Cocktail guru Bobby Heugel revealed that his company — now officially dubbed the Clumsy Butcher — will be adding a mezcal and tequila bar to a celebrated food-and-bev empire that includes Anvil, Hay Merchant, Underbelly, OKRA Charity Saloon and Blacksmith Coffee.
The new tequila bar is slated to open in late summer at 310 Main Street, where a bit of a foodie renaissance have been underway in recent months. The same block hosts Justin Burrow’s forthcoming Bad News Bar and former food trucker Josh Martinez’s recently-opened ramen shop. Down the street is the new Clutch City Squire while OKRA holds court just around the corner on Congress.
"I’ve wanted to open a tequila bar since I was 20 years old," Heugel said.
"I’ve wanted to open a tequila bar since I was 20 years old," Heugel said in a statement.
"If it wasn’t for me falling in love with tequila when my general manager [Alba Huerta] made me try a new one every day — good and bad — Anvil and Clumsy Butcher wouldn’t exist. Since that time, and countless pilgrimages to Mexico later, I’ve learned more about agave spirits than the total amount I’ve learned about all other spirits and cocktails combined."
Heugel stressed that the currently unnamed tequila spot won't be a "cocktail bar" per se, but rather a bar offering Anvil-quality drinks made specifically with mezcal or tequila.
"We will serve an incredible margarita with well-crafted, traditionally-made tequila and freshly squeezed lime juice as cheaply as possible," he noted, adding that three-dollar Mexican beers and a special mezcal margarita will be on deck as well.
As plans move forward on the Main Street bar, Clumsy Butcher will continue putting the finishing touches on Huerta's hotly-anticipated cocktail lounge Julep, which opens this spring in the old Corkscrew space at 1919 Washington.
After four years of continuous growth, Bobby Heugel's company now has a name — Clumsy Butcher.
