Henry's Is the New Name on Hotel El Capitan's Dining Room. The Pistachio Fried Steak Stayed.

"History mixes with hand-cut steaks and craft cocktails." That is how Hotel El Capitan described Henry's when the restaurant opened this spring, as reported by Big Bend Times in May 2026. The name comes from Henry Trost, the architect who designed the hotel at 100 E. Broadway when it was built in 1930.

If you've had dinner at El Capitan in the last few years, the new menu will look familiar. Line up the hotel's 2024 dining room against today's and most of it carries over: the same hours, the same signature plates, the same courtyard. Henry's sits on top of that and adds a few things. Meanwhile, the hotel's sister property in Marfa spent 2026 changing owners and planning a rebuild. For people in Van Horn, the year's real dining news is how little changed at their own Trost hotel.

Two Years Apart, the Same Dinner

In October 2024, Big Bend Times profiled the restored hotel. At the time it had the Hotel El Capitan Restaurant and the Gopher Hole Bar. Compare that with what the hotel's dining page lists now:

The bar menu matches too. In 2024 the hotel offered creative cocktails, Texas wines and craft brews, and the current page uses those same three categories for "Henry's full bar." The hotel's homepage still calls the bar the Gopher Hole.

So if you've been ordering the pistachio fried steak since before the name changed, you can still order it.

What the Trost Name Brought With It

The May announcement listed several items that weren't in the 2024 description. The new name came with green chile artichoke dip, Henry's Salad, key lime pie, and a house cocktail called the "Trostini," named for the architect. The 14-ounce hand-cut ribeye is now listed with the house favorites.

Naming the restaurant after Trost ties the menu to the building. Hotel El Capitan was built in 1930 by the Gateway Hotel Chain, and for years it was a stop for travelers headed to the national parks. Then it spent several decades as a bank before Lanna and Joe Duncan restored it as a hotel. The bank years are still visible from a bar stool. The dining page points guests to "the historic vault located behind our bar."

The 2024 profile describes 14-foot ceilings with exposed Spanish vigas, European tile floors, wrought iron banisters, and a rooftop observatory called the "Eagle's Nest," which you reach by an elevator that runs from the basement to the roof. Joe Duncan told the paper that the renovation turned up hidden passageways and artifacts. That's the room the Trostini is served in.

Meanwhile, the Sister Hotel in Marfa Sold

El Capitan has a twin. According to Big Bend Times, it shares a floor plan with Hotel Paisano in Marfa, another Trost-era hotel the Duncans owned. The two hotels headed in different directions this year.

In February 2026, Big Bend Times reported that the Paisano was under contract to sell. When the paper called El Capitan, staff confirmed the Van Horn hotel had not been sold and was staying with its current owners.

The Paisano sale closed this summer. A July report in Big Bend Times, citing The Big Bend Sentinel, said Lauren and Harrison King, partner Jack "Buck" Buczkowski and a group of investors took ownership on July 1. The new owners announced a renovation in phases:

1. First phase: a new restaurant and bar, a bigger billiards room, and a refreshed fireplace lounge. The restaurant, Meseta, was expected to open in early October 2026 with Brian Espinoza as executive chef.
2. Later phases: renovated guest rooms, a new retail setup, a new breakfast and lunch café, and a spa.
3. Target finish: fall 2027 for the full restoration.

The same report said the new owners thanked Joe and Lanna Duncan for looking after the Paisano. Marfa's Trost hotel now has new owners, a new chef and construction scheduled into 2027. The Van Horn hotel kept its owners and its kitchen and changed the name over the dining room door.

Before You Head to 100 E. Broadway

A few practical details from the hotel's dining page for an ordinary weeknight or for visiting family:

• Walk-ins are the default. The hotel recommends calling ahead only for parties of six or more, at the front desk number, 432-283-1220.
• Bigger groups have a separate room. The Event Room can be booked for large parties and events.
• The dog can come. Pets are allowed in the courtyard dining area.
• The pecans go home with you. The local pecans in the house pecan pie are sold in the hotel gift shop.
• Two dessert menus to know. Pecan pie is a house favorite, and key lime pie came with the opening of Henry's.

The hotel's events page describes conference and banquet space with catering on site, which may help if you're planning a work dinner or family gathering this season.

December Moves Down to 1801 W. Broadway

The next big date on Broadway is at the far west end of the street. Texas Highways lists Van Horn Hollydays for Dec. 5 at the Van Horn Convention Center, 1801 W. Broadway St., and calls it an annual Christmas tradition since 1994 with gift shopping, a parade and a fair. In 2026, Dec. 5 is a Saturday. The listing doesn't give times, so check vanhorntexas.org for this year's schedule before you plan the afternoon.

Henry's serves dinner daily starting at 5 p.m., so Hollydays at the Convention Center and dinner at 100 E. Broadway fit on the same Saturday.

Van Horn has kept the building at 100 E. Broadway in use for close to a century, first as a hotel, then for decades as a bank, and now as a hotel again. If you own a home here and want to know what it's worth while downtown keeps its landmarks open, Marisa Florez can run the numbers for your address. Get Your Instant Home Valuation and you'll have that figure before Hollydays weekend.