Booze News

New Midtown bar blends craft beer, music, food, art — and light rail

When Margaret Weymer and Bob Tatum decided to open a bar, they looked to iconic pop artist Andy Warhol for inspiration. "We love pop art and he was famous for — well, he liked to go out and have a drink—he was a partier," Tatum said." So we thought it was a good start and honestly, we couldn’t have thought of a better one."

Worhals, a new hangout located at 2016 Main Street in the former Mainstage location, marks the duo's first hospitality collaboration. Their inspiration for this Andy Warhol-ish tribute bar also includes a love for Texas craft beer, music, art — and proximity to the light rail line.

"The light rail was a big spark for us," Weymer said. "We had been looking for a location for a long time. When this came up for sale. It was just perfect."

Tatum envisions the Midtown/downtown crowd taking the light rail to the bar. "You know, stay off the roads, less DUI’s. We’re going to have bicycle tubes and repair kits, I know how to repair bikes. We want people to leave here in a safe way," he said.

Worhals is set to open Thursday, with more than 150 craft beer selections. "We will have all the local beers you can think of (as well as) Texas-made beers, regional beers and so on," Tatum added, listing Karbach, Saint Arnold's, Southern Star, Fort Bend and Buffalo Bayou among the selections.

The menu will include burgers, steaks and wings, along with healthier items, like wraps, salads, paninis, grilled fish and chicken. And the owners plan to showcase local art and music.

"It’s going to be different every night," Tatum said. "We’ll have jazz on Tuesdays, a type of “Texas Music Thursdays” starting with a happy hour, and we’re thinking about doing a rock jam on Sunday nights."

Warhol fans will notice the difference in spelling; Tatum and Weymer say the change was made for legal reasons. "The 'A' and 'O' are switched and the 'S' is obviously different. We actually talked to an attorney, because we wanted to name it after Andy Warhol. You know, art and crafty beer, arts and crafts on the wall — its all art.”

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What's Eric Eating Episodes 445 and 446

Meet the Texas restaurateur serving oysters and burgers in 3 states

Courtesy of MML Hospitality

Larry McGuire is this week's guest.

On this week’s episode of “What’s Eric Eating,” restaurateur Larry McGuire joins CultureMap editor Eric Sandler to discuss MML Hospitality. Known locally for Clark’s Oyster Bar, MML is an Austin-based company that operates restaurants in California, Texas, and Colorado as well as the Hotel Saint Vincent in New Orleans.

The conversation begins with McGuire sharing his path from being a University of Texas student who worked in restaurants to opening his first two restaurants with his business partner Tom Moorman, Lamberts Downtown Barbecue in 2006 and Perla’s Seafood & Oyster Bar in 2009. Their portfolio ranges from Swedish Hill, a casual bakery and cafe, to fine dining institution Jeffrey’s. Sandler asks McGuire about whether there are any commonalities between such varied concepts.

“As someone who’s been doing it for a long time now, I hope the quality and consistency in service and food, the atmosphere will be good. For restaurants to last, we’ve got a 20 year old and an 18 year old, I think there’s a level of caring and attention to detail,” McGuire says.

“What we’re more excited about and more invested in is the quality of our operations, the quality of our facilities, the quality of our team members. That culture is something we’re building that makes things last. We always wanted to build institutions. As we get deeper into it, hopefully they feel like they’re going to be there. Our employees enjoy being there. I hope that’s what we’re building. The other details we’re known for, but I don’t think they’re that special any more.”

Listen to the full conversation to hear McGuire discuss the decision to bring Clark’s to Houston and how the company decided on its location in a former auto repair shop. He also shares thoughts on which MML concepts might be next for the Bayou City as well as the status of MML’s Sixth&Blanco mixed-use development that’s currently under construction.

On this week’s other episode, Sandler and Felice Sloan discuss the news of the week. First, they recap last week’s date night draft episode. Then, they discuss the recent closure of Japanese restaurant Money Cat and conclude with a conversation about chef Tristen Epps’ Black History Month dinner pop-up series.

In the restaurant of the week segment, Sandler and Sloan review their meal at Mexican Sugar, the new Montrose restaurant from Dallas-based restaurant group FB Society. Overall, their impressions are positive, particularly the lively atmosphere and polished service, but they did find a couple of dishes they probably won’t order again. They episode concludes with a discussion of the duo’s recent meal at Killen’s Steakhouse in Pearland, where they found chef Ronnie Killen has made a number of upgrades to return the restaurant to its previous level of esteem.

news-you-can-eat podcasts interview larry mcguire