Now, Kurkowski is feeding the humans of Georgetown after opening her new restaurant. The Palomino, the city’s newest burger and brat house, opened at 305 E. Morrow St. on the Fourth of July. The business was named in memory of a horse Kurkowski helped rescue after 2017’s Hurricane Harvey, when flood water made it difficult for those with horses and other livestock to find shelter for their animals.
Sleeping in their horse trailer at night as they helped secure animals left behind, Kurkowski and her husband were asked if they could pick up a skinny, malnourished horse found at a ranch north of Beaumont. The facility where horses were being brought to wait for their owners to reclaim, though, couldn’t take Zinnia, a palomino.
“She was in really bad shape. When we took her to the intake facility, they wouldn’t take her because she was so thin,” Kurkowski said.
So Kurkowski, who runs a nonprofit horse sanctuary on her ranch, brought Zinnia to a friend in College Station, where the horse was taken care of for a week before finally making the journey to Georgetown. Zinnia lived with Kurkowski at her ranch until 2022, when she died of colic.
“She was an awesome horse. She was in her 20s and just a very gentle sweet soul,” Kurkowski said. “You could just tell she was very thankful for all that we did for her and getting her out of the situation she was in.”
Sitting in the former location of Bob’s Catfish-N-More next to San Gabriel Park, the business is meant to serve as a place for locals and families of all sizes to gather.
“I have kids, and I have a lot of friends who have kids,” Kurkowski said. “There’s just not a lot of places in Georgetown to have a drink with your friends, and let your kids run around and be crazy. I felt like we needed something that was family-friendly—more of a cool hangout spot that we’ve just kind of been lacking in Georgetown.”
The Palomino’s menu features four varieties of bratwursts, a crispy chicken sandwich, and a children's menu of mini corn dogs and chicken bites. Customers will find an appetizer list of Bavarian pretzels, chips and salsa, beer cheese fries, mini corn dogs, and fried cheese curds. The bar also has 32 taps, 24 of which are beer, four are ciders and four are wines.
However, Kurkowski said it’s the nine different burgers that will stand out.
“I’m tired of going places and getting a disappointing burger,” she said. “There’s just no meat or you have to order a double burger. Here, a burger is a burger, and you’re getting a solid beef patty.”
The Palomino is open Thursday-Monday from 3-9 p.m.
Did you know?
Amber Kurkowski, owner of The Palomino, also runs K.W. Equine Sanctuary out of her Georgetown ranch. The nonprofit organization helps rescue horses found during law enforcement seizures, mostly from cases where a horse is not being cared for properly and is malnourished. Kurkowski rehabilitates the animals she takes in, retrains them and puts them up for adoption. If they are not suitable for adoption, due to a medical condition or another reason for not being rideable, Kurkowski brings the horses to her ranch where they live out their lives. She has 30 horses living at the sanctuary.
