San Marcos culinary newcomers aim for laid-back atmosphere at Industry

A ping-pong table is the first thing that greets customers walking into Industry. Behind it, four rows of communal tables lead up to the order counter. The setup evokes the family-friendly, casual feeling owners Cody Taylor and Harlan Scott sought to create when they opened the restaurant in September 2018.

Along with chef Todd Havers, Scott and Taylor opened Industry in the former county justice center south of the square after several years of working in the restaurant business in Austin.

“The world we come from in food is so celebri-tized,” Scott said. “We wanted to create a restaurant that we could just hang out at. We designed it to be your third place: When you’re not at home and not at work, you can come here.”

Not only do they strive for a laid-back style in their decor but on the menu as well. Taylor, who graduated from Texas State University and recently moved back to San Marcos, said the restaurant's founders created the menu to “push the envelope in an approachable way."

"I’m here every day,” Taylor said. “If I’m going to eat here every day, I need a good variety, and I need it to be healthy.”

Scott describes Industry's menu as food they grew up eating, but taken up a notch.

“You can tell we’re Texas boys,” he said. “We have a smoker, but not just for barbecue—it adds flavor without adding calories.”

A simplified kids menu, a large outdoor patio and plenty of parking all embody their goal to draw in adults and families, demographics Scott said can often be overlooked in a busy college town. Scott and Taylor also built in nods to the service industry throughout the building, from the industrial pots they used as planters to the order ticket-style notes hanging on the wall.

“The word ‘Industry’ implies hard work and honesty,” Scott said. “That’s the culture we’re creating here.”