A restaurant known for its catfish, hush puppies, and decades of memories is closing again after a brief but heartfelt comeback led by the founder’s granddaughter.
“It’s my family’s legacy,” Susan Howard said.
At Duck Inn Again in Lake Dallas, photos lining the walls tell stories of the restaurant that began in Susan Howard’s grandparents’ home in 1945 and of a community that kept coming back.
“They served food in their home and their living room for 10 years before they built on, and it became a bigger restaurant,” Howard said, pointing to a large mural of the former location on the wall of the current one.
For more than 50 years, Duck Inn wasn’t just a place to eat; it was a place to come home to until it closed in 1998.
“I was right up in the middle of it, and I guess that’s why I couldn’t let go of it because it wasn’t my choice to begin with,” Howard said.
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Susan Howard, left, and Todd Mathis, right, talk about the troubles faced by their restaurant, Duck Inn Again.
Flavors of hush puppies and catfish sat silent for more than two decades, until Susan and her husband, retired chef Todd Mathis, restarted the story, selling out at Farmers Markets and pop-up dinners.
“It showed us there was still a market here and people were still interested,” Mathis said.
With revived recipes, the couple made a bold decision to bring the restaurant back to life.
“I was hoping that we could bring back a lot of that feeling of community, and I think we did. I think we brought back some of the feeling,” Howard said. “Just wish we could continue.”
Just seven months after Duck Inn Again opened, they announced this week in a Facebook post that Friday will be goodbye.
“I hate it,” Howard said.
Skyrocketing costs and tariffs, they said, turned their labor of love into a fight just to stay afloat.
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The Duck Inn Again in Lake Dallas, Texas.
“When you have a passion for something and you believe in it, you put everything you have in it and you do it, and we did, and we did it well,” Mathis said. “Just didn’t have enough money.”
Piece by piece, the tools that built their dream are now for sale. Even the restaurant and recipes are on the table.
“I’m hopeful that something gets better. That we’re at least able to find employment. But if we could sell all that’s in here, that would help us,” Howard said.
Doors will open at noon on Friday and remain open until food runs out.