That’s not a plug for one particular restaurant. It’s an endorsement of a concept that could be copied more throughout Southeast Texas. We have a few places like the Wheelhouse now, but we could have a few others. This region has been blessed with water, lots of it, both fresh and salty. Beaumont, Orange and Port Arthur and many other places in between have sites overlooking water that could be a great location for a restaurant, a bar or an entertainment venture. If it’s done right — like the Wheelhouse — it can be quite successful.
The Port Neches City Council has obviously seen what’s happening in its city along the Neches, and it wants more. Last week the council gave unanimous approval to a proposal from two Beaumont developers for a new project that could occupy the last city-owned tract of riverside land. Obana Three Company and Rippeon Properties are planning bar and restaurant that would have an open beer garden.
The city is in talks with restaurateur Victor Ybarra to bring the Tex-Mex chain Iguana Joe’s to the riverfront. It also approved a letter of intent for another project that could use 8 acres of riverfront land for a mixed-use commercial space.
Port Neches Mayor Glenn Johnson said multi-year plans to exploit the riverfront land and grow the city’s tax base are paying off.
“This puts Port Neches in a position to do something that other cities want to do, but can’t,” he said. “We took a look at what assets the city had — a gold mine sitting on the river — and now the rest is history.”
The success of the Wheelhouse has been impressive — it’s had so many customers since it opened in 2014 that last year it expanded its seating and entertainment space. But it didn’t happen by accident. The City Council took a chance over a decade ago to acquire the property of an abandoned oil refinery in the hopes of making something happen there. It has worked with the Wheelhouse, soon Iguana Joe’s and next this other proposal.
That’s the kind of thinking other cities and counties in the region with any waterfront properties in their jurisdictions. They don’t have to take big gambles, but they can consider prudent risks. Sometimes, as in Port Neches, government must take the first step so the private sector can see how lucrative a waterfront venture can be.
With the pandemic hopefully winding down this year, most analysts expect the national economy to slowly return to pre-virus conditions. Many developers are ready to expand or build, and many consumers have pent-up demand for products and services they have been denied for the past year. That kind of growth can happen in Southeast Texas, particularly along our many waterfront locations. The Port Neches experiment provides a good model that others can follow.
