A new 'Industry' comes to town

The Old Justice Center is in the midst of transforming from an empty building and parking lot on the edge of downtown to a thriving shopping center off of  the Square, thanks in part to new restaurant Industry. 

Owners of Industry Harlan Scott, Cody Taylor and Todd Havers have a combined five decades of hospitality experience and intend to share their love of the food and service industry with the aptly named restaurant. Scott’s background includes over six years with Parkside Projects; Taylor has owned Austin staple Cafe Josie since 2012; and Havers has been the chef at Cafe Josie since 2010 and was trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Austin. The restaurant pays homage to their years in the service industry with subtle hints such as the 86 board, playful menu language and simple decor.

Chef Havers’ menu is centered around their in-house Texas Live Oak smoker and smoked meat and vegetables make up the backbone of the offerings. The menu features hearty smoked entrees like the Chx Sandwich with a smoked and fried chicken thigh, hot sauce and ponzu slaw or The Bouldin – a smoked beet reuben on Texas toast with 1000 island, grilled caraway cabbage and swiss.

The menu also offers an array of vegetarian options including sweet potato and spicy chickpea bowls, a “Shroom Wrap” with smoked mushrooms, carrots, red pepper, garlic rice, peanuts and cilantro as well as or their beer-battered Cauli Tacos with avo crema and arbol salsa.

Industry offers “After Shift” desserts like Cajeta Bread Pudding with caramel and cinnamon custard and a Hops & Grain Porter Culture Beer Float with vanilla soft serve.

“We wanted to be a part of the community and contribute something to the food scene with some more diverse options,” Scott said. “We also wanted something very approachable and affordable, something that embraced the laid back vibe of San Marcos itself.”

Scott said that people’s eating out habits have changed in recent years, eating out isn’t something done a couple of times a week anymore, it’s a part of many busy young professionals and families' regular schedules, so they intentionally have made their menu with healthier choices, that are both nutritious and delicious. 

“We wanted to have a good third of the menu be kind of deliberately healthy, but not put it in a relegated healthy section,” Scott said. “We wanted a really good vegetarian sandwich to sit right in between two really awesome burgers on the menu.”

The drinks menu at Industry features local drafts and Texas beers, including a Hops & Grain section – a nod to the expansive brewery opening right next door in the coming months –  as well as draft wines and even draft cocktails.

“We really tried to push the envelope of what we have on draft,” Taylor said. “We have five signature cocktails on draft right now that we created, five wines on draft, four local beers on tap from Altmeyer and Lewis and Middleton Brewery, five dedicated taps from Hops & Grain and we even have cold brew coffee on draft.”

Draft cocktails – at $7.50 each - include house cocktails like the “White Box” with Lukososowa vodka, ancho reyes, hibiscus and lime; the “Aquamaid” with Aviation Gin, Aperol, citrus, red bell pepper and mint; the “Hill Country Paloma” with Exotico Tequila, grapefruit, lime and jalapeño; the “Mark’s Bargain” with pecans, HM 80 whiskey, lemon and sugar; and the “Cool But Warm” with Monkey Shoulder whisky, lemon, honey, ginger and Islay. 

But patrons shouldn’t worry about Industry bartenders not being up to snuff on cocktails, they also have a full bar available for drinks and according to Scott, a well-trained bar staff ready to go.

“You know Cody and I come from a sommelier, mixology, all that fufu background,” Scott said, “ And we’re done with that, but we can’t get it out of our system. We still care about the quality and integrity of our drinks, and the bartenders, well we over-trained them.”

Industry’s design revolves around the idea of “open up, post up, hang out, walk out.” They have an open floor plan with ample communal seating, a large bar and a dog-friendly patio.

Industry guests start their experience by ordering at the counter, but the service continues at the table, as Scott says “it’s counter service, but with actual service.” There are no dedicated servers in sections, rather guests have the option to order at the counter and add food or drinks on to their tab or to flag down a server and the server will order and add the items on to their tab. 

Scott said part of the success of Industry, and the emerging strip of businesses that are buying space in the old Justice Center building, is from building owner Mark Shields. According to Scott, Shields is actively trying to attract businesses that would add diversity and interest to San Marcos.

“One of the first things Mark said to me is that ‘When I open a shopping center, I want it to have a meaningful impact on the community… I want to open something that adds value and represents the town.’ He could have filled this shopping center up a year ago, the reason this shopping center isn’t full right now is because he’s looking to add things that fit the Square and add value to downtown,” Scott said. “It’s exciting to have a landlord like that.”

Industry is open daily from 11 a.m. to midnight, and happy hour is Monday through Friday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Industry is located at 110 E. Martin Luther King Dr., Ste 126. For more information, visit Industry's website.