BURNET, Texas (KXXV) — A Kerrville native is left picking up the pieces after severe flooding in Burnet destroys his business, The Thirsty Penguin, leaving him with a $250,000 recovery bill.
- The Thirsty Penguin in Burnet was severely damaged by recent flooding, with repairs expected to cost $250,000.
- Business owner Brent Cloyd had to shift focus from helping family in Kerrville to recovering his own store.
- Cloyd urges the community to support his other locations while he works to rebuild in Burnet.
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BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
What began as a normal week for Brent Cloyd, a business owner originally from Kerrville, quickly turned into a disaster. His Burnet-based shop, The Thirsty Penguin, was left destroyed after flash flooding swept through Central Texas, inundating streets, homes, and businesses alike.
The damage wasn’t just cosmetic. For Cloyd, it meant watching his hard work wash away — and now, facing a $250,000 bill to rebuild.
“Yes, my family is in Kerrville,” Cloyd said. “I was actually supposed to be down there helping out, but now I’m dealing with my own mess.”
The flooding affected multiple communities, including Lampasas, Burnet, and Liberty Hill.
Cloyd says the water came fast and furiously, leaving little time to prepare or respond. What’s left is a business gutted by water, equipment destroyed, and uncertainty hanging in the air.
“This whole thing is down the river,” he said. “It’s hard to wrap your head around it, and now everybody is flooding.”
What makes the situation more heartbreaking is the fact that Cloyd never expected this kind of devastation. Like many business owners in Burnet, he thought the worst would pass them by.
“We never thought we would get hit,” he said. “But yet, here we are — now we gotta rebuild and wait to reopen.”
The Thirsty Penguin has become a popular drive thru daiquiri store in Burnet. For Cloyd, the priority now is restoring that space and keeping his team employed.
“Hopefully people will support our other locations,” he said. “We’re just trying to keep things going while we figure out what’s next.”
Despite the overwhelming loss, Cloyd is staying resilient. Support from loyal customers, friends, and neighboring business owners is helping him take it one day at a time.
As floodwaters recede and recovery begins across the region, stories like Cloyd’s are reminders of just how quickly lives, and livelihoods, can be turned upside down.
And while the Thirsty Penguin may be closed for now, Cloyd is confident it will rise again.
