< Previous60 COASTMONTHLY.COM | FebruArY 2023 DOWN HOME launching a new burial at sea business. With her sister, she opened the Seawall Coffee Company, 3802 Cove View Blvd. in December 2021 to fill the need for a coffee and brunch place on Galveston’s West End. It was the culmination of a dream that began 10 years earlier when she was living at The Club of the Isle apartments and thought the nearby strip mall would be an ideal location for a café, she said. Billiot traces her passion for cake pops to her paternal grandmother, an amazing cook and baker, who had her own bakery in Budapest before emigrating to America. “I’ve always had the ability to taste something and then reproduce it,” she said. “Each Christmas, I would recreate a walnut pastry she made for my father.” She’s motivated by people’s response to the taste and design of her creations, she said. “It just blows me away when people say they think my cake pops are cool,” she said. “I was shocked when I found out people were calling the café for them.” CAKE POP FOR BEGINNERS Makes: 24 For the cake: 1 (10-ounce) box white cake mix, bake according to package directions in a 9-by-13-inch pan 1 (10-ounce) package dark chocolate melting wafers 1 (10-ounce) package white chocolate melting wafers 24 cake pop sticks For the frosting: 1 stick salted butter, softened 2-2½ cups powdered sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 tablespoon heavy cream or milk Sprinkles and other decorations Make buttercream frosting by whipping the butter. Add in 1 cup of powdered sugar. Mix until combined. Add the vanilla and ad- ditional powdered sugar, a little at a time. Add 1 tablespoon of heavy cream or milk to make the frosting thick and creamy. It should hold a pointed peak. Make cake pops by crumbling the cooked cake into fine crumbs (make sure it has cooled completely before crumbling). Add 2 table- spoons of buttercream frosting to the cake. Combine with your hands or a spoon. Gradually add more frosting until the cake holds together if squeezed. You don’t want it too crumbly, or it won’t hold together. using a medium cookie scoop, take up the cake mixture, roll it into balls and place them onto a plate. Freeze balls for about 10 minutes. Melt chocolate according to in- structions. Dip the tip of a stick into chocolate and let it dry. Push into a cake pop. Dip the cake pops in melted chocolate and decorate with your choice of sprinkles. Push the cake pop stick into a Styrofoam block or use a glass filled with rice to hold them upright. The chocolate will be set in about an hour. Store for 3-4 days in an airtight container in a cool place. “It just blows me away when people say they think my cake pops are cool.” MEGHAN BILLIOT In Independent Living you can be who you were meant to be.... It’s never too late to discover new hobbies, start an exercise program, and make new life-long friends. Choose The Meridian Independent Living and let us take care of the little things ~ so you can live big! Enjoy our fine dining, coffee bar, on-site library, fitness room and movie theater. Spend some quiet time in our chapel. Participate in scheduled activities. Take a walk on the beach. Your days can be filled with all of this and more! The Beach House Assisted Living & Memory Care gives the residents the support they need while they maintain their dignity and independence. On our Post-Acute Skilled Unit we provide Skilled Nursing and Therapy after a hospital stay where Medicare and Insurance will often cover your stay. We also offer Long-Term Care. At The Meridian, we are not just community... we are Family. Call us today or Book a Tour here! We can’t wait to meet you! www.themeridian-galveston.com Call today 409.763.6437 2228 Seawall Boulevard, Galveston Island, TX 77550 The Meridian is a Senior Living Community COASTMONTHLY.COM | FebruArY 2023 61 presents Imagine your home, totally organized! Custom Closets Garage Cabinets Home Offices Wall Beds Wall Organizers Pantries Laundries Wall Units Hobby Rooms Garage Flooring Media Centers and more... Call for a free in home design consultation and estimate 409-904-0787 www.closetsbydesign.com CM Follow us Terms and Conditions: 40% off any order of $1000 or more or 30% off any order of $700 or more on any complete custom closet, garage, or home office unit. Take an additional 15% off on any complete system order. Not valid with any other offer. Free installation with any complete unit order of $ 850 or more. With incoming order, at time of purchase only. Expires 2/28/23. Offer not valid in all regions. 40 % Off Plus Free Installation 15% OffPLUS TAKE AN EXTRA SPECIAL FINANCING FOR 1 2 MONTHS With approved credit. Call or ask your Designer for details. Not available in all areas. 62 COASTMONTHLY.COM | FebruArY 2023 DOWN THE HATCH MEET KASSANDRA MENDOZA 6th Street bartender likes to mix it up with unique drinks story by TRACE HARRIS | photos by JENNIFER REYNOLDS T exas City continues its effort to revitalize its 6th Street District, known as “the other 6th Street,” a nod to Austin’s famous entertainment district. The corridor once was the epicenter of Texas City’s downtown but lost favor as the city built west. The area has returned to its former glory, attracting small businesses, shops, offices and nightlife. One newcomer to the burgeoning entertainment district is Santana’s by the Bay. Santana’s boasts 16,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space in a pet- and family-friendly environment. The bar also has its own kitchen, offering quesadillas, appetizers, burgers and street taco specials. The venue routinely features themed nights and events, including Latin and Tejano night, Halloween parties and Astros watch parties, among others. Of course, a spot for nightlife would be nothing without its libations. Kassandra Mendoza is the venue’s head bartender, specializing in unique drinks and shots. Each month, Coast Monthly chats with mixers and shakers on the local bar scene. Kassandra Mendoza, bartender and closing manager at Santana’s by the Bay in Texas City, makes one of the bar’s popular shots, Mexican Candy.Recipes by Kassandra Mendoza, bartender at Santana’s by the Bay, 622 6th St. in Texas City KASSANDRA’S GREEN TEA SHOT ½ ounce Jameson ½ ounce peach schnapps ½ ounce sweet and sour mix A splash of Sprite (or whatever lemon-lime soda you prefer) Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Pour the mixture into a shot glass and enjoy. MEXICAN CANDY SHOT 1 ounce Malibu Rum ½ ounce Watermelon Pucker ¼ ounce sweet and sour Splash of lime juice Dash of Tajin Chamoy plus more for rim Garnish: Lime wedge Rub the rim of a shot glass with lime juice and dip the wet edge into Tajin to coat. Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Pour the mixture into the shot glass and enjoy. COASTMONTHLY.COM | FebRuARY 2023 63 Are you from Texas City? Born and raised. Went to school here and began working here. How long have you been bartending? I actually started out as a server in some local restaurants, but I began making drinks around 18, about four years ago. Do you have any specialized training? No, just the basic TABC and food handling. This is actually my first real bartending job. How do you like bartending? I love it! You get to meet a lot of people and it’s just a lot of fun. Overheard any interesting conversations or made any unusual drinks? I can’t think of any specific conversations, but I’d say the most unusual drink I’ve made is a Fire & Ice; it’s Fireball and peppermint schnapps. Do you have a favorite drink? It would probably be the green tea. It’s whiskey based, but it really tastes like green tea. Built for the BREEZE! Scan here for more details 4907 Jolly Roger 3BR 2B - $575,000 16602 San Luis Pass Road, Galveston, TX 77554 409-737-2020 • www.galvestonislandRE.com Gay Fundling gay@galvestonRE.com This Polynesian designed island home offers a huge living/dining great room, with soaring solid beamed ceiling and ceramic tiled floors. The kitchen is the heart of this home with tiny blue tiled counter tops, extra serving buffet, and breakfast bar. At sunrise enjoy the view of Galveston Island State Park wildlife. Located on extra wide channel between the beach and bay. All just a golf cart away!64 COASTMONTHLY.COM | FebruArY 2023 FEATURE ‘SHE BELONGS TO THE PENINSULA’ A foundation is on a mission to restore the historic Bolivar Point Lighthouse story by BARBARA CANETTI photos by JENNIFER REYNOLDS T he 150-year-old Bolivar Point Light- house, a rusting landmark that once guided thousands of ships into Galves- ton Bay, is the focus of an intense an unprecedented restoration effort. “This is Texas history and needs to be saved and shared,” said Amy Maxwell Chase, executive director of the Bolivar Point Lighthouse Foundation, a nonprofit organization raising funds for the restoration. The 117-foot-tall, black-and-white lighthouse actually is the third beacon light on a 2-acre site on state Highway 87 near the ferry landing on Bolivar Peninsula. The first lighthouse was red and built in 1852, constructed with a cast-iron skin. The Confederate Army pulled it down during the Civil War so Union ships wouldn’t be able to navigate into the area. The iron was melted down and used for military armaments. A second, 34-foot-tall wooden structure was built on the plot after the war and served the area until 1872, when the present lighthouse began illu- minating bay waters. Congress had authorized the new lighthouse with a $40,000 allocation. The lighthouse remained the warning light for ships in Galveston harbor until 1933 and has deep roots on Bolivar Peninsula. During the 1900 Storm that killed more than 6,000 people, 125 people sought safe refuge in the steel and concrete tower, sitting two to a step up the winding stairway while winds up to 125 mph pummeled the peninsula. Fifteen years later, during another bad hurricane, COASTMONTHLY.COM | FebruArY 2023 65 The 117-foot-tall Bolivar Point Lighthouse is an iconic landmark on the Texas Gulf Coast. The Bolivar Point Lighthouse Foundation is working to raise $4 million to restore the 150-year-old structure.66 COASTMONTHLY.COM | FebruArY 2023 FEATURE 61 people sought shelter at the lighthouse. The building, with 133 circular steps and two narrow ladders adding 27 more rungs, is solid, Chase said. The restoration will require extensive cleaning, painting, refinishing and repairing the interior, the heavy steel entrance door, large metal plates lining the tower and bringing the structure up to code. The base of the lighthouse is 22 feet wide and consists of brick archways that create a circular space. There are seven metal landings before reaching the 10-foot-wide mechanical room — now empty — near the top cupola and finally climbing to the apex where the bright warning light should be housed. The original light is in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. A similar light is in the Galveston County Historical Museum, which came from the Galveston’s South Jetty. The earliest lighthouse logs are housed in the Rosenberg Library. The view from the top is stunning. Through a small window on a clear day, the green open areas on Bolivar Peninsula morph into the tan-colored beaches and the wide expanse of bay waters. Incoming ships can be spotted for miles away. And it’s quiet and peaceful. In 1933, the U.S. government decommis- sioned the lighthouse and eventually put it up for sale in a 1947 auction. Elmer Vernon “Pat” Boyt and family successfully bid on it and bought the lighthouse, keepers’ houses and other structures on the property for $7,000. It has remained in the family since. Chase is the granddaughter of Boyt’s sister, Ila Boyt Maxwell. Chase and the foundation are working to raise $4 million for the restoration, which in- cludes painting the structure with black and white stripes again. Their efforts have been noticed. The Galveston Historical Foundation put the lighthouse on its “Heritage At Risk” list — critical status; Preservation Texas, a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the historic resources of Texas, listed the lighthouse on its Most Endangered Places list; the U.S. Lighthouse Society has awarded a grant toward the project; and the Texas Historical Commission has contribut- ed to the cause. Architectural Digest noted the lighthouse is one of the 13 “Boldest and Most Beautiful Things” in the United States. Singer/songwriter Justin Philip Brooks of Dallas, the great-great-grandson of J.P. Brooks, the lighthouse’s assistant keeper during those treacherous storms, recorded a song about the lighthouse, “Candle on the Shore.” It tells the story of J.P. Brooks assisting those people who sought shelter during the storms — “Look for that light and the stripes of black and white.” “It is a legacy to the state,” said Chase, who recently moved with her family to Gal- veston to help manage the foundation and restoration. “How many ships safely came through because of this light. We are on a stewardship mission.” Recently, the foundation installed a light in the tower, which can be seen from a dis- tance, but there’s no keeper at this time. The houses on the property belong to the family and are private. COASTMONTHLY.COM | FebruArY 2023 67 Besides restoring the tower, the founda- tion plans to create a history and visitors center. A special passport issued by the U.S. Lighthouse Society can be validated with Bolivar Point’s unique stamp. “This lighthouse is everyone’s,” Chase said. “It makes us happy to share her. She belongs to the peninsula.” (Clockwise from top left) The Bolivar Point Lighthouse is built using heavy wood beams and brick with a cast-iron skin; the iron staircase spirals upward inside the lighthouse. During the 1900 Storm, 125 people sought refuge inside the lighthouse, sitting two to a step; a small window on a landing of the lighthouse looks across state Highway 87 to the ship channel. (Opposite) Amy Maxwell Chase, executive director of the Bolivar Point Lighthouse Foundation, is working to raise $4 million for the restoration of the lighthouse, which has been in her family since 1947. For information and to donate, visit www.bolivarpointlighthouse.org.68 COASTMONTHLY.COM | FebruArY 2023 WWW.THEBUFFALOGRILLE.COM 4080BissonnetSt Houston,TX77005 1301S.VossRd Houston,Texas77057 Lil'BuffaloGrille GalvestonIsland 13EviaMain Galveston,Texas77554 OPENONGALVESTON'SWESTENDINEVIA StillTwoGreat HoustonLocations: COASTMONTHLY.COM | FebruArY 2023 69 2611 BAYSHORE DRIVE BACLIFF ON GALVESTON BAY Direct 281-218-8000 Mobile 281-793-4545 Dan.McCarver@garygreene.com DAN McCARVER Luxury Homes Marketing Specialist 2611BayshoreDr.com LuxuryHomesClearLake.com EXPERIENCEMATTERS! EXPERIENCEMATTERS! www.SouthLandTitle.net www.SouthLandTitle.net 409.744.0727-6710StewartRd.,Ste200,Galveston,TX77551 409.744.0727-6710StewartRd.,Ste200,Galveston,TX77551 BESTTITLECOMPANY 2022|2021|2020 BESTLAWFIRM 2022|2021|2020 BESTATTORNEY 2022Next >