By TESS FICCAGLIA
Special to the PARADE
Going to work on a gorgeous warm, sunny, spring day can be dis-hearting when living in a paradise like South Padre Island.
But once there, look out the windows across the expansive deck with brightly colored umbrellas and tables while setting up the bar for the soon arriving patrons, see the rolling waves of the Gulf of Mexico crashing to shore and smile.
How could one resist? That is what Saul Beltran does every shift.
Beltran, the bar manager, has been working at the Lookout Bar and Refuge at La Quinta Hotel for three years and says that he absolutely loves his job. It shows every time he greets a guest and makes a beautiful Blue Hawaiian, with rum, blue curacao liqueur, Pina colada mix, pineapple juice, shaken not stirred, with a few cherries to top off the fabulous color of this special drink, smiling and chatting the entire time.
Beltran has been in the Island area most of his 22 years of life and wanted to be a “good bartender” at all of the locations he has been employed.
At his young age, he dreams of owning his own establishment and making the best cocktails on the Island. He just wants to see people smile and forget their problems at home, even for just an afternoon.
He has a large following of repeat customers from as far away as England and New Zealand who love the vast list of tropical specialty cocktails and his ability to make them perfect.
The Lookout Bar & Refuge features a very large deck overlooking the beach and blue water.
With lots of tables and umbrellas for shade, patrons might stay for hours, or they may prefer to curl up in one of the private cabanas with a good book and that special someone sipping a delicious Tropical Depression cocktail listening to the calming sound of the Gulf of Mexico.
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