang from the rafters at Springhill Restaurant on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026 In Pflugerville, Texas. Springhill Restaurant will close on Oct. 16, 2026 after over four decades of service.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
A sign instructs customers to wait at the front of Springhill Restaurant on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026 In Pflugerville, Texas.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Along the way, Humphrey filled the Pflugerville restaurant with memorabilia he collected from antique stores including a woodstove, old farm equipment, a vending machine that sold peanuts for 5 cents and a red neon pig sign. The collection also includes beer signs, a carousel horse, a giant carving of a beer bottle, wooden sleighs, manual cash registers, waterskis and old street and feed store signs. They are all being sold off through an online auction. “It’s a time machine in here,” said Payne.
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Neon and metal signs and other decor hang from the rafters at Springhill Restaurant on Monday, Oct. 5, 2026 In Pflugerville, Texas. Springhill Restaurant will close on Oct. 16, 2026 after over four decades of service.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Michelle Williams of Florence said she and her husband drive 40 miles each week to visit Springhill. It’s a comfortable place where the food is outstanding, she said.
Emily Hoffman said she has been a waitress at the restaurant for six years. “It’s like a family here,” she said. “It’s sad to close. I will miss a lot of the regulars.”
Humphrey has also helped other people in the restaurant business.
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“Carroll is first class,” said Carby. “He gave me a lot of good advice when I was in the restaurant business as well, like ‘Never get behind on your taxes.’ He told me that early on.”
Humphrey said he will miss the routine of coming to Springhill. But he said, he is ready to close it.
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“I ain’t,” he said. “We have to find another Liars’ Table.”