Co-owner Michael Robinson said he thought the barge was “done for good.”
“We were breaking records, and on our way to probably having one of the best years as far as revenue goes,” Robinson said. “Then Hurricane Beryl hit—a major, major step back.”
Despite the setback—as well as numerous obstacles from potential city restrictions, insurance coverage, delayed disaster loan funding and keeping everything organized during reconstruction—Robinson said Barge 295 was able to come back better than ever.
After operating for a year with just an outdoor patio, the business reopened its indoor space on June 20.
“It's been a journey, and while very stressful, every one of us is extremely happy with what we have now,” he said.
Zooming in
Through its reopening process, the owners were able to replace 65% of the steel deck, which is the base structure of the barge. Robinson said this was vital for its reopening, as the barge has been in operation since the 1980s but has deteriorated the deck over time.
"If the hurricane didn't happen, and we never had the opportunity to address that, we would have really been fighting repairs just endlessly,” Robinson said.
Other improvements made include:
- Replacing support beams inside the barge
- Adding high water alarms and pumps
- Addressed rust issues
- Repurposed old wooden beams into the bar’s table
The restaurant originally opened in 1983 as The Turtle Club before Robinson took it over with Michael Hessemer and his brother, Patrick, in 2017. It was then they renamed the business to Barge 295.
“It was a Texas landmark during that time frame,” Robinson said. “It became very popular and famous amongst travelers, and people in the boating community really thrived here.”
Once the previous owners chose to turn the keys over to the Robinson brothers and Hessemer, the restaurant went through a remodeling phase for about nine months. After remodeling, Barge 295 officially reopened, but it was five days before Hurricane Harvey hit in August 2017.
“When we were trying to celebrate our grand opening of Barge 295, the entire community was decimated with Harvey,” Robinson said. “It was a pretty tough start, but we struggled through it and managed to hang on.”
Now overcoming two hurricanes, the owners and employees are continuing to serve up an assortment of drinks, including local craft beers and seafood, such as oysters, tuna, lobster rolls, shrimp and po-boys, among other items, according to the restaurant’s website.
Barge 295 also has “The Yard” which is located right outside of the restaurant where musicians perform. Previous performers include Steve Earle & The Dukes, Pat Green, Joe Nichols and Eli Young Band, among others, Robinson said.
What’s next
The next steps for Barge 295 will be to build a retractable roof system for performances at The Yard, as well as build a permanent structure outside of the restaurant to create a space for the Saltwater Revival Pirate Church, Michael Robinson said.
The Saltwater Revival Pirate Church was founded in 2022 and has been holding services every Sunday at Barge 295 since then, Robinson said.
Due to the church’s growth from 10-15 people to 125-150 people, Robinson said he wants to build a permanent structure and continue to allow the church to hold services at Barge 295.
Besides continuing to make small improvements on the interior of the barge and “buttoning up” the outside area of the restaurant, Robinson said he is very content with the turnout of reopening Barge 295.
“I just remember sitting here after it sank and even through the construction process and just trying to envision what it was like with people in it again, and now we have people in it again. It's overwhelming,” he said.
