< Previous20 COASTMONTHLY.COM | SepTeMber 2023 FEATURE Nick Gutierrez at Katie’s Seafood Market might text Nick Gaido about a fresh catch of yellow tile or red snapper. But for the most part, Gaido’s depends on seafood markets in Houston for menu mainstays. “We’ve bought from Katie’s,” Gaido said. “Most of our fish come from markets in Houston. Unfor- tunately there aren’t many open to the public like you’d see in San Francisco, Miami or New York. “We go through wholesalers, but often, I’ll need 500 pounds of snappers so the smaller mom-and- pops can’t supply what we need. We have to reach out to Houston. Of course, we can’t forget blue crab meat, we go through a bunch of different purveyors.” Gaido would like to see more local butcher shops and more retail seafood markets open in the area, he said. Prestige Oysters in San Leon is a well-known advocate of local sourcing of food. Prestige supplies area restau- rants, but Raz Halili, vice president, has expanded the company’s cus- tomer base to supply many Hous- ton restaurants and major food distribution houses throughout the country, with product placement in all 50 states and Canada and a growing footprint in the retail sector across the Southeast. In 2020, Halili opened the Pier 6 Seafood & Oyster House, 113 Sixth St. in San Leon. Halili and Chef Joe Cervantez use fresh Gulf seafood for what they call a tide-to-table experience. Through Pier 6, Halili hopes to educate customers about seasonality in seafood, he has said. LOCAL FLAVOR Beyond seafood, more and more restaurants and coffee houses are turning to local suppliers of coffee, beer, honey, liquor, baked goods and more. (Above) Spirits age in casks at Texas Tail Distillery in Galveston. (Opposite, top) Texas Tail owner Nick Droege and general manager Lani Wilson are dedicated to crafting Texas vodkas and whiskeys at the island distillery. p HOTOS: STUA r T VILLANU e VA COASTMONTHLY.COM | SepTeMber 2023 21 Katie’s Seafood House buys coffee and honey from Texas City vendor Sean Kennedy’s Mainland Coffee. “I support local as much as I can,” Otteman said. “I also use him for honey — his hives are on the island and on the mainland. In the beverage market, we use the Texas Tail Distillery for vodka on Postoffice and the Galveston Island Brewery for beer — that’s a heavy demand item.” Darryl Hill, general manager of the historic island hotel Grand Gal- vez, sources spirits for the hotel’s restaurants and bars from Texas Tail Distillery. Grand Galvez, 2024 Seawall Blvd., is part of Marriott’s collection of international, independent hotels. Local sourcing is something Hill has worked hard to expand since he the hotel began a $50 million renovation more than two years ago after the property was purchased by Dallas hoteliers Mark and Lorenda Wyant in May 2021. “I’ve always believed in support- ing local businesses, and this rela- tionship in turn will introduce Texas Tail to all of the Marriotts,” Hill said. “They will have the opportunity to be out there globally and that could greatly accelerate their sales.” Businesses on the upper Texas coast are reaping the benefits of a consumer desire to support local economies. “We have seen a significant increase in sales over the past year from local bars and restaurants,” said Nick Droege, an owner of Texas Tail Distillery. “We believe this is driven by the growing inter- est in supporting local business- es. Consumers are increasingly valuing locally produced products and recognizing the impact of their purchasing decisions on the community. Our collaboration with local restaurants and bars has also contributed to our success, ex- panding our reach and visibility.” Roaster Sean Kennedy talks about roasting coffee beans at his warehouse in Texas City. Kennedy, who also is a beekeeper, provides Katie’s Seafood House in Galveston with locally roasted coffee and local honey. J e NNIF er re YNOLDSFresh Gulf Shrimp with Napa Cabbage in a Sambal Sauce 408 25th Street Open Monday-Saturday, 11 am - 4 pm Join us for LUNCH EATcetera is a Local Family Eatery serving fresh, healthy lunch and light brunch fare. Dine inside or enjoy the dog-friendly sidewalk cafe under our signature red umbrellas. A multitude of vegan and gluten- free offerings available. Dessert too! Call 409-762-0803 See us on DoorDash.com Free 2-Hour Street ParkingCompassionate Guidance in Your Time of Need. E. R. Johnson Family Mortuary has been serving the Galveston, Galveston County area with compassion and respect for over 71 years. 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Johnson Family Mortuary24 COASTMONTHLY.COM | SepTeMber 2023 FEATURE THE FOOD NETWORK These island restaurants have connections and roots going back decades story by B. SCOTT MCLENDON | photos by JENNIFER REYNOLDS G alveston has an honor-roll of restau- rants. Some upscale; some casual; some long-established; some up and coming. They all share some things in common, however, including names that stand out in the field — Rudy and Paco, Gaido’s, The Spot, Mario’s, Benno’s and Yaga’s, to name a few. And add to those, apparently, most of the pizzerias on the island and some on the mainland. They all are products of entrepreneurs; actual people, lo- cals, who contribute more than just good food to the dining landscape. As it happens, though, a less obvious connection might be the most interesting fact linking some of the familiar names among island eateries. Although each has it own distinct food and history, they all were in some way inspired, mentored, trained or support- ed by another, earlier island restaurateur. RESTAURATEUR FAMILY TREE At the top of one such family tree sits Paco Vargas, whose signature line “Welcome home, baby” has greeted guests of his nationally famous restaurant Rudy & Paco, 2028 Postof- fice St., since 1996. He moved to Houston from Nicaragua in 1978, and his stellar work running the Plaza Club in Houston caught the eye of businessman Johnny Mitchell. Mitchell brought him to the island to run several of his restaurants and clubs, includ- ing the world-famous Balinese Room in the 1980s. Vargas is a man of few words, but the impeccable service and food at his restaurants speak for themselves. His success and dedication to Rudy & Paco inspired his daughter to get into the business. Denise Vargas is founder and owner of Vargas Cut & Catch by Paco, 2102 Postoffice St., which is right across the street from her father’s place. She began as a hostess for her father as a teenager. But the restaurant owner lifestyle initially wasn’t appeal- ing, Denise said. “I graduated from Ball High and wanted to get as far away from the restaurant business as possible,” she said. “So, I got my business degree. But in 2008, with Hurricane Ike, the restaurant was under 9 feet of water and we were shut down and had to completely gut everything.” In coming back to help her father rebuild, she fell in love with every aspect of the restaurant industry. Denise gradu- ated from culinary school soon after and worked to open Vargas Cut & Catch in 2018. “It was the best decision I’ve ever made,” Denise said. “I had a different appreciation for it than when I was a child. Instead of being something I had to do, I found out that it was really a true passion.” COASTMONTHLY.COM | SepTeMber 2023 25 Denise Vargas Escobar has followed her father, Francisco “Paco” Vargas, into the restaurant business. He also has mentored others in the industry.26 COASTMONTHLY.COM | SepTeMber 2023 FEATURE BYRDS OF A FEATHER On another limb stemming from Paco Var- gas’ tutelage sits Dennis Byrd, who is taking his island restaurant The Spot, 3204 Seawall Blvd., to League City and Houston at William P. Hobby Airport. When The Spot opened in 1998, Byrd was a dishwasher. He worked his way up to delivery boy, cashier and cook before buying The Spot in 2002. Since then, he has expand- ed year after year, adding Tiki Bar, Squeeze Ritas & Tequilas, RumShack and Side Yard. Along the way, Byrd’s company Island Famous has added two beachfront hotels — DoubleTree by Hilton Galveston Beach and Holiday Inn Express & Suites. “When I got started in the business in Galveston, I was 22 and I didn’t know anything about it,” Byrd said. “I needed to learn, and I respected the operation Paco was running for years. “I would go and sit at what is now Table 13, by the kitchen. I’d go right before close to pick his brain for years, and he always made time and never said no. He started as a business mentor, but it ended up turning into a dear friendship that will last a lifetime — and he’s the godfather of my three sons.” Byrd wouldn’t have been as successful as he is without Paco Vargas’ mentorship, he said. “I had a few mentors along the way, but Paco was really the backbone of that men- torship,” he said. “I think what that illus- trates is that you become a product of your environment. When I surround myself with someone like Paco, I just end up doing what he did.” TACO TUTELAGE And without the help of Vargas and Byrd, a budding island chain might never have come to be, Ray Fuentes, owner and founder of Mr. Taco, said. Fuentes came to the United States from Mexico when he was 19 and didn’t know any English. Fuentes soon got a job as a busboy from Byrd at The Spot, a man he admired from the start, he said. “When I was 20, I started working for him, and I saw the way he grew his busi- ness,” Fuentes said. “I thought, ‘If he can do it, I can, too.’” When Fuentes was 22, he told Byrd he (Above) Dennis Byrd, owner of The Spot, is expanding his popular Galveston eatery to League City and the William P. Hobby Airport in Houston. (Opposite) Ray Fuentes worked his way up at restaurants to opening his own, Mr. Taco, in two locations in Galveston. “(Paco) started as a business mentor, but it ended up turning into a dear friendship that will last a lifetime – and he’s the godfather of my three sons.” DENNIS BYRD FIL e p HOTO: J e NNIF er re YNOLDS COASTMONTHLY.COM | SepTeMber 2023 27 was ready to start his own business. Byrd advised him to start small and see how much he enjoyed being his own boss. The grind to become the successful restau- rateur he is today resulted in losing many friends along the way — because building a business from the ground up is an all-en- compassing endeavor, Fuentes said. Fuentes in 2013 opened a snack shop at the site of what is now Mr. Taco, 4114 Sea- wall Blvd., where he expanded after Texas Tail Distillery moved downtown. Last year, he opened Mr. Taco Latin Flavors, 120 20th St. Galveston. But, before Fuentes grew his business into a restaurant, Byrd advised him to seek out his old mentor. “I started off as a busboy for Paco, from the very bottom,” Fuentes said. “By the time I was working for Paco, I already had my own business. But Mr. Byrd said, ‘If you want to know even more, go work for Paco.’ “So, I went in and applied for a job. He told me, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, that’s great, come in.’ I asked for a uniform and he said just to come in all black and a tie. So, I’m think- ing I’m going to be a manager or server or something. He said, ‘No, you’re going to start as a busboy.’ “It was like the movie ‘Karate Kid.’” Fuentes didn’t hesitate to start again from the bottom, knowing he could soak up a wealth of knowledge from Vargas. And the lessons are more than paying off, Fuentes said. He has eyes on opening a third location and expanding to the mainland. “I started off as a busboy for Paco, from the very bottom. By the time I was working for Paco, I already had my own business. But Mr. Byrd said, ‘If you want to know even more, go work for Paco.’” RAY FUENTES28 COASTMONTHLY.COM | SepTeMber 2023 FEATURE LITTLE SICILY In the early 1960s, there weren’t many is- land restaurants to write home about, outside of Gaido’s Seafood Restaurant, 3828 Seawall Blvd., said Johnny Smecca, owner of Mario’s Seawall Italian & Pizzeria, 628 Seawall Blvd. But then the Italian migration began when Giovanni Smecca, Johnny’s uncle, came to Galveston in 1967 looking to escape the frigid North. Giovanni made a step into the restaurant business after befriending Mario Bonaccor- so, who was trying to open a pizzeria, his daughter Marisa Rojas said. His version of Mario’s on 61st Street once served the far reaches of Galveston’s West End, she said. “He bought a $400 car to drive to Galves- ton and wanted to be a fisherman when he first moved here,” she said. “But he got so seasick that he got discouraged.” A fortuitous walk down 21st Street, howev- er, changed his fate when he saw a sign with a word from his native language, “pizzeria.” He saw a notice for help wanted in the window of the first Mario’s Pizzeria, which was still being built, Rojas said. “He told Mario Bonaccorso, ‘I’ll work for a pack of cigarettes and a place to stay,’” Rojas said. “And that’s how it all started.” A Sicilian invasion, of sorts, began on the is- land when Tony Smecca moved to Galveston, inspiring others from his hometown in Gela. Tony Smecca, Johnny’s father, moved to the island in 1973, following his brother Giovanni, who arrived in 1967. Tony took over management of the Mario’s Seawall site and found Galveston to be quite similar to his hometown back in Sicily. The family had moved to Patterson, New Jersey, when it first immigrated to the United States, along with others from Gela. Many of those families followed the Smeccas to Galveston and the county, where they would open a pantheon of pizzerias. Russo’s New York Pizzeria, 500 Seawall Blvd.; Gino’s Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria, 6124 Stewart Road; Rosario’s Flying Pizza, 3202 13th Ave. in Texas City; and Mama Teresa’s Flying Pizza, 416 21st St. all were started by families from Gela, Smecca said. “They were all childhood friends back in Gela,” Smecca said. “Galveston is just like their hometown. There’s the city, the seawall, the beach and in the distance there’s a refin- ery. And the town is built very similarly.” Johnny Smecca, left, watches his brother, Joey, toss a pizza crust at Mario’s Seawall Italian & Pizzeria in Galveston. They grew up tossing pizzas and working in the restaurant, which their family has run since 1973. COASTMONTHLY.COM | SepTeMber 2023 29 A GAIDO TO SUCCESS While many Galveston restaurateurs can draw a straight line from their success back to the success of their mentors at other island restaurants, others are tied to each other in myriad ways. Mike Dean, founder and owner of Yaga’s Cafe, 2314 Strand, wasn’t exactly mentored by anyone at the famous Gaido’s Seafood Restaurant, but he has an intrinsic tie to the establishment. Dean, who has mentored others who have opened island venues, partially attributes his business life to the restaurant his father helped physically build, he said. “He was a contractor that worked at Gaido’s; he did all the maintenance work,” Dean said. “I remember him building the hotel and expansions at Gaido’s from when it was a drive-in to what it is now.” Dean’s father was an integral part of Gaido’s path toward success, said Paulie Gaido, who represents the third generation of Galveston Gaidos. “When you hired Red Dean, you got a master carpenter, an architect and a project manager,” Gaido recalled. Paulie’s grandfather, San Giacinto Gaido, opened the restaurant in 1911 after immi- grating to the United States from Cercenasco, Italy, in about 1888. And in the restaurant’s 112-year history, a few employees left to create their own es- tablishments, much to the pride of the Gaido family, Paulie said. Clary Milburn, once a server at Gaido’s, left to create the former — and beloved — Clary’s Seafood, which at one point sat on Tiechman Road. Benno Deltz, another for- mer employee, left to create Benno’s Cajun Seafood Restaurant, 1212 Seawall Blvd. Their success couldn’t have made the Gaidos any prouder, Paulie said. But they may never have had the chance to learn from the Gaidos if Paulie’s grand- father had chosen a different career path a century ago. “Bottom line is: My grandfather had a chance to be a bootlegger, a tomato farmer or go into the restaurant business,” Gaido said. “And I’m so glad he chose the restau- rant business.” (From top) Mike Dean, owner of Yaga’s Cafe and other restaurants and bars in Galveston, has mentored staff as they’ve gone on to open their own bars or become executive chefs; Paulie Gaido represents the third generation of Galveston Gaidos. His grandfather, San Giacinto Gaido, opened Gaido’s restaurant in 1911 after immigrat- ing to the United States from Cercenasco, Italy, in about 1888. “My grandfather had a chance to be a bootlegger, a tomato farmer or go into the restaurant business. And I’m so glad he chose the restaurant business.” PAULIE GAIDO FIL e p HOTO: J e NNIF er re YNOLDSNext >