One of the Hill Country’s most storied restaurants is calling it a day after 43 years. LaFour’s Seafood Restaurant at 1234 S Main St. in Boerne closed June 27, ending a run that has included five generations of its namesake family.

“Friends, after 43 years, it’s officially time for us to retire, wrote the restaurant’s owners in a social media statement. “We have been blessed in these decades to raise our children and grandchildren with you and yours and build so many phenomenal friendships along the way.”

Although the restaurant has been around for four decades, it was a relative newcomer to Boerne, only operating since 2024. Before that, LaFour’s was a Kerrville nomad, outgrowing several locations as word-of-mouth spread.

The first, at the Ace Ranch Hotel, reportedly only seated 65 people. Debbie LaFour, the daughter-in-law of founders Freda and Otis LaFour, told the Hill Country Community Journal that guests used to wait in their cars with a beer until it was time to be served.

The original menu used recipes dating back to Otis’ great-great-grandparents, but over the years it switched to Cajun cuisine. The last version of the menu boasted classics like shrimp piquant, beignets, etouffee, and its signature fried catfish.

Throughout, it remained a family operation. Debbie eventually became the grandma, and children Leigh’Ann, Otis III, and Alyson stepped in. But even with the help of family, running a restaurant is no easy task.

“We have spent so many years with late nights, early mornings, a lot of stress, and ultimately, this is an industry that takes its toll on time, health, and family,” wrote the restaurant in a note signed by all five generations of LaFours. “We are all going to miss each of you so dearly, but we are so blessed with all the things that lie ahead of us.”