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In November 1983, a family-owned, home-town restaurant with a knack for frying tasty catfish opened in Pasadena, Texas, and a legend was born—Sudie's Catfish House. This November marks the 25th birthday celebration for the local favorite.

Over the past 25 years, many developments have taken place for the restaurant. In the late '90s, Sudie's was bought by the Bailey family. Believing the restaurant had a unique niche in the community, the new owner, Paul Bailey, kept the full Southern menu and recipes the same.

"My wife, Jackie, and I are originally from Clear Lake, but we would often drive to Sudie's in Pasadena for their great seafood," said Bailey. "When the opportunity arose for us to buy Sudie's, we snatched it up because we wanted to keep the great food and outstanding customer service the same."

As the restaurant grew, Bailey opened an additional location in League City, naming it Sudie’s Seafood House. Both restaurant locations celebrate milestones this year; the League City seafood eatery turned 5 years old in May.

Even with state-of-the-art conveniences, both restaurants are a throw-back to Texan roots with deep, ranchy porches, broad stone chimneys and clean, well-lit rooms with Coca-Cola™ and fishing memorabilia. The homey feeling is mirrored by the made-from-scratch menu offerings including all-you-can-eat fried catfish; crispy, green salads; golden hushpuppies; fried pickles; freshly blackened fish and homemade banana pudding.

In 2007, the Zagat Guide visited the Galveston area rating only three restaurants. Sudie’s was one of them receiving good to excellent marks at both locations and scoring highest in the food category.

Sudie's excellent food quality is aided by using peanut oil to fry their fresh, Mississippi catfish. Unlike many restaurants that serve fried foods, Sudie's developed a high standard in support of a more healthful version of fried seafood. The Sudie's Zero Trans Fat seal was created to demonstrate the restaurant's commitment to eliminating partially hydrogenated oils, or trans fats in their fried foods.

In recent years, the restaurant added two catering trailers that are known as "Sudie's kitchen on wheels." Both trailers boast full kitchens to cater for parties of 100 to more than 5,000 people at one time. In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina, Gustav and Ike, Sudie's loaded up their trailers with Southern cuisine and headed out with food for those ravaged by the massive storms.

"We serve what many people would consider comfort food," said Bailey. "When the storms hit, we knew many people had lost their houses and were out of food and water, so we decided to take them a taste of home."

In addition to serving the community, Bailey is dedicated to staying environmentally friendly. In the past two years, Bailey found that his restaurants use 225 gallons of peanut oil each week frying their catfish dishes. He discovered that this amount of oil is a perfect alternative to the diesel fuel used to run the two Ford catering trucks. Peanut oil fuel is cleaner burning, resulting in fewer air emissions.

Sudie's stays family-oriented with affordable prices starting with appetizers at $3.99 and going to all-you-can-eat catfish dinners at $14.99. The restaurant also instituted a customer rewards program that sends out coupons and other special offers regularly as a thank you to their loyal customers.

"I'm proud of the local favorite Sudie's has become and grateful for all our loyal customers and friends," said Bailey. "In this day in age, many restaurants don't outlast the ups and downs of our continually changing economy. Sudie's has stood the test, and we look forward to serving our community for another 25 years."

Sudie's Seafood House in League City, Texas, and Sudie's Catfish House in Pasadena, Texas, are both family-oriented restaurants that offer made-from-scratch menu items that include broiled and fried farm-raised Mississippi catfish, "hand-dipped" butterflied shrimp and other delicious Southern entrees. Part of Bailey's Family Restaurants, Sudie's serves great home-style meals in a fun and casual atmosphere. Sudie's also provides on-site catering and a bulk-to-go menu for any event.

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