Kitchen Aiding is a family-run/owned business blog. Bruce Collie, his wife, Holly, and their 13 children (that’s right, 13!!) own and operate the restaurant. They also own and run the Wimberley Brewing Company which is located in the same building with Kitchen Aiding.
Bruce is an ex-NFL offensive guard. Drafted in 1985 by the San Francisco 49ers, he and Jerry Rice (you might have heard of him) were the only two the make the team that year. He also played with legends Joe Montana, Steve Young, and was a part of the great West Coast offense. He has 2 Superbowl rings from ’88 and ’89. He was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in the fall of 1990, where he played with Randall Cunningham and Reggie White. He also met his wife, Holly, in Philadelphia.
Holly was a model for Joan Rivers on the QVC shopping network when Bruce met her. She also modeled for wedding dress designers Alfred Angelo and Christian Dior; was Miss Sunkist Natural; and represented the WIP Radio station. Her and Bruce’s first meeting was arranged by mutual dating friends, and it was love at first sight!! Six weeks later, Bruce asked her to marry him (she said yes), and one month later, they were married at Bruce’s parent’s Canyon Lake house. At this time, Holly was on “the pill” while she continued her modeling career, and Bruce returned to the 49ers to keep playing football.
A pastor friend of theirs shared an article with them titled “Why Do Christians Use Birth Control?”. At the time, both Bruce and Holly were new Christians, and were struggling with when to have kids. Both felt that they should get off “the pill”, and Holly became pregnant soon after. About 3 1/2 months into the pregnancy, Holly miscarried. She and Bruce were heartbroken, but were determined not to give up on God. A few months later, Holly was pregnant again! This time, a baby girl joined them, and they named her Devyn. Jordyn, another girl, came soon after. Then four boys, Jensen, Denton, Branson, and Cameron. Then 3 more girls, Bergyn, Calyn, and Hadyn, followed by a boy, Hansen. Two more girls, Daltyn and Jadyn, joined the ever-growing family, then, in 2009, one more boy joined the mix…Dennison.
They lived on a ranch in Wimberley, TX for 14 years, then traveled in a Prevost Entertainer coach from 2005 to 2007, going coast to coast several times, while Bruce was a Platform guest for Champions for Life ministry. After a brief stay in Kremmling, CO, the Collies were called back to their business complex in Texas in June of 2007 to take over their tenant’s two struggling restaurants.
Though they knew nothing about running a restaurant, much less two of them, the Collies took one day at a time, and thought to succeed. Then the economy crashed in 2008, and the restaurants, one of them a steakhouse, instantly started failing again. The Collies fell back, and regrouped. They finally rented out one of the restaurants, and continued running the other, until renting out that one as well in 2009. Bruce, Holly, and the kids knew what they did (and didn’t) like about running a restaurant, and decided to open a pizza shoppe. Bruce also started the Wimberley Brewing Company in 2008, and joined homemade pizza, and homemade brew in Kitchen Aiding in January of 2010. The business took off right away, and continues to expand, grow, and succeed!!
