Baytown's bars and restaurants reported $22 million in drink sales last year

Where the numbers come from

The Texas Comptroller collects a 6.7 percent gross receipts tax and an 8.25 percent sales tax on mixed drinks, and every holder of a mixed beverage permit files a monthly report of its liquor, wine and beer sales and any cover charges. The state posts those reports on its open data portal. We added up every report with a Baytown location address from 2018 through August 2026.

Cities and counties get back at least 10.7143 percent of the mixed beverage taxes collected from businesses inside them each quarter.

Year by year

• 2019: about $17.7 million, from 50 locations with sales.
• 2020: about $11.4 million, when the pandemic closed bars for months.
• 2021: about $17.4 million.
• 2022: about $18.6 million.
• 2023: about $20.2 million.
• 2024: about $22.2 million.
• 2025: about $22.2 million, from 67 locations with sales, essentially flat from 2024.

To compare with inflation we used the federal consumer price index, which rose about 25.9 percent from 2019 to 2025. Drink sales rose about 25.7 percent. In buying power, Baytown's bars and restaurants sold about the same amount in 2025 as in 2019, spread across more places.

In buying power, Baytown's bars and restaurants sold about the same amount in 2025 as in 2019, spread across more places.

What people are drinking

In 2019, liquor was about $9.1 million of sales and beer about $8.0 million. By 2025, liquor had grown to about $12.6 million while beer was about $8.7 million. Wine stays small: about $600,000 in 2025, less than 3 percent of the total.

Where the money goes

Sales are concentrated. The 10 biggest locations took in about 55 percent of the 2025 total. By reported sales, the largest in 2025 were:

1. Cactus Jack's, on Interstate 10 East: about $3.2 million. 2. Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux, Interstate 10 East: about $1.3 million. 3. Iguana Joe's Mexican Restaurant, Highway 146 North: about $1.2 million. 4. El Toro Mexican Restaurant, Garth Road: about $1.1 million. 5. O'Neal's Sports Bar & Grill, Highway 146 South: about $1.0 million. 6. The Limelight Club, Highway 146 North: about $941,000. 7. Bayou City Wings, Garth Road: about $901,000. 8. Texas Roadhouse, Garth Road: about $867,000. 9. Buffalo Wild Wings, Garth Road: about $827,000. 10. The Barn, FM 3180: about $699,000, just ahead of Good Times Texas Made on Highway 146 South at about $696,000.

The Barn is outside the city limits; the rest are inside. Three of the top five are on the Chambers County side of town.

The calendar

Month to month, Baytown's drink sales barely move. In 2025, the best months were March and May, about $2.0 million each, and the slowest was September, about $1.7 million. December, with its holiday parties, was about $1.9 million.

New permits

Places that reported their first drink sales since the start of 2025 include Old Cherokee on North Pruett Street, Mariscos de la Cruz on North Alexander Drive, Mizuki Sushi on East Freeway, Seazone Cajun Seafood & Oyster Bar on Garth Road, Sushi Haya on Garth Road and Good Times Speakeasy on Decker Drive. Several churches, a Catholic school and the Baytown Youth Fair also reported drink sales under their own permits.

Read the fine print

• These are reported gross sales, not profits, and they cover only businesses with mixed beverage permits, which include bars and restaurants as well as a hotel, a cinema and a bowling alley. Restaurants that sell only beer and wine under a different permit, and stores that sell for home, are not included.
• The most recent month is usually incomplete because some businesses file late, so we compare January through July.
• "Baytown" means a Baytown location address. A few places with that address are outside the city limits; together they reported about $700,000 in 2025.
• A business that changed its name, owner or permit can appear under more than one name. A missing month can mean a late report, not a closing.
• Inflation uses the national consumer price index, not a Houston-area index.

Before you go

• If you are drinking, plan your ride home before you go out.
• Our eating guides are sorted by occasion, not by sales.

More Baytown by the numbers: Baytown's sales tax is up 41 percent since 2019. The plants still pay more.; Crime in Baytown, by the numbers: down from the 2022 peak, still above nearby suburbs; Baytown's health, by the numbers: the starkest gap is insurance.

Sources

• Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Mixed Beverage Gross Receipts, via the Texas Open Data Portal (https://data.texas.gov/resource/naix-2893.json)
• Texas Comptroller, Mixed Beverage Taxes FAQ (https://comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/mixed-beverage/faq.php)
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index annual averages (https://www.bls.gov/regions/mid-atlantic/data/consumerpriceindexannualandsemiannual_table.htm)

En español

Los bares y restaurantes con dirección en Baytown y permiso de bebidas mixtas reportaron al estado unos $22.2 millones en ventas de bebidas en 2025, frente a $17.7 millones en 2019. El aumento, de cerca de 26 por ciento, es casi igual a la inflación del periodo, así que en poder de compra las ventas quedaron como en 2019, repartidas entre más lugares: 67 con ventas en 2025, frente a 50 en 2019. El licor creció hasta 57 por ciento de las ventas y la cerveza bajó a 39 por ciento. De enero a julio de 2026, las ventas van cerca de 1 por ciento arriba de los mismos meses de 2025. Los diez lugares con más ventas concentran cerca de 55 por ciento del total. Si va a tomar, planee cómo regresar a casa.