Wimberley is only 15 minutes from San Marcos, our original location of Industry. And San Marcos struggled after the initial post-Covid stimulus bump. The town was in economic decline and Industry was going with it. Wimberley is a thriving, idyllic community that’s underserved by restaurants. Some old friends and also investors own the literal corner on the square in Wimberley and came to me with just 350 sqft and asked what I could do with it. I don’t have any money or time, but I saw an opportunity for San Marcos to be a commissary for this new restaurant; a way to keep it alive, spread my labor around, and expand our brand. Matt Ball, my new business partner, and the best contractor I’ve ever met, built the entire thing in a few months.

Meat & Drink is all the hits from Industry but packaged differently and drawing inspiration from all my favorite Mexican chicken al carbon spots. You know: the whole chicken, peppers, onions, homemade corn tortillas, rice beans and all the fun sauces. Healthy, cheap, fun. We have no indoor seating, just an outdoor common area. Limited on storage (we can’t even build a full kitchen hence Industry’s role in the prep), we built a shed in front and a stage around it. We have live music almost 5 nights a week. That’s why the ampersand in the logo is actually a treble clef. This was definitely one of my “highdeas.” 

This punny concept opened in November 2024. Wimberley is an “open container” town, and we are famous for our frozen drinks that you can take with you and go shopping and people watch. We are still learning to find our footing and demographic, and it’s got me working in the kitchen more than I have in my whole career. Until we’re profitable, I’ll be here working several days a week. We designed it to be a one-person operation, a one-man band if you will. Right now, that band is me.