History

In the late 1940's, the Green Shores area around Lake Austin was primitive, to say the least. A dirt road lead you into the area. And electricity wasn't available. This was when, in 1947, Marion Fowler moved his family into the Green Shores. He set up 20 rental cabins for weekend and summer visitors to come out and enjoy the lake. Yet even though the cabins had kitchenettes for cooking, the visitors were in need of a place to go out and get together for a bite to eat.

Seeing their need, Marion and a carpenter worked together to create Ski Shores Waterfront Cafe in 1954. It was, as Marion's son Brad later put it, “A glorified hot dog stand.” But the locals loved it.

From that humble start, Ski Shores' great food and laid-back atmosphere proved to be a combination that was perfectly Austin. It became what famed columnist John Kelso called one of the few icons of Austin eatery establishments. Over the years and under the management of a number of different individuals, Ski Shores enjoyed decades of success. But, unfortunately, its doors closed in December of 2009. A little piece of Austin was gone.

Having been big fans of Ski Shores over the years, Restaurant Freedom Co-founders Rick Engel and Mark Turner both agreed that the property had too much Austin history to just go away. So they took on the task of revitalizing what is now known as Ski Shore Cafe. And in April 2010, the Austin icon was back.