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When Beau Theriot was a child in Port Arthur, like many children he his younger brother Tom would build houses from toy blocks.
"He somehow had the most spectacular homes," says Brenda Austin, one of Theriot's four siblings. "His were always the sleekest, biggest, the most creative looking homes, and they'd park their little toy cars out in front."
But for Theriot, it wasn't just a toddler's preoccupation. At age 10, Theriot was drawing elevations and floor plans for fantasy homes, complete with front and side views.
"He would draw these floor plans and he and Mother would sit on the sofa and go over them. She would compliment him and suggest changes, and they would talk about it," Austin says. "He was a doer."
And he still is.
Theriot has never taken a formal course in art or architecture. But his selfdesigned restaurants and homes are considered masterpieces of decorative arts.
He opened one of the area's most well-known restaurants and tourist attractions, The Oasis, 20 years ago this month, growing the business from a scenic hamburger stand overlooking Lake Travis into the largest restaurant in Austin.
In 1981 he opened Houston's original Cafe Adobe restaurant. The interior of his other Houston operation, the fine-dining establishment The Brownstone, prompted diners to ask for his help with their own homes.
Aside from his restaurants, Theriot has made a fortune as an interior designer.
One of the finest examples of his creative talents is the cliff top home he designed and built for himself just north of Ile Oasis on Comanche Trail. A short visit to the 12,500-square-foot getaway was enough to enchant filmmaker Robert Rodgriguez, who later borrowed the house for a wedding scene and other shots in the movie "Spy Kids."
"I was looking for the effect of a villa on the Costa del Sol," Theriot says, "... something that would enhance the feeling of being in a distant place rather than right in the middle of Texas. Not that there's anything wrong with being in the middle of Texas."
Theriot didn't follow the traditional path that would turn his youthful interests into a career, but the abilities that make him successful today formed early.
Dianne Maspero is a Theriot sister who works...