Mario's is closed.

This sucks. I am heading down to Galveston this weekend to see my childhood friend who plays with the Beach Boys and I am having a hard time finding any of my favorite restaurants that are still open. It doesn't suck for me, it sucks for all of those people who lost their livelihoods.

Mario's, for example. This place was a Galveston institution. It's been there forever, right on 61st Street as you get off 45 and head towards the seawall. Houstonians know it, it's the white building on the left about halfway to Seawall Boulevard. I am guessing that it was too close to that small lagoon and flooded out. It seems that the restaurants that survived are those right on the seawall. Which seems odd, but based on what happened to the Strand it makes sense. The water poured onto the island not from the Gulf, but from the Bay.

Here's a good slideshow with many photos I have never seen before.