There's more to Carol than just her restaurant.
By WENDY KNESEK, Staff Writer, February 27, 2004
 

Carol Davis beams with her trademark smile as she talks about her nearly 1-year-old restaurant, Carol's At Cat Spring. The fine dining establishment, which is located on FM 949 in the heart of Cat Spring, opened last spring.

"When I opened my restaurant my goal was to bring a fine dining experience together with the comforts of the country and I feel like we have accomplished that goal" Davis said.

Apparently so, as the restaurant has garnished rave reviews as one the premier dinning spots west of Houston. With an elegant lodge-style atmosphere, the restaurant recently under went expansion and remodeling to accommodate her growing numbers of patrons and friends

What is truly impressive about Davis' story is the abounding amount of energy and enthusiasm she has for life and her business enterprises.

Davis, a native Texan, was born and raised in Warda in Fayette County. Speaking only German until she started grade school, she was raised on the family farm and ranch that was founded in 1875 and is still operational today.

After graduating from La Grange High School, she moved to Houston to attend six months of business college before taking a position as a stenographer with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Washington, DC.

After two years, Davis transferred to the FBI Houston office. While working during the day, she attended four years of night school at McMahon College of Court Reporting, and alternated a part-time job as a Spacette (usher) at the Houston Astrodome.

In 1971, she earned her court reporter certification from the Supreme Court of the State of Texas and worked briefly for a small court-reporting firm before founding Carol Davis Reporting, Records & Video Inc.

Today the firm is headquartered in Houston, with reporters stationed in Austin, Beaumont, Corpus Christi, Dallas and San Antonio.

The company offers a complete range of services for the legal community, including court reporting, videography, records retrieval, civil process service, copy service and also host a videoconferencing site in Houston.

As if her schedule wasn't busy enough, she also owns Lehmann Legacy Ranch, a 650-acre spread in Cat Spring. She raises cutting horses, South American Paso Fino horses, miniature donkeys and American Bison, to name just a few.

In addition she is the owner and operator of Bliss Wood Bed and Breakfast also located in Cat Spring.

How does she do it all?

"I ask God every day for strength. It's not easy to describe but I also get a lot of energy from people. When I see people dining and having a good time, it's like a burst of energy. I truly enjoy people and seeing them happy," Davis says.

Davis also attributes part of her success to being well organized.

" In the court reporting business you are forced to be accurate and to pay attention to details. It can't help but spill over into other areas of your life," she said.

In additional to her active professional life, she is a major sponsor for the John J. Eikenburg Law Week Fun Run benefiting the Center serving Persons with Mental Retardation since 1990.

She serves on the board for the foundation of the Center.

In her spare time, Carol squeezes in a few hobbies such as ballroom dancing (in which she competed nationally for eight years), drawing, gardening, quilt collecting, flying lessons and spending time with the array of animals at her ranch.

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