Interviewers: Gavin Benke and Eric Covey
Location: City Market, 633 E Davis St, Luling, TX 78648
This interview was originally produced through a collaborative effort of the American Studies Department at the University of Texas at Austin, The Central Texas Barbecue Association, and The Southern Foodways Alliance.
It is shared with Foodways Texas as part of a collaboration with the Southern Foodways Alliance to document food stories in Texas.
Born in 1947, Joe Capello started to work for the Ellis family at City Market in Luling when he was twelve years old.
He has managed the restaurant since 1969, overseeing the post-oak-smoked brisket and sausage Mr. Howard Ellis learned to make at Kreuz Market in Lockhart. Known today for its Watermelon Thump festival that creates lines around the block for City Market, Luling has changed around Joe, but City Market has remained much the same—from the recipe for the barbecue sauce to the absence of forks in the restaurant.
