MARBLE FALLS, Texas — Marble Falls, a city 58 miles northwest of Austin, was just named one of America's most affordable lake towns.
Realtor.com picked Marble Falls because of the area attractions, the restaurants, the businesses and the cost of living.
The Real New Orleans restaurant staff knows the recipe for survival. They serve up classic comfort food with a side of faith.
“Nothing is given. You have to earn everything,” said Erin Legier.
Legier escaped Hurricane Katrina with a group of people from his New Orleans church, who helped open the restaurant in Marble Falls. They've survived a lot in the last 15 years.
“We've survived Katrina, Hurricane Rita. We had a flood that knocked off the bridge out there in Llano. We've survived that. And, yes, we have survived the pandemic,” said Legier.
Survival has been such a big part of what businesses have tried to do this past year. Yet out in the Hill Country, you hear a different story.
“We benefited from being in a rural area and not being in the big city and everybody trying to get away,” said Legier.
“I would say the last year has probably been the perfect storm for the community,” said Christian Fletcher, director of economic development in Marble Falls.
“We've had more business than we could have ever dreamed of,” said Sheryl Westerman Satterwhite, owner of Birdie’s Market, an antique and home décor and design shop that sits next to the popular Bluebonnet Café.
Both are some of the oldest businesses in town.
“It's a pretty magical place,” said David Plante, owner of Bluebonnet Café.
For 29 years, the Bluebonnet Cafe has been dishing out homemade food and pies, serving up 30,000 pies a year. Bluebonnet Café provides health insurance and 401(k) benefits for their workers. And despite having to close for a while this past year, Plante said they didn't have to lay off anyone.
“There was a struggle. It was a struggle for a few months, but people were willing to do different things,” he said.
The pandemic pushed many people to seek out Hill Country getaways. The lure of the lakes and a quieter way of life has brought in record amounts of money.
“Marble Falls was one of the top sales tax generators per capita in the state prior to the pandemic. And since that time, it's just it's gone through the roof,” said Fletcher. “In the last three months, sales tax revenue has never been higher in Marble Falls and it's likely just the beginning."
Several master-planned communities that will add nearly 3,800 new homes are underway. And LakeFest returns Aug. 8 and 9, bringing back drag-boat racing to the Hill Country.
“We'll have boats that will go 200 miles an hour in a thousand feet,” said David Carroll, Southern Drag Boat Association president.
The races haven’t happened in three years but will take place at Lakeside Park, a place where it's impossible not to see the changes. There's a newly added beach area, a new convention center plan in the works and more construction underway to add a boardwalk, which will showcase Marble Falls' history.
“We pride ourselves on being a town with a lot of amenities, a lot of cool things going on for a small community, but we like being a small town. We like that character and charm. We love the downtown area. We don't want that to change,” said Fletcher.
That's the balance. With such close proximity to Austin and San Antonio, the struggle to preserve the past while keeping an eye on the future is real.
Austin's boomtown growth continues to push out into the Hill Country.
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