Bubba turns 10

4/1/2026

Bubba Southern Comforts turns 10 this summer. In its first decade of growing up, the restaurant has redefined southern comforts with a Midwest appeal while becoming a bucket list destination for whiskey aficionados and an anchor of the western Gateway District of downtown. Bubba did that with exquisite attention to details — from the way waiters’ bow ties are tied to the manner in which Bourbon is served, grits are selected, and art is procured. 

As western downtown west all but disappeared as a dining scene, Tenth Street became its new focus with Centro, Akebono, Proudfoot & Bird and Bubba surviving the devastation wreaked upon the Gateway by COVID, work-at-home ethos and street festivals destroying the business of restaurants. 

Open for lunch and dinner seven days a week, Bubba survived while becoming exemplary of a food genre rarely found as far west in the Midwest as Iowa. Owner Chris Diebel, a Texas born and raised bubba himself, did that by willing his love of southern comforts on his restaurant. For instance, he insisted on Anson Mills grits from South Carolina until he proved to himself that Early Morning Harvest in Panora’s grits tasted just as good. Red beans and rice is made with Andouille sausage; collard greens with smoked ham hocks, or in a vegan version; the house salad dressing is a buttermilk vinaigrette. 

Fried chicken, the best seller here, is always organic, brined in buttermilk and served with mashed potatoes made with buttermilk. Southerners tend to prefer dark meat more than just breasts, so Bubba makes both an option. Chicken fried steak is the sine qua non of Texas cuisine. In the Lone Star State, it is sold in fine dining cafés, gas stations and Chinese restaurants. As Texas writer Larry McMurtry wrote “only a rank degenerate would drive 1500 miles across Texas and not eat chicken fried steak.” Bubba elevates its art form by using prime sirloin and tenderizing it with a high-tech machine. 

Bubba is “the” place for fried green tomatoes and artichoke-okra dip. Macaroni and cheese and the house burger are made with pimento cheese. Deviled eggs are made with bacon. Frog legs are fried crispy. 

Concessions were also made to Iowa’s taste buds. The gumbo isn’t spicy enough to Cajun purists, and its roux isn’t dark enough. But it appeals to the less extreme Midwest customer. 

Bubba is a converted brewery. It serves two floors, and rental apartments now occupy territory behind the bar and kitchen. Floors are inlaid tile — common in the early- to middle-20th century. Diebel’s father was called upon to teach waiters how to tie their bowties. Those are a thing in the South where people are more apt to dress up for supper. 

The dining rooms are far more elegantly appointed than others in Bubba’s genre, like Machine Shed, Tupelo Honey or Cracker Barrel. Great care was taken in purchasing the chandelier, the furniture and the art work. 

“We were one of Liz Lidgett’s first clients. Now she has a gallery and a staff,” Diebel explained about the art.

That includes framed silver serving ware, framed bow ties, and a Texas flag that flew over the state capitol on the day Diebel’s fathered was honored by Gov. Ann Richards, Diebel’s favorite politician. A portrait of Diebel’s grandmother hangs on one wall. Over the host’s station hangs the definition of a bubba, as a younger brother. It is the most frequently photographed artwork as people pose under it with their own bubbas.

Bubba inspires loyalty. There are day-one employees here, including chef Kate Willer who returned to town after working for legendary restaurateur Danny Meyer in New York’s Gramercy Tavern. Bubba’s 100 top-shelf Bourbons have made it a whiskey destination. Those are served, appropriately, with a single giant ice cube. 

How cool is that? ♦