Catfish Sam’s – a brief history
Sam and Jo Dale Lester were both 19 years old when they moved to a wide-open patch of dirt on the west side of Arlington along U.S. 80, now called Division Street.
U.S. 80 stretched from Washington, D.C. to San Diego, California and even though the population of Arlington was only about 7,000 Sam and Jo Dale knew there would be a lot of traffic along the highway so in 1948 they opened the Lester Motor Inn and their first restaurant called Half Moon, which served barbecue.
In 1952 Sam and Jo Dale replaced the Half Moon with the second Mexican restaurant in Arlington: La Casita – “the little house,” where food was sent to the upstairs dining room via a dumbwaiter. The owner of the first Mexican restaurant in Arlington, La Tapitia, called Sam and Jo Dale “the whiz kids.”
Even though the parking lot was unpaved and a hog farm was located nearby, Sam and Jo Dale kept growing their business. Jo Dale even sold roses grown nearby to make extra money and Sam was called “the Mayor of Rabbit City” because of the large number of jackrabbits killed on the highway near La Casita.
the restaurant – the future home of Catfish Sam’s.
By 1991 Sam noticed there were 44 Mexican restaurants in Arlington and zero catfish restaurants, and his mother happened to have an incredible recipe for fried catfish. After months of research, including a fact-finding trip to Mississippi, Sam and Jo Dale closed La Casita and opened Catfish Sam’s in 1992.
The new concept worked. The Texas Restaurant Association named Catfish Sam’s “Best Catfish in Tarrant County” three times and the Dallas-Fort Worth Restaurant Guide gave the restaurant a 5-star rating. By focusing on quality food and customer service, Catfish Sam’s has built a loyal following. The restaurant has even survived two devastating fires, in 1992 and 2003, and continues to thrive on Division Street.
The secret to such longevity is family, including employees who have worked at the restaurant 10, 20, even 30 years, and although Sam passed away on Thanksgiving Day 2007 at the age of 80, his family continues to run the restaurant.
