A quaint café sits on Main Street in Downtown Bastrop, Texas beckoning customers to come in and experience its small-town charm and mouth-watering homestyle cooking. Twenty-one years in business, Maxine’s Cafe has hosted multitudes of locals as well as tourists in its cozy dining room.
Maxine’s has been a part of the downtown landscape since 1997, continuing to stand proudly at 905 Main Street, its original location. In 2016, Maxine’s Café expanded to the property next door. This expansion enabled them to double the size of the kitchen and add 24 more seats to the dining room.
Originally, the establishment was named Maxine’s Restaurant, but was rebranded in early 2009 to Maxine’s Café, to more accurately describe the casual ambiance. Maxine was the name of the previous owner’s mother.
Her inspiration was to provide the local Bastropians with the fresh home cooking just like her mama made it.
DAVID SARTAN
“We continued cooking and expanded the menu to become the local hometown café by delighting our customers and each other with home-style food and Texas-style service so that dining at Maxine’s feels like being with family.
The menu at Maxine’s Café does not disappoint, especially the breakfast dishes. One favorite menu item is the 12-inch griddle cake made with a choice of blueberries, chocolate chips, or pecan pralines mixed in. Eggs Benedict and Eggs Florentine are on the menu, along with the home cooking specialty: the Texas Benny. This creative concoction includes a split grilled biscuit topped with sausage patties, poached eggs, and jalapeno hollandaise sauce. As for the lunch and dinner menu, staples include Maxine’s Meatloaf and also the ever-popular chicken fried steak. The menu at Maxine’s changes twice a year to add new and exciting recipes and switch out seasonal items.
Maxine’s Café supports multiple civic and charitable organizations, including the Child Advocacy Center and the Educational Foundation. Additionally, Maxine’s hosts the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Scholarship Fund Fish Fry and a donor appreciation dinner for the Bastrop YMCA.
Maxine’s Café and Bakery partners with Aunt Fanny’s Catering for catering and delivery service from Maxine’s kitchen. Aunt Fanny’s is operated by Maxine’s Café pastry chef, Mikyla Atkinson-Guerrero, and her husband Adam Guerrero. The collaboration of these two organizations delivers sensational fare that can be enjoyed for any occasion. Their quality services are frequently called upon for parties, business meetings, weddings, and home deliveries.
Sartain summed up the Maxine’s experience well: “At Maxine’s, we take great pride in our perfect mix of Texas charm, Southern hospitality, and our food made from scratch ‘just like your mama used to make it,’” he said. “Maxine’s Café is a place where the workers know every regular customer by name; the Mayor and city leaders, businessmen and women, and farmers sit around a table for breakfast or lunch exchanging news, stories, and gossip. Tourists wander in to find out what is happening in town. And, we don’t count calories. That is why pies are essential and give grandmas everywhere some serious competition.”
