Boathouse Rotisserie & Raw Bar thrives along banks of the Tennessee River
Chattanooga, TN
– Situated on the banks of the Tennessee River – overlooking the
bustling Riverwalk – Boathouse Rotisserie & Raw Bar is a prime
example of Lawton Haygood’s ingenuity. The restaurant, which opened in
2002 and specializes in Gulf of Mexico cuisine, is adorned with unique
features like an ice chute which extends from the ceiling and empties
the ice into a bin in the center of the bar area and an innovative
woodburning grill for restaurateurs that Haygood developed three
decades ago.
Boasting a serene riverfront view and a menu
composed of the Haygoods favorite selections from their travels around
the Gulf of Mexico, the Boathouse is one of Chattanooga’s most popular
dining destinations. Amid a décor of palm trees, nostalgic Rock City
and Ruby Falls post cards, and a new mural that depicts where the
restaurant’s menu items originate from, the restaurant features
favorites like Lotta Lotta Garlic Chicken, Matagorda Fire-Roasted
Oysters, El Scorcho Shellfish Stew and Fried Tilapia.
It’s
Haygood’s passion for grilling that gives the Boathouse its’ identity.
Grilling is a practiced in restaurants and backyard barbeques across
the United States, but it is a technique that was pioneered and
perfected in Texas. So it is appropriate that a first-of-its-kind
wood-burning grill for restaurants was developed by Haygood when he was
operating a restaurant in Dallas.
“The traditional grill tends
to burn hot in one spot and cool in another, which isn’t ideal when
you’re cooking a high volume of orders,” Haygood explained. “I kept
waiting for someone to come up with something, but nobody did, so I
decided to invent my own grill.”
Haygood’s solution was to
create a grill that operates on the principal of the convection oven.
It produces even heat, which cooks food faster and more evenly, he
said. The wood smoke intensifies the flavor of the food, Haygood added.
After
designing the grill, Haygood was featured in Time Magazine, called a
pioneer in mesquite grilling and received numerous calls from
restaurateurs nationwide who asked him to make a grill for them. He
soon found himself building and installing grills in restaurant chains
like J. Alexander’s and Grady’s. Before selling his interest in the
manufacturing company he and a partner formed, Haygood worked with some
of the country’s most renowned chefs, including Wolfgang Puck. He has
since created a second-generation model, the Tuff Grill that prepares
the cuisine at the Boathouse and Canyon Grill, Haygood’s other
restaurant on nearby Lookout Mountain.
The story of Haygood’s
debut in the restaurant industry is a tale in itself. Raised in Rising
Fawn on Lookout Mountain, where Canyon Grill is located, his father was
passionate about preparing barbeque over an open pit, and his mother
owned a ham curing business that attracted customers from around the
United States.
After earning a degree in economics from the University of Georgia, Haygood entered the insurance business and moved to Dallas.
Eventually,
the charismatic and anxious entrepreneur grew tired of his first
profession. When a fire damaged the historic townhouse where his
business was located, he served as the general contractor and oversaw
the renovation. That spurred Haygood to refurbish and sell other
townhouses in the area, leading him to pursue the opportunity on a
full-time basis until interest rates skyrocketed in the early 1980s.
Left
with another career decision, Haygood ventured on a retreat to Port
Aransas, a tarpon fishing town on the Gulf of Mexico in Texas. There,
he ate at a waterfront restaurant that caught his attention.
“The
view and the ambience was excellent, but the food was terrible,”
Haygood said with a laugh. “I asked the waitress about the place, and
she said that the owner was looking to sell. Later that day, I spoke
with him, and a half-hour later I was in the restaurant business.
“The
guy asked me what I planned to do there,” Haygood added. “I said that I
would build a pit and cook fresh fish over a mesquite fire. And I’ve
followed that concept ever since.”
After experiencing success in
Port Aransas and then operating a similar concept in Dallas, Haygood
decided to leave the restaurant business to develop his mesquite
wood-burning grill, which brought him back to the Chattanooga area. He
then divested of his interest in the grilling company and embarked on a
new venture as a financial planner. Then the restaurateur lure returned.
“My
mother had to close her ham curing business because of her health, and
she wanted me to open a restaurant in the same space,” Haygood said.
“That’s when Karen and I opened Canyon Grill.”
The location of Canyon Grill (www.cangrill.com)
is so remote that most guests drive at least a half-hour along a scenic
road on the back side of Lookout Mountain. First-timers are told to
recognize the building from the cars in the gravel parking lot and its
proximity to the adjacent New Salem Mountain Market, an old-time corner
grocer. Still, Canyon Grill is packed, mostly with out-of-towners, on a
nightly basis with guests savoring choices like Slash n’ Burn Catfish,
Ground Mignon, Whole Rainbow Trout, Alaskan Red King Salmon and Rack of
Lamb.
The Boathouse is easier to find, nestled along the
Riverwalk - where locals and visitors alike walk, jog, skate and
bicycle on a paved path which stretches past attractions like the
Hunter Museum of American Art, the Bluff View Arts District and the
Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge.
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Media Contact:
Quantified Marketing Group
407.936.1010
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