This place is like a mini buccees without the creepy beavers. Great bakery with tasty kolaches, and a wide range of snacks, including healthy options. Long lines for the bathroom and checkout on a busy Sunday, otherwise not much of a wait. read more

This place has awesome kolaches and very clean facility. They always welcome the military and make us feel at home. I will be returning to this store to pick up some more kolaches and some gifts. They have lots to chose from a unique menu. I wish I had a stomach to try everything but I don't so it will take a few years to try everything in their store. read more

My husband got accused of stealing by employee Paula Urban. When I told her to search him she said no. She told us to leave the store. I called from parking lot and talked with Angela who said would have owner call me but she never did. After 3 days of me calling back I finally spoke with owner Teresa who hardly let me speak and just told me Paula is not an employee Said she is only an acquaintance and not a very good one. But told me she viewed the camera and my husband did not steal. But I called store several times and verified with other employees and Paula Urban does work there as a payed employee. I called Teresa and back to tell her she proceeded to tell me she's not employed but has a Paula Poshack. Then Paula got on line and apologized. I asked Paula if she's at store. Said no. Yet she's with Teresa (cause got on phone) who said Paula is not a good acquaintance. I called store back and verified again and there is 2 Paula's working there - Poshak and Urban. They are liars and they obviously stick to each other!! They don't care about the customer at all. I told Paula I wasn't ever stopping there again it's no loss to them. They are a small store in a very small town with a very large number of customers. Sadly we're the losers but with BIG DIGNITY!!!! read more

This place had sooooo many people in here it was like a gazillion crazy ants runnin' around! This place was an off da chain CRAZY find. Anything you could have possibly wanted, they had it. SERIOUSLY!!! Loved it! read more

WOO makes the drive from Houston to Austin SOOO much better! I love this place, and look forward to it each visit. They have so many pastries and kolaches, and just about anything else you need to keep you and your family happy in the car! :) read more

Excellent burgers., this place is a kinda scaled down Buckies/Prazecks type restaurant including gas pumps and nicknacks. Strong business flow through even after normal small town lunch time. Very worthwhile stop. read more

Great place! Clean bathrooms, good burgers, delicious kolaches and cookies. For those traveling with dogs, about the only place to walk them is in the back across the street at the community center. read more

Been here many many years ago while driving to Houston and thought it would be fun to stop here again and pick up some pastries for our breakfast en route. There's always a line here and again if you don't know what you want yet, best to not get in the line. They rush you a bit here and are not as patient as can be which is understandable because they want to get the orders in quick. That's probably why they have the ready made kolaches prepackaged. Really would be more economical if we got the box of kolaches to go but we wanted to try different things like an apple turnover and cinnamon rolls so those aren't included in the kolache box. Its ok because that was a good choice because the turnover was delicious-flakey and chewy softness :) We also got a jalapeno cheese kolache, cream cheese kolache and a cherry kolache and they were fine. I think we are spoiled by West, TX kolaches where they are very hot and soft and fresh. Here they are ok, not as warm as we'd like but still ok, not stale but good. The pumpkin cinnamon roll was ok too. We may have not gone early enough where they just made these since we arrived after 9am. Really expected a bit more. But again, it wasn't bad and glad we stopped by because the restrooms were clean and nice. Our friends also bought us a plate of kolaches on their way from Houston few weeks back and they tasted like this-not bad at all but just not like West's :/ read more

Friendly service and great food. Recommend any cookie they have great fruit kolaches.

Nothing special about this place. I had the sausage egg and cheese croissant and a ham jalapeño cheese kolachy. The croissant had rubbery eggs that were thrown in a microwave too long and burned. The kolachy was average at best. Both were on the small side. The store itself looks nice and clean but it's a nice looking gas station with gas station quality food. Don't come here expecting to find a hidden gem. Buccees food is ten times what these people throw together. Don't be lured in by the fancy sign out front. read more

Always a spot for us to stop in between Austin and Houston. Friendly staff, and great kolaches! Lots of other snacks and silly gifts to grab too. read more

Hruska's in Ellinger is a great pit stop if you are traveling between Austin and Houston via the I-10 & 71 route. Just be careful because Ellinger's reduced speed zone can come out of nowhere if you're not paying attention. Hruska's has almost everything that you're looking for from a pit stop (no wi-fi and showers...sorry, this place isn't a Flying J!): large, clean restrooms, TONS of food and drinks, relatively cheap gas, and friendly staff. I recommend trying some of Hruska's baked goods. I always get some kolaches when I stop there. I really like their pan sausage kolaches with sauerkraut. read more

Pretty cool stop on the drive from Houston to Austin, or vice versa... also because there isn't much in between the two places either unless you want fast food. Hruska's main game is their kolaches, which were good. I'll admit that prior to this stop I was a kolache virgin, so it was a big day for me. I tried the apple pie kolache and also the ham and cheese in order to get a full range of what these kolaches could bring to my life. I was impressed, to say the least. Other than the main attraction, there were tons of other snacks and shenanigans going on in this store. My husband bought some sort of sugary round red peanut cookie that he said he used to get as a kid -- not for me -- but he sure was happy with it! I did also note that the coffee was better than expected, not just your average road side stop - huge plus. All in all a great roadside stop on a quick trip between Austin and Houston! read more

Great place to stop in between Houston and Austin pretty much the 1/2 way point if traveling 71. A nice place to stretch your legs, stretch your belly, but not shrink your wallet. They have a great selection of Kolache's (fruit and meat). A nice selection of cheeses, breads, cookies, etc. I haven't tried the grilled food yet but it smelled wonderful from burgers to sandwiches I am sure they could satisfy a craving brought on by the road hypnosis. People are always super friendly. I found out holiday weekends are a mad house though. They have a nice little shop area too with trinkets, seasonal items, and local jarred, bottled, packaged food for even more consumption outside of the bakery. read more

My favorite pit stop on the way to Austin, Hruska's offers a wide assortment of freshly baked goods, including kolaches, pigs in a blankets, cookies, and pies. My favorite item is the jalapeno and cheese pig-in-blanket; the sausage is flavorful and juicy, while the bread is so soft that it almost melts in your mouth. It makes a perfect pick-me-up to sustain you to Austin. Restrooms are also pretty clean here, and if you're searching for a Texan souvenir, look no further. This gem on 71 definitely makes the journey from Houston to Austin more enjoyable. read more

This is the go to spot when traveling between Houston and Austin; This is why I no longer take 290; The restrooms are clean, and the kolaches are cheap and delicious. They also have a wide assortments of pastries or your sweet tooth. Also this is a gas station so you are compelled to come here anyways. read more

Oh thank God that this place is 60 miles away from Houston cause if it were any closer it would be game over. Texas 71 is where the bakeries are at, that's all I gotta say. Just 15 miles north is Mikiel's, another delicious bakery in the middle of nowhere. I dropped by on the way back from Austin to Houston (it's on 71 where the speed limit suddenly drops to 55). The line was long. For the sweet kolaches, anything with CREAM CHEESE in it is MONEY. I got the strawberry cream cheese kolache cause that was the girl behind the counter's favorite. I also got fresh Peanut Butter cookies. For the savory kolaches, try the pan-fried sausage ones. I also tried the Feta, Mushroom, & Spinach kolache.. seriously perfectly made. Not too cheesy, perfect amount of mushroom and spinach to balance the feta. The kolaches here aren't like your Shipley's kolaches.. they're more rustic and open-faced, with fillings in the middle. The dough is soft and very, very fresh. Cookies are more soft than chewy, but still finger-lickin' good. read more

I love this place. I frequently travel between Houston and Austin for work and love the variety of foods, clean bathrooms, and easy access from the highway. GLUTEN FREE FOODS OBSCURE COCONUT WATERS SUPER AWESOME JERKY SELECTION GREEK YOGURT DARK CHOCOLATE COVERED NUTS FRIENDLY STAFF I don't really eat stuff from the bakery but it looks delicious. For a health obsessed person like me, you won't find another gas station in the middle of nowhere with this many options. EVER. AND NOW back to my roasted pistachios and turkey jerky... read more

I wanted to like this shop a lot. It was just okay, and not great. From the ads, I thought this would be a cute little family bakery. Instead, it's one of those mega Texas general store meets gas station meets deli. Which is all just fine, just not what I was expecting. The kolaches were also just fine. Maybe it's because we got them later in the day (1:30 pm) so they weren't as fresh. They were good, but I wouldn't try to make this a specific stop just to get them. read more

A must stop beween Austin and Houston or vice versa. Clean bathrooms and the best kolaches in Texas. Jalapeno/sauage and cabage/sauage for the morning drive to Austin. Chocolate/cream chesse and strawberry/cream cheese for the afternoon drive home to Houston. Don't foget to grab a cup of coffee. read more

To me, this is actually a 2.5 star, so I will give them the benefit of rounding it up. I was so, so excited about coming here only to be disappointed. My friend's colleague mentioned this place and said it was a "must eat" so we decided to try it out. If you blink, you will pass this appearingly small, unassuming gas station (Chevron), but inside is a huge (relative to other gas stations) selection of typical roadside snacks, trinkets as well as the kolaches that we had heard so much about. We were driving back on a Friday afternoon, so the parking lot was packed. The people walking behind us were so anxious that they did the run-walk to get in front. We ordered 6 pigs-in-blanket (savory):sausage jalapeno cheese, vegetarian, sausage cheese; and 6 kolaches (sweet): cream cheese, strawberry cream cheese, blueberry cream cheese, lemon. My friend ate the sausage jalapeno cheese P-I-B and said that the sausage was nothing impressive, but the bread was good. My vegetarian P-I-B (mushroom/tomato/feta) almost inedible. The mushroom was very unappetizing and I could barely taste any feta. I let my friend try it as well and he couldn't even finish 2 bites. The only reason I'm even giving this three stars is because the kolaches were delicious. Both the dough and filling were spot-on. There was a lot of filling - not just a little bit in the middle, but throughout the dough, too. My friend said it was the best sweet kolache he's ever had. Bottom line: interesting stop only if it's along the way (might as well). Skip the savory and go straight for the sweet. read more

Good kolaches. Quick service. Make sure you check their reduced for sale table containing day old bread, fruit kolaches, and cinnamon rolls. Would stop again on my way between Austin & Houston. read more

I admit, I'm partial to little town stores/rest stops. This little store has changed and been "citified" quite a bit in the last few years. They have three check-out counters, just like a Safeway. They've added a little eat area with tables and chairs, and they've added a little boutique-type sales area. It's losing it's funky, little-town charm. Yes, the little bags of coconut ball, Ranger cookies, and other assorted cookies are yummy. The bathrooms are reasonably clean. It's OK. Missing the charm it had ... I wish it had some outdoor eating area that was charming, under an old oak tree. read more

We drove Houston to Smithville on July 4th 2013 and this was a welcome break stop for us. Its in a small town and seems very popular with travellers who line up for the breakfast foods. I tried the sausage and sauerkraut kolache (which sounds interesting right?) but sadly I am not accustomed to that flavor combination unless it is in a hot dog bun with ketchup and mustard however we would stop here again... read more

Hruska's - Bakeries Near Me - Ellinger, Texas

I love a good kolache, and this place makes a good kolache. This is my first time in this place, as I don't make it down to south Texas much. I tried the fruit and cream cheese, which were both delicious. A good kolache has to have a good firm pastry and this place does it right. Keep it up. read more

Hruska's - Bakeries Near Me - Ellinger, Texas

Our happy place. No road trip to the hill country is complete without a stop for Dewberry kolaches... and who am I kidding, I'll have one of each. The sausage kolaches are UNSTOPPABLE. read more

This is my go to stop driving from Houston to Austin. It's not crazy big like Buccees which I think can be too much if you wanna be quick. But it's got clean restrooms, all the snacks and drinks and darn good kolaches! My favorite is cream cheese. They've also got a big seating area inside to eat or recharge your phone, work, whatever. And you can get BBQ right across the street. :) read more

This place is a great stop for a road trip. Great food, clean bathrooms and lots of options. The only bad thing is there are so many people there it's hard to move around. That's a good thing for them though. Definitely a must see stop for a great homemade burger. read more

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You gotta stop here. Been coming here forever. Real deal Czech bakery and much more. Not like Bucces this is original not corporate.. Stop here!! read more

As others have mentioned, this is a great place to stop when doing the Houston to Austin drive. Ample restrooms, and it gave me a chance to try out a different kind of kolache. I'd only really had them at Kolache Factory, and didn't realize that there are different styles out there. The dough of these was new for me, more savory, and none of the breakfast options had eggs- not a complaint, just different. Of the sweet options, we tried a new berry I hadn't had before (I think huckleberry?) which was similar to blackberries, but more tart. Worth a stop! read more

We stumbled upon this place sort of by accident. I'm so glad we did. First off the Texas hill country vibe is awesome (if a little touristy). But the selection of interesting polish and Hungarian foods was very cool. You don't see this stuff in too many places down here and you definitely can't find them as delectable as they make them. And don't even get me started of the amazing kolaches. Fruit kolaches, meat kolaches, you name it. If you're smart, just get one of everything. It's all good. read more

I never really ate kolaches until I came to Texas. I have tried a few different bakery's that make them and find Hruska's to be the best so far. My favorite was the pan sausage kolache. I had to ask what pan sausage meant and for those like me who wouldn't know, it is the sausage they make at the store and flatten it a little before it is put into the dough. It is amazing! I could literally have eaten a dozen more. The rest of the kolaches were sweet instead of savory and just as tasty. The price was also amazing. We had 6 pastry's and three dinks which came to 12 dollars and some change. The staff is also extremely nice and helpful. I highly recommend stopping there if you are ever in the neighborhood. read more

Yum! Had the pan sausage and cheese kolache. Hubby had the sausage, egg and cheese breakfast taco. Both were delicious. Can't wait to try the cherry, cream cheese kolache, snickerdoodles and coconut macaroons we purchased. This is a great place to stop with the family and take a break. The employees are always friendly and serve their customers with a smile. read more

Pan and cheese kolache is excelente! Clean and organized. Recommended road trip stop for sure.

First time visiting this gem basically out in the middle of nowhere. A great find. The staff were extremely helpful and friendly. Had a burger and it was very fresh and juicy. I will definitely recommend to my friends and will stop by again when in town read more

Great. Good homemade food. Always fresh. Can't complain about the food. A little drive , but it's worth it

Love this place They always have the coolest stuff The kolaches and sausage rolls are the best! The burgers are phenomenal as well. Great place to stop. read more

I have been going to Hruska's since the late 70's. I was 17 on my first trip to Austin and the Armadillo World Headquarters. I just happened to stop there because nothing was open in Columbus when I passed through and I was starving. I got a box of assorted Kolaches and they were gone before Bastrop. Whenever I travel through Ellinger I always stop at Hruska's. Over the years I have had Kalaloches all over Central Texas in the traditional Czech settlement areas and Hruska's comes out on top. They are as good as any and better than most, I would say the best. I am old enough to have seen so many landmarks in Texas make major changes or close down. Hruska's had a fire in the 80's that destroyed the original Hwy 71 store and struggled at times. But they are survivors and now a Texas Icon. When it comes to food and service, it is still the same place I walked into 50 years ago. I now live East of Austin, where the Hill Country meets the Coastal Plains. We travel through Ellinger several times a year. If Hruska's is open, I stop there. We get Kolaches for the road and Kolaches as gifts for those we are visiting. For me the food and service is great, but the memories of family, friends, and good times are almost more important. For 110 years Hruska's has served Ellinger and Texas. As the old in Texas dies and the new is built where icons once stood, Hruska's is still Standing Tall. For a taste of Texas history, visit Hruska's. read more

Oh Hruska's, how I love thee! My go to pit stop when I was in college commuting between Austin and Houston. Best and cleanest restrooms, super friendly employees, and hello KOLACHES, need I say more?! They have a lot of great snacks, drinks, local goodies (food and souvenirs alike). I love this place. Stop here when you see it! read more

I've been stopping at Hruska's for the last 12 years. My family and I love their Kolaches.