Clear Springs Restaurant, the Hill Country staple that locals swear by for fried catfish and towering onion rings, is gearing up for a nearly $1 million facelift that will change how people pull in, walk up and hang out, while pointedly leaving the dining room and recipes alone. If the current schedule holds, construction would start in spring 2026 and run into late 2027.
Filings with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation peg the privately funded Phase 1 at about $750,000, with an April 20, 2026 start date and an October 31, 2027 completion date. The documents describe work around a roughly 34,000-square-foot facility, including new flatwork and a reconfigured parking layout around the restaurant’s footprint. The paperwork makes clear these are conceptual, early-stage plans and that details are subject to change as the project moves through the review process.
One thing management says will not change is what hits the table. “We won't be changing our onion ring or catfish recipes,” Hill Country Restaurants and Fredonia Hospitality COO Richard A. DeWitt III told MySA. DeWitt said the company has picked up nearby parcels, including a former ambulance building and a silo area, to carve out more parking and safer access in and out of the property. The team insists that interior operations and the menu will remain essentially untouched while the land around the building gets reworked.
What the work would add
Early concept sketches described to reporters show a family-friendly, biergarten-style hangout near the main entrance, an expanded covered porch, turf and uncovered seating areas and a small silo structure that could double as a performance stage. Support features on the wish list include exterior restrooms, a walk-up bar and an outdoor ordering area.
The plan also calls for removing a structure at the front of the property so a new, dedicated traffic signal can be added and entrance and exit movements can be simplified for guests. Managers stress that these elements are illustrative and may be revised as permitting moves forward and community feedback comes in.
Historic building, long menu and the paperwork
The Clear Springs site reaches back to the 19th century. The restaurant’s own history notes that the building started life as the Clear Springs Hall and Store in the 1800s, part of early German settlement in the Guadalupe and Comal river valleys. Today’s restaurant leans into that heritage even as it upgrades the lot around it, and managers say the project will aim to protect the distinctive “blue house” at the front of the property with light restoration work. For more on the site’s origins, see the Clear Springs website.
State filings and accessibility reviews
Because the project crosses the state’s cost threshold for commercial construction registration, it appears in Texas project records and must be reviewed for accessibility under Architectural Barriers rules. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation maintains a searchable system that tracks projects of this size along with guidance on registration and plan reviews.
How it fits into local growth and traffic work
New Braunfels has been layering on road and pedestrian projects to keep up with surging tourism and population, relying on regional funding and grants to help pay the tab. The City of New Braunfels recently spotlighted several AAMPO-funded transportation projects and signal upgrades aimed at improving mobility and safety, which helps explain why Clear Springs leaders are fixated on traffic flow and pushing for a new signal at their driveway.
Managers say parking will stay free for guests and that the changes are intended to make access safer and easier without losing the atmosphere regulars expect. With plans still in the conceptual stage, the company anticipates that specifics will evolve as permitting advances and neighbors weigh in. Customers can keep an eye on state project filings and the restaurant’s website for official updates as the makeover moves ahead.
