Restaurant adds brewery, pickles and more

"Augustus took the jug back to the porch and placed his rope-bottomed chair so as to utilize the smidgin of shade he had to work with. As the sun sank, the shade would gradually extend itself across the porch, the wagon yard, Hat Creek, Lonesome Dove and, eventually, the Rio Grande."

One of the opening lines in Larry McMurtry's Western novel "Lonesome Dove," the book that inspired owner Drew Gressett to name his restaurant Hat Creek Burger Co., encompasses what Gressett envisions his business becoming.

"We are striving to become a place where families can bring their kids, sit in a rocking chair and have a beer," said Gressett, who opened the restaurant as a food trailer in 2008. "As we have evolved, we are focusing more and more on family. Every decision we have made in the last 12 months is about what it does for our family concept."

The rocking chairs, along with picnic tables Gressett plans to use, are crafted by homeless men and women from the Mobile Loaves and Fishes Ministry.

Adults visiting the establishment can currently choose from a selection of bottled beers, but Gressett said the addition of a brewery at the West Lake Hills location will lead to draft beer bars at every Hat Creek restaurant.

Gressett said he began working with Strangeland Brewery after being introduced through mutual friends, and the partnership is perfect for the West Lake Hills location.

"Craft beer is exploding right now," Gressett said. "Eight months ago it wasn't even on our radar, but now it's something that we see as solidifying our culture. It's something we all love."

Strangeland will use the building behind Hat Creek's West Lake Hills location and will allow the restaurant to serve a wider variety of draft beer instead of just bottled beer.

All three Hat Creek Burger locations—the West Lake Hills, Burnet Road and future Georgetown location—will feature a bar with both Strangeland and Hat Creek labels, said Gressett, who is also a Westlake High School graduate. Each location will also add a milkshake bar for underage customers.

"The milkshake bar will all be made fresh with our Blue Bell Ice Cream and will have a lot of different shakes to pick from," Gressett said.

With each store going through a remodel or build, Gressett said he thought it would be a great time for the Burnet location to go through a complete overhaul to accommodate the new bar and to create an outdoor playscape.

"That location was always limited in what we could do," Gressett said. "This will make it feel more like our other locations."

Even with all the changes, Gressett said he doesn't feel like he is done yet.

"We still have a long way to go," he said. "We are working on getting better. We don't want to become a stagnant brand."

Hat Creek Pickle Co.

In addition to brewing and bottling beer, Drew Gressett, owner of Hat Creek Burger Co., plans to use Strangeland Brewery to ferment pickles for the newly formed Hat Creek Pickle Co.

"A pickle makes a hamburger," Gressett said. "To take the time to make our own pickle is synonymous with the care all our food receives."

Hat Creek Burger Co., 5902 Bee Caves Road, West Lake Hills, 512-296-2151, www.hatcreekburgers.com