HAYS COUNTY — The 2023 Naming Committee — a school board-appointed committee made up of community members — presented the first reading of its recommendation package at the Hays CISD Board of Trustees workshop meeting on Monday, Nov. 13. The committee was empaneled in July to consider names for seve...

By Sahar Chmais  BUDA -- As the owners of Amici, an Italian food truck, were delivering free, warm meals to people in the middle of the Texas snow storm, they came to terms that they may need to sleep in their van for a few nights. “We don’t have a 4x4,” said Elpida Sarna, co-owner of Amici. “It was...

By Anita Miller Life changed for all of us in March, when mid-month, the first case of COVID-19 sickened a Hays County resident. But for many in the northern part of the county, something else happened around the same time that affects how they go about their daily routine — Helen’s Casa Alde in Bud...

The matriarch behind Buda’s iconic Helen’s Casa Alde was Helen Alcala. Alcala died in June 2017. In 2005, Hays Free Press reporter Jen Biundo had the pleasure of interviewing Alcala. Below is a reprint of that interview. By Jen Biundo Above is Helen Alcala, left, working as a cook for the Hays CISD ...

Two Kyle Fire Department firefighters prepare to reenter Helen’s Casa Alde in Buda to check for hotspots early Sunday morning. No one was hurt after fire severely damaged the iconic Buda restaurant, which is a total loss.  Buda fire authorities are continuing their investigation of a fire at a popul...

Buda approves first east side park In April 2017, Buda city leaders earmarked $360,000 in monies from Proposition 5 of the 2014 bond for creation of a proposed splash pad in Green Meadows Park on the east side of Buda. The park is expected to be finished by summer of 2018. “It will be a different ty...

Longtime Buda resident Helen Alcala passed away on June  11, 2017. Below is a feature story from July 14, 2005 on her upbringing in Buda and experience as a business owner story.  By Jen Biundo here’s something special about the tortillas at Helen’s Casa Alde. At first glance, you’ll see they measur...

READ MORE: End of an era: Reflections of late Buda business owner Helen Alcala hether it was your first or fifth time stepping into Helen’s Casa Alde in downtown Buda, Helen Alcala made it her mission to get to know you. Alcala, the matriarch of Helen’s Casa Alde, which opened its doors in 1980, alw...