CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A downtown restaurant is looking to expand and the owners may be offering some new features.
Water Street's 35 year-old Oyster Bar will be under going renovations as of Tuesday,
Water Street's Vice President, Richard Lomax, says this is part of a big expansion for Water Street Restaurants. The Oyster Bar will be getting a complete face lift as they create a platform showing off the oyster farming mariculture industry in Texas.
"Helping the sustainability of our fishery and giving our guests a brand new oyster bar to dine in," Lomax says.
They want to put their product on display and educate guests about different oysters, he said.
"You'll see six different varieties of oysters on display all from the coast," Lomax said. "So you'll have the normal wild variety that everyone's used to and we want to teach the customer these improved kind of boutique varieties, one of which will be our own farm soon, if my dad has his way."
Lomax explains that with the hopes of creating an oyster mariculture industry in Texas, his father, Water Street founder Brad Lomax, hopes to begin his own oyster farm next September.
The newly renovated Oyster Bar will also feature a modern-style aesthetic with a completely new look throughout the restaurant, offering a better station for oysters to be shucked and an overall open-style dining experience.
Lomax says there will be a few tweaks to the menu, but overall everything will be the exact same.
When renovations begin, the Oyster Bar will continue operating at the Water Street's Catering facility next to its original facility.
Lomax says he doesn't want customers to worry, that they will still remain open, just in a different building.
The new Oyster Bar will be finished in January, he said.
The Oyster Bar renovation is phase 1 of the Water Street's big expansion plan, with phase 2 already beginning.
Lomax says they intend to create a new outdoor beer garden next to Lucy's Snack Bar on Chapparral Street.
"We have more plans going on our block in the future and we really want to develop this real estate into a premiere entertainment facility for our town," he said.
