About Us

It all started when two young men, then (ha ha), met in Dallas Texas in 1997. Glenn Williams-Mier and Ricky Nichols were both assistant managers starting in both the front and back of the house. After some years working for the small local restaurant chain, they both found themselves running the show at different locations as general managers. They traded ideas and experiences over the years, with the goal to improve and offer guests a better experience in their competitive markets. Years later, Glenn moved back to his home state of New Mexico and Ricky moved to “The Island”.

Staying in touch, they both visited each other for vacations and appreciated the diversity in culture, food, and climate of each home. Fresh and local ingredients were always a must, influencing the recipes created in the restaurants they operated. Red and Green Chile are a staple in New Mexico’s diet, and the largest agricultural crop. In fact, New Mexico is the only state with the official question-”Red, Green, or Christmas?”-referring to the choice of chile (Christmas meaning one side covered with green, the other with red). After years of Managing and Operating restaurants for corporations and other owners Glenn decided to open his own Restaurant in 2009 in Albuquerque. In Glenn’s previous restaurant, CoolWater Fusion, he incorporated the local ingredients in his fusion of French and Italian cuisine. These unique flavors of classical cooking and local ingredients became a hit for the Albuquerque community. Over time, his small bistro won many awards and accolades. Glenn became a regular on multiple morning cooking shows. After visiting “The Island” on vacation, Ricky showed Glenn a diamond in the rough, the location was the future Angry Marlin Restaurant. After much thought, Glenn decided he wanted “The Island” to be his home. As his lease to his Restaurant was now up he decided to close it down and move it to the island. He bounced his plans off his friend and long time kitchen hand, Michael Zemel (nicknamed Tex), he was gung ho to make the move to “The Island”. Tex had grown up in Texas and wanted to move back. After making the move many challenges were presented, but the Marlin was partially opened in March of 2016. With lots of hard work and polishing, they turned what is now the Angry Marlin Restaurant and CoolWater Bar into their diamond. Glenn built the translucent bar, with Tex as his helper, they remodeled the pond and bridge into a turtle pond, they painted island colors around the property, and manicured the outdoor palm environment. Tex moved on to start his own landscaping venture unfortunately passing away in June of 2021.

We hope you enjoy this little getaway as we've now expanded with a outside Tiki bar, nightly live entertainment, and beach breeze patio seating. After surviving 2 hurricanes and a pandemic the dream of the island diamond has continued on. Glenn bought a additional Island gem in 2018, the Black Sheep Bistro and Barrel Wine Bar. As the owner of two restaurants now Glenn is usually running between the two. His daughter Caitlinn works at both restaurants, so say hi when you stop in. Ricky is the General Manager at the Angry Marlin so please say hi to him when you come in also. At the Angry Marlin Glenn has plans still to expand to the next phase of another concept called Beer Garden with another inside bar and outside bar next door offering local beers and more outside entertainment. We continue to support the community by raising funds for local charities and participating in local events such as the monthly poker run. Explore the ever evolving menu and take advantage of the fresh and local seafood as well as the Santa Fe flavors. As a labor of love the Angry Marlin Restaurant, CoolWater Bar, Tiki Bar, and future Beer Garden hope to continue serving the community. We hope you come for the food, drinks and create great memories with you and yours!