Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Capello.
Hi Mike, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Hello, my name is Henry Michael Capello, but I go by Mike and here’s a quick summary of my journey that lead me to owning Chisholm Trail Bbq.
I was born and raised in Lockhart Texas and came from a very poor part of town. Up into the age of 10 I was raised in tank town, which if you were from here, you know that that was where most of the minorities lived back in the 70s and early 80s. My parents were from very humble backgrounds and did everything that they could to raise me and my sister. They wanted to give us the best chance at a good life as they possibly could. At the age of 10 we relocated from tank town to a home right down the street from the only high school in Lockhart, which was a big move. My greatest memory from that was how the person who lived across the street tried to buy the property once they heard my parents were Hispanic. I learned at a very early age what racism was all about. He actually happened to be the mayor of Lockhart at the time. I graduated in 1985 from Lockhart high school but all through my high school years I would work at a barbecue restaurant in Luling Texas called City Market Barbecue. My father Henry helped open this barbecue restaurant in the early 60s and since then my uncles and cousins have all worked in the barbecue business at City Market in Luling Texas. This is where I would learn a lot of my Pit Master and early business skills without knowing how it would play a big role in my life later on. After I graduated and decided I wanted to do something for myself I set off into a career in music. I was blessed enough to join a company based out of St. Petersburg, Florida called Young American Showcase. I tried out as a singer and made the band in 1988. I traveled the country with this band for two years and went across America hitting 38 states. This company was based on Christian values and we would go to high schools all across America promoting a focus against drugs and alcohol in addition to a nighttime concert, which would give me the opportunity to spread the word about my relationship with Jesus Christ. So for two years, I was able to bear witness in effort to touch as many young people as I possibly could. In 1990 I decided not to rejoin the company/ Band and started looking for the next phase of my life.
Because of my teenage years working in the barbecue business and having somewhat of a good experience at Customer Service, I decided to seek out an opportunity with Sonic, America’s drive-in. It turned out to be an excellent move for myself as I rapidly advanced within that company. After adjoining Sonic for six months, I was given an opportunity to take over the Lockhart Sonic Drive In. This was in 1991 and although extremely challenging because of a poorly run restaurant, I immediately made an impact that other people took notice of. Long story short I took the Lockhart Sonic Drive-in from a business that was almost going to shut down to a business that was thriving and over performing. Because of the success in Lockhart the ownership of that store decided to give me an opportunity to grow and build a second unit for myself, so in two years I was able to open a new Sonic Drive In in Luling Texas, which is still there and running today. Two years after that I went on to take over a third store in Austin, Texas. Needless to say, I showed that I had the ability to not only transition under performing stores and turn them around, but open new restaurants and sustain their growth and profits. Through the years I grew within the Sonic family and was blessed to hold a 25 year career which encompassed a lot of growth, including becoming a regional vice president over the entire gulf coast region and then ultimately becoming a franchisee in the Houston Texas area holding a ownership of 43 Sonic drive-ins.
In 2015 I got a phone call from a friend in Lockhart Texas who wanted me to know that there was a rumor going around about a local barbecue joint that I had known and grown up with in Lockhart.
Chisholm Trail Bar-B-Que is a staple within the Lockhart community and is considered one of the original barbecue restaurants that is still operating today. I was told it was 30 days away from shutting its doors because of a rampant amount of theft and mismanagement. The founder of Chisholm Trail Bar-B-Que, Floyd Wilhelm was sick and the children that had helped him run the place had moved on. My buddy decided that someone needed to come in and take it off their hands and giving my background as a teenager with barbecue, he thought of me. Long story short… In 2015 I traveled home to Lockhart from Houston Texas and was able to make a deal with the family and I purchased Chisholm Trail Bar-B-Que on August 1, 2015. Since then I have own and operated Chisholm Trail Bar-B-Que with my family, which remains a staple in the barbecue capital of Texas. As you might’ve imagined, and as we had hoped for… The business proved to be stable enough for me to finally retire from the Sonic business and dive completely into the barbecue business. Me, my wife and my four daughters all worked in Chisholm Trail Bar-B-Que to turn it around and keep this restaurant from closing down. As I took over this restaurant, all of the memories of me working in barbecue as a teenager came to life and it was very simple for me to get in there and take over as a Pit Master, take over making the sausage, and waiting on customers. Since 2015 my four daughters have all gotten married and today three of my son-in-law‘s help run the business. Chisholm Trail Bar-B-Que was opened in 1978 by Floyd Wilhelm and was was founded on the main principal that affordability was key. This restaurant became known as where the locals eat… Floyd and his family ran this restaurant until the day that they couldn’t. Floyd ended up sick and had to trust people to continue with his legacy only to find themselves in a situation where they had to sell. One thing that was important for me in buying this restaurant was to keep with the tradition of being affordable and to continue with the quality and service that Floyd and his family had begun. As a promise to the family when I purchased this location, we kept as many employees as we possibly could, which I still have 10 original employees today , as well as not change any of the recipes with any of the food items. We serve eight meats and 18 sides and I’m proud to say that since 2015 our business has had positive sales and profit growth each and every month for the last 10 years. We are proud to own Chisholm Trail Bar-B-Que and as the CEO and owner I am happy and excited about what the future holds. We have continued to grow our business by adding the shipping and catering services now managed by my daughter Brianna and have created a following on social media that is very loyal. Barbecue in Lockhart, Texas has definitely changed over the last few years. Others have come into town to join in a fast growing smokey small town in Texas and for the most part everybody does well. With that being said in 2025, I am confident when saying we at Chisholm Trail Bar-B-Que continue to offer the best value with the best product and we’ll always do our best to remain a staple in the barbecue capital of Texas. Nothing more remains as important as we are where the locals eat.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Well, as some people might know, operating a restaurant is very difficult job to do. For me it has always been a passion of mine so dealing with the struggles of owning an operating a restaurant and this one in particular hasn’t seemed like things were that tough even when they were.
Some of the struggles that we have dealt with over the years have been the constant turnover that comes along with running a restaurant. In addition to that the prices ever changing due to inflation and some external factors that are out of our control. But all in all, we know the consistency is one of the secrets to our success, and we understand that continued sacrifice always helps us weather the storm. My entire family has paid a price to make Chisholm Trail Bar-B-Que barbecue a continued staple in the barbecue capital of Texas. And the last thing that I’ll mention concerning, have there been struggles along the way… Our attitudes towards having a challenge is to get out in front of it and to stay positive identify a solution that allows us to continue the direction in which we want to go. As long as we embrace these challenges, day-to-day and not allow them to build up, we recognize that that will be the answer for us to continue in a positive way.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
So in wanting to share with you more about our business and what sets aside from everyone else… I would say there are a few things that we’re proud of that differentiate ourselves from the competition. First and foremost, I would say the one thing people recognize the most would be the decor. We are family oriented, and we are very supportive of our community, so when you first enter the building, you’re gonna see a rather large mural on the wall that displays a lot of activities we’ve been associated with locally. In addition to that, it’s all about the people of our community so there are a lot of photographs with people that we love and that love us and we show how Chisholm Trail Bar-B-Q brought us all together. I believe that the next thing that sets us apart from everybody else is that a customer can actually serve themselves. Some people call us cafeteria style but when you come into the restaurant, you grab a tray and your paper goods and begin to serve your sides. Any amount you want. Offering 18 sides that are made fresh daily really set the tone for how different we are compared to the competitors. Now, don’t worry… If you want us to serve you we are more than happy to do so, but our customers have come to appreciate this opportunity to take care of themselves up until you get to the main block where we cut your meat for you. When in line, you will also recognize that we have a very busy drive-through business. This is the only drive-through in the City Of Lockhart at any of the barbecue restaurants. This is a convenience for our customer, and we are extremely proud of that. We are also the only Barbecue restaurant in town that serves breakfast.(Monday – Saturday) As everybody well knows most of the Texas barbecue joints are gonna serve your traditional brisket, pork rib, and sausage options, but at Chisholm Trail Bar-B-Q we have created the opportunity for our consumer to put their own flare on these products so we have very large chef salads, very large baked potatoes, and we even have a loaded french fry… You can create these things and throw any kind of meat that you want on them and I love telling people that we do things the others won’t! with that being said our most flavorful meat that we take so much pride in is our beef fajita. Smoked very slowly to a tender state and cut the right way you could have it by itself, put it in a tortilla or throw it on top of a baked potato, and it is extremely wonderful. Last but certainly not least I would say that our Customer Service set us apart from most. We have a wide range of Employees youth and experience. We mix this very well to give every customer the greatest feeling and experience possible. When you enter the restaurant you’ll know and recognize we take pride in our appearance in our atmosphere. We look forward to seeing our regular customers on a daily and weekly basis, and are always excited when people from out of town come to visit us and when they let us know they’re from out of town, and if it’s their first time, we will definitely not be shy and even offer them a tour of our pits. Needless to say, I’m very proud of All Things Chisholm Trail Bar-B-Q and these are just a few items that set us apart from the rest.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
What makes me happy… Well, to be honest there’s so much to be grateful for these days but I’m gonna break this question down into two parts. I get a lot of happiness from Chisholm Trail Bbq and knowing that the customers that come to us on a daily basis, get the kind of food that they want and that they look forward to. A lot of these people travel hundreds of miles to come grab some of our food and the one thing that gives me an abundance of happiness is that they are repeat customers that keep coming back time and time again. That is the simplest answer pertaining to the business side of things, but now let me answer from my personal perspective. What makes me happy personally is my wife and I have been married for 34 years and for all those years she’s been right by my side as I worked to try to live that American dream. One of the things she’s always told me was you know, you’re never satisfied, little did she know today what satisfies me the most is being married to her. We have four wonderful daughters. My oldest owns her own business, my second is an ICU registered nurse, the third is our Catering specialist and is working on a second business and then my baby is a real estate agent on path to get her brokers license. When we talk about happiness, that’s just the tip of the iceberg because each one of them has found what I would consider a blessing in a husband. Today the three oldest of my children are married to men that run the business and by all accounts they are doing an awesome job. Each one of them is a Pit Master and a manager, and you can always catch them at the restaurant day or night. The fourth is an electrician by trade and a very, very smart man because he picked my daughter to marry. I love them all and when somebody asked me if I know how rich I am the answer to that question is, there’s no way to measure the amount of my riches because it doesn’t come in the form of dollars but my family, now including my five beautiful grandchildren. Those are the things and people that make me the happiest.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.lockhartchisholmtrailbbq.com
- Instagram: Chisholmtrailbarbq
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lockhartchisholmtrailbbq?
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@chisholmtrailbbq?
