Success Leaves Footprints: The Beau Theriot Story

From creating exciting restaurants in Houston and Austin, to developing hundreds of beautiful lots on Lake Travis, to designing and decorating unique homes (including ranches) across the U.S. and Mexico, Beau Theriot is not someone who can be easily labeled and placed neatly in a box.

Additionally, Beau philanthropically promotes and supports multiple charities by donating his time, properties, and finances. His heart belongs to the children of Austin Smiles, Wounded Warriors and ASPCA. Not surprisingly, Beau is quite adept at raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for worthwhile charities.

Among Beau’s entrepreneurial creations have been such iconic restaurants as the timeless Brownstone Restaurant in Houston. Created by Beau at age 26, the Brownstone boasted such elegant décor that others could not help but notice his flair for design and decorating. This led to people enticing him to design and decorate their homes. He then opened the Brownstone Gallery of Fine Furniture and Antiques. Beau’s design expertise was natural, and led to him being featured in such renowned magazines as Architectural Digest, Better Homes & Gardens and Black Book. His taste for authentic Tex Mex led to the opening of the ever popular Café Adobe (on Westheimer, in Houston) in the early 80’s. After years of these successes, he decided he wanted to live in Austin, overlooking Lake Travis. On his 530 acre Comanche Canyon Ranch was where he discovered the perfect location for one of the world’s most unique gathering spots: The OASIS on Lake Travis (now open 43 years). The multi-level OASIS sits 400 feet above sparkling Lake Travis and seats up to 2,500, overlooking the controversial Hippy Hollow.

Despite being almost 78 years of age, Beau is not nearly finished with his giving, creating, dreaming, sharing, fund-raising and making new friends daily. As his doctor tells him, “This is not a dress rehearsal.” You’ve got to make every day a holiday! That’s what it seems our entrepreneur has been doing all of his life. Growing up in his dad’s lumberyard in Port Arthur, Texas is what inspired Beau’s great sense of style and pride. As he helped his mother shop for unique antiques and fabrics, Beau’s two sisters, Dianne and Brenda, and brothers Tom and Joe, pursued their diverse interests after college. Beau simply honored his dreams, which he obviously has always done. This was a young man who obtained his driver’s license on his 14th birthday. The same young man who went to Gulfway Drive to use all his savings ($395 cash) for a stunning red and white 1956 Dodge Custom Royal convertible. There was simply no stopping young Beau from his exciting venture into life and all it has to offer. His attitude has always been “I can do it.” Even a terrible automobile accident at 20, that fractured both femurs and his hips, as well as gave him a concussion couldn’t slow him down.
“We take with us what we give”, explains Theriot. Beau believes that a true entrepreneur’s life is about others, not himself. With values such as these, it stands to reason why some of his employees have been with him for as long as 47 years. His genuine devotion to, and generosity towards them, especially his family, show all the love, loyalty and trust in his heart. Beau says there’s lots more to tell, but we will save that for another round!