Talking with James DeVito

Recently, I talked by phone with James DeVito, a Eureka Springs icon for nearly four decades who recently moved to Texas to start a new chapter of his own story.

His award-winning restaurant DeVito’s of Eureka Springs was a longtime culinary fixture, featured in national media such as the New York Times and Bon Appetit! magazine.

But I wanted to talk to him about Eureka’s “secret underground tunnels,” which in truth are neither secret nor tunnels. James caught the spelunking bug from his grandfather, who owned Mystic Caverns nearby, and has done extensive research into Eureka’s underground passageways.

We also talked about Cap’n Don, whose close friend Willie Nelson will be one of the people featured in my book (yes, that Willie Nelson). What does Willie have to do with Eureka Springs? I know some of it, but I’m looking forward to finding out more.