Many residents who drive by The Grumpy Grouper automatically assume it is a seafood restaurant, owner Doug Renshaw said. However, if they were to step inside the building, that notion would be quickly dispelled.
The Grumpy Grouper is actually a restaurant and bar that often offers live evening music with no cover charge.
“The whole reason I started in the bar industry is because I felt like people should not have to pay to hear good music,” Renshaw said.
Renshaw, who also owns the Edge of Town bar in Pflugerville, opened The Grumpy Grouper in February.
“Every bar around a lake or water has a goofy name, so I thought [The Grumpy Grouper] would fit,” he said.
The bar serves its customers until 2 a.m. daily, which is the latest open venue in the area, he said.
“It’s a great place for those that work in the service industry to come in late after they get off work,” Renshaw said.
Every Thursday night, the venue offers an open mic series for guests to play and sing with their personal guitars and instruments.
On Friday and Saturday nights, regional and local bands, including Dawn Maracle’s White Flag and Carl Hutchens, entertain patrons. The venue is home to a dance party on alternating Sundays.
“We play all kinds of music from rock ‘n’ roll to country-western,” Renshaw said.
Regulation-sized pool tables are available for free play indoors, and beer pong is featured on the bar’s patio.
The Grumpy Grouper does not serve seafood but instead offers barbecue from JC’s Smokehouse, owned by Jackie Kagay and Charles Smith.
Smith said the couple comes in Tuesday through Sunday mornings to smoke the barbecue meat for seven hours. The meat is then slow-steamed for four to five hours, before it is allowed to cool for two to three hours, he said.
Kagay said the couple uses pecan wood in their barbecue cooking process.
“When I first started using pecan wood I was amazed at the taste, and the meat is still juicy,” she said.
Renshaw said he is planning a future recording studio on the property. Musicians who play in the bar will be able to rehearse and can offer guitar lessons in the space, he said.
“We’re a family here, and we work together looking out for one another,” Kagay said.
1113 N. RR 620, Lakeway
512-382-5441
http://grumpygrouper.weebly.com
Hours: 11 a.m.-2 a.m. daily
