SEGUIN IS FUN - POWER PLANT
Seguin Is Fun
www.visitseguin.com
Power Plant Reborn As Restaurant
Seguin citizens and visitors will soon be treated to a dining experience like none other in Seguin later this spring. The community is anxiously awaiting the opening of the Power Plant Texas Grill located on the Guadalupe River in Seguin. The restaurant is the only public riverside restaurant of its kind in Seguin and offers panoramic views of the water and Max Starcke Park. The Power Plant Texas Grill is more than a restaurant – it is a destination. The building was built in the late 1800s by local businessman Henry Troell, an immigrant from Germany, as a gristmill. In 1895, he installed hydroelectric generators to power his mill and the town. Then in 1907, he sold the dam and power plant to the City of Seguin, which owns them today. The restaurant overlooks the historic Saffold Dam, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and named for Civil War veteran, major land owner and local merchant William Saffold. This dam was purchased by Henry Troell in the 1880s. Troell added more rock to further heighten the dam, raising the PAGE 30
water level in order to provide sufficient power for his mill. Little did Henry Troell know that more than a century later local investors would be attracted to his former hydroelectric plant to develop an entertainment venue and state-of-the-art restaurant. Mike Claypool and his business partner Rick Leeper had been looking around Seguin to develop a restaurant and recreational facilities along the river. At the invitation of former Mayor Betty Ann Matthies, Claypool and Leeper were invited to tour the old power plant and they saw this property had great potential. In December of 2009 the City Council approved leasing the hydroelectric plant to the partnership. Since that time Claypool has been instrumental in attracting two additional partners to the Lake Seguin Hydroelectric Partners LLC. They are noted restaurateurs Sam Panchevre, owner of the famed Sam’s Burger Joint in San Antonio and the Aztec Theatre, and Marc Baptiste, who operates Adobe Verde restaurant in Gruene.
www.SeguinChamber.com