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The Lighthouse Restaurant & Lounge overlooks Lake Travis. (Greg Perliski / Community Impact Newspaper)
The Lighthouse Restaurant & Lounge is located on an upper curve of Lake Travis near the Pedernales River. But the restaurant’s landmark is just as connected to the hungry neighbors in the surrounding community of Briarcliff and the campers in Pace Bend Park as it is to the waves of hungry boaters who dock at the adjacent marina and boat docks.
The restaurant has been owned by San Antonio-born Robin Martinez since spring 2018 when he revived the location as The Lighthouse. Since then he has got to know the seasonal ups and downs of his guests.
As a result, he said he is keeping a close eye on the restaurant’s menu to ensure it meets the needs of its diverse customer base.
“I’ve learned that if I want people to visit the restaurant every day, I have to keep my menu pretty dynamic,” he said. “This year we just popped, jammed, so I tightened the menu, [but] it’s still a dynamic menu. “
And by dynamic, he means that the menu covers a range of tastes and culinary styles of cooking.
Regional dishes are well represented, from queso and street tacos to more adventurous dishes such as teriyaki bowls and coconut prawns to traditional Cuban sandwiches. And for a hearty appetite, there are traditional plates with chicken steak or chicken. Martinez, a former player on local professional football team Austin Aztex, said he learned his approach to running the lighthouse after working in the restaurant business in central Texas for 15 years. He previously worked as general manager for Fore and McArthur’s, both former restaurants in nearby Lakeway.
And with that experience, Martinez said, he learned not only to balance his different customer groups, but also how those customers use the restaurant all year round.
“Of course, the boaters are pretty scarce in winter, so our regulars in the community help us through,” he said. “It’s pretty much 50-50 because in summer everything is tourism. Our regulars don’t come that often because they know we’ll rock and roll. It’s a pretty cool balance. “
Over the past year, Martinez said he also reached out to his neighbors who live in the surrounding community to thank them for their support of his business. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and historic winter storm in February, it delivered food to needy residents in the area.
“I turned this restaurant into a grocery store and delivered it to people who couldn’t leave their homes,” he said. “That’s one of the things we really love to be part of the community and to help as much as possible.”
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