Today we’d like to introduce you to Cindy Lucio.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Cindy. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
While living in Boston for an amazing 8 years, we were able to travel up the coast to Maine and down to the Cape and Martha’s Vineyard. In this part of the country there are so many bed & breakfasts that we always stayed in them for a great experience. I commented many times that I felt like I had a b&b while we lived up there because so many friends and family members came to stay with us while visiting New England. Over the years we hosted many dinners for friends and Javier’s classmates at Harvard graduate school, we were all far from home and had comfort in each other’s company, and good food!
Having a child in the cold of the Boston winter gave me a chance to learn to bake (what else does a person do with that much time inside the house with a newborn)? Upon our return to Texas, we moved to Fort Worth for Javier to join friends from UTA that had started an architecture firm. We bought our first home and started to renovate a 75 year old home, while living in it with 2 kids and working full time…needless to say we are still working on it! Living in a historic neighborhood, having an art degree, a husband as an architect, it was a natural thing that we have two very artistic kids and we are all interested in the arts of Fort Worth and promote local artists in many ways.
At the Academy of Fine Arts, I was very involved, for 10 years, in helping expose the students to the wonderful museums in Fort Worth as well as the local art scene, and travels to Africa, Italy and France with the high school students, including both of my own boys. I also met lots of wonderful artists along the way. As we had to do fundraisers to get the money for these trips, we baked and decorated 10’s of thousands of cookies as well as hosted dinners for hundreds of people. I was the baker and the head chef for these events, with lots of help from parents and students and other staff members. They were always a hit, and I knew, at that point, I loved doing the planning, buying and cooking for large and small events. But I also value the help that I have had along the way, from the hard working students, parents and other staff members.
After my dad passed away I decided to rethink my priorities, and was fortunate enough to have an amazingly supportive husband that let me follow my dreams to becoming a chef and owning a b&b! I took a year off to go to culinary school and then started a cafe’ inside the new Catholic Charities building. I had the support of two other graduates and we served breakfast and lunch to over 100 employees a day, soon increasing the numbers after an award from Fort Worth Weekly exposed us to the general public! Soon after, we hired more staff to run the 2nd kitchen for the children housed in the shelter at Catholic Charities. These Catholic Charities employees and kids in the shelter made up an amazing part of my life that I will never forget.
As I was deciding to intern at b&b’s in Fort Worth, there was one only a mile from my home, and it was for sale…. I soon interned with the owners for 6 months as I was deciding which direction to go. I sold the cafe and moved on to the world of lodging and being open 24/7/356!
After 5 years of owning the Texas White House B&B, I can look back and say that I have done what I set out to do…and can only hope to continue with my mission to bring people together to share cultures, travels, stories, jokes and good food! We will also continue to promote local artists, host parties to bring friends, family, neighbors and guests together.
I have a very adventurous spirit and love to travel to see how people live and eat in all parts of the world. I have specialized my breakfast menu at the B&B based on years of travel throughout Mexico, as well as a few Lucio family secret recipes!
In this business, I believe you have to pay attention to everything that a guest might possibly want, and try to provide it. It is about going the extra mile…no, the extra marathon to make the guests comfortable during their stay with us. In our travels I make note of things that other lodging establishments do well, and I do them. I make note of what I don’t like, and swear that I will never do that! I know that we cannot please everyone, but we try!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
When we decided to move to Cambridge MA, for Javier to attend Harvard Graduate School of Design, we had to start over in a cold land, not knowing anyone, but we had each other. We succeeded, and made many friends we still keep in touch with today.
When we moved back to Texas, so Javier could join his friends in a small architectural firm in Fort Worth, we left our well-paying jobs in Boston, and jumped in! It was a tough road for a few years, but it turned around with a lot of hours of hard work.
We were also renovating our old house and raising two small children…not easy, but we were happy! We had the help and support of our families to see us through.
Please tell us about Texas White House B&B.
The Texas White House B&B, a boutique b&b in the heart of Cowtown… It is the oldest B&B in Fort Worth, we will celebrate 24 years in January. We bought it 5 years ago and have renewed the spirit of the house to be eclectic, artistic, boutique…and as our guests’ say, comfortable as being at home!
I take pride in providing a comfortable stay to our guests, plating a wonderful meal that is fresh from farm to table, promoting local artists, and bringing people together over the breakfast table. We also host intimate events for weddings, graduations, showers and private parties. We are different from hotels because we get to know our guests (if they want to). We share stories over breakfast or a glass of wine at happy hour, a little different from the staff behind the counter of a hotel.
I am most proud that what we do at the B&B appeals to the majority of our guests. The Texas hospitality of our staff shows that we care, and the food we serve is fresh and different from what one might expect from a b&b. It is the experience of relaxation of the guests, if they are on vacation or business travel, whatever brings them to us!
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would have taken out a loan to get things done quicker than my 5 year period!
I would have hired more staff so that I wasn’t working 100 hours a week for the first year!
Contact Info:
- Address: 1417 8th avenue fort worth tx 76104
- Website: www.texaswhitehouse.com
- Phone: 817.923.3597
- Email: stay@texaswhitehouse.com
- Instagram: the_texas_white_house
- Facebook: texaswhitehouse
Image Credit:
Whitney Bennett
MariaJose Cervantes
Leo Wessen
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