Brewery ready to open distribution location in Huffman

Co-owner Sean Matthews serves up some salad to guests from the Crosby-Huffman Chamber Of Commerce at their monthly luncheon.

Co-owner Sean Matthews serves up some salad to guests from the Crosby-Huffman Chamber Of Commerce at their monthly luncheon.

By David Taylor / Managing Editor

Mother Nature tried. A pandemic tried. The economy tried. All failed and now against incredible odds, the Lake Houston Brewery not only survived as a new business but will soon expand and open their own brewery location for distribution. It was a dream they weren’t sure would come true.

A piece of blue tape in the heart of the restaurant marks the water line where the business was flooded by Hurricane Harvey, the first of many calamities for the building.

The business was first formed in 1978 and then bought in 2019 by Sean Matthews and his brother-in-law, and their first task was to do a little expansion.

“We expanded the number of boat slips out there,” he said, “to about 15 or 16 now and we also added the boardwalk that wraps around the concrete with hand railings.”

They also added a stage which has become a great attraction for artists to entertain the guests on weekends.

Neither had any prior restaurant business experience, Matthews himself only working as a server back in his college days, but the two have managed to keep it open and build on their success.

Business was rolling for the two partners until March 17. 2020.

“That’s when COVID hit and we were shut down for a couple of months,” he said. They were able to manage some takeout orders, but they also took advantage of the down time.

“We spent that time expanding the outside area in front of the stage adding additional tables for outdoor seating,” he said.

It turned out to be great timing because they needed additional space when restaurants were allowed to reopen with spaced seating.

They’ve endured more hurricanes that left them mostly with wind damage and some flooding, but nothing could prepare them for the possibility of a tornado.

During the recent tornado breakout in the Houston/Gulf Coast area, one tornado formed in the Atascocita area and then made its way onto the lake, very visible to Matthews and others who were concerned for the business. Fortunately, it made an easterly turn and plowed its way into Liberty County.

A few years outside of the pandemic and constantly fighting rising prices with a sour economy and supply chain issues, the business is primed to expand again.

“About a mile-and-a-half down the road is our off-site location for our brewery. We don’t carry anyone else’s beer since we brew our own,” he said. They also serve mixed drinks, but their biggest business comes from their craft beer.

Up until now, their beer wasn’t available anywhere else but the restaurant. Now they hope to distribute the specialized craft beer to local HEB stores and other vendors across the area.

With a new brewery that they hope will be another revenue stream for profit, they discovered another feature that may help them back at the restaurant.

“When we looked at the numbers, our ticketed concert events were very profitable attracting large crowds,” he said. “We’ll look at expanding that this year as well,” Matthews said.

They also partner with Roger Randall of Texas Adaptive Aquatics and serve as the launching area for several of the parades on the lake.

During the spring and summer months particularly, the boater traffic that comes to the restaurant is very busy.

“Technically, we are the only restaurant literally on the water,” he said, “which is a great selling point for us. Other restaurants are set back off the water.

“We always have boaters tell us that they can’t reach the other restaurants, but at our place, they can pull up to one of the boat slips, park, and walk down the boardwalk into the restaurant.”

Last Thursday, a lot of chamber members got their first chance to check out the facility when the chamber hosted their monthly luncheon at the restaurant and also welcomed them into the chamber with a ribbon cutting.

“We hope to be active and available to the chamber for whatever they need,” Matthews said.

Chefs are known for their catfish delicacies prepared fresh daily at the restaurant.

Matthews takes a look inside one of the many huge kettles on their property in Huffman.

The Crosby-Huffman Chamber of Commerce celebrated the ribbon cutting with the Lake Houston Brewery in Huffman on Thursday. The members also had lunch at the restaurant and tasted the many delicacies.

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