Chef Hoover Alexander, an East Austin icon and owner of one of Austin's most recognizable restaurants for the past 40 years, closed his restaurant Hoover's Cooking at the end of May. Friends and fans are planning a tribute to the Austin native who helped build the city's restaurant scene.
Several of the best chefs and restaurateurs from around Austin will come together for Hoova'palooza at the longtime home of Hoover's on Manor Road from 4 to 10 p.m. Monday. They will serve food, dance to funk and soul music, toast Alexander, and raise money for the chef, who has retired from the restaurant world but remains committed to getting people to put down their forks and come together at the table.
“All of us love looking up to our elders, the people who set a great example of what it means to be in hospitality. He certainly is that. Honoring him is not something I want to do to him, it’s something I want to do with him in a way that makes him comfortable. I really feel like he’s the medicine the world needs. He lifts us all up. We can learn from him,” said Este owner Sam Hellman-Mass.
Though a couple of chefs, like Joel Fried of Eldorado Cafe and Damien Brockway of Distant Relatives, have been named, the organizers of the festival have remained tight-lipped about who will be serving food at the free event, but attendees should expect some delicious bites to go with a cash bar. Numerous flyers with QR codes will solicit donations to Hoover's "Next Chapter" GoFundMe campaign.
"Hoover is one of the kindest and most generous people I have ever met. I end every conversation with him inspired and feeling better about the world," Fried told the Statesman. "We are honored to be his friends and have this chance to celebrate his career and life together with some of Austin’s finest folks. Watching that man make gravy will soothe your soul."