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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BBQ and lion dancers

Heights restaurant celebrates Lunar New Year with epic barbecue collab

Agnes and Sherman Khoi Barbecue Lunar New Year dinner

Photo by Vivian Leba

Agnes and Sherman owners Lisa Lee and Nick Wong with Khoi Barbecue's Don Nguyen and Theo Nguyen.

For many members of Houston’s Asian community, February is a time to celebrate the Lunar New Year. At Agnes and Sherman, the Asian American diner in the Heights, Lunar New Year provided the restaurant with its first opportunity to host its first collaboration since it opened in April 2025 with Khói Barbecue, the Houston pop-up that puts a Vietnamese spin on traditional Texas barbecue.

“We have always admired what Khoi Barbecue has done in the Houston scene,” Agnes and Sherman co-owner Lisa Lee tells CultureMap. “We think, very similar to us, they are presenting something that is thought of as traditional and really making it their own through family history and helping people to see another side of barbecue.”

Created by Agnes and Sherman chef and co-owner Nick Wong and Khói Barbecue founder Don Nguyen, the three-course menu included appetizers such as smoked duck wonton soup, sichuan lamb sausage, cha lua mortadella, and bun bo hue pig’s head torchon. The entree course included smoked brisket, smoked duck breast a l’orange, and char siu pork ribs. Dessert featured a cafe sua da panna cotta paired with a traditional whole orange and a fortune cookie.

The dinner drew a who’s-who of members of Houston’s restaurant community, including former CultureMap Tastemaker Award winners and nominees such as Raffi Nasr (Craft Pita), Ashley Lai (Dumpling Haus), KK Nepomuceno (formerly of Refuge), Annie Hoshiko (Subo), Josh Deleon (Underground Creamery), Christina Au (Blacksmith), and Omar Arellano (March).

A portions of proceeds benefited Asian Texans for Justice, an AAPI political organization devoted to promoting civic engagement, advocacy, youth leadership development, and coalition building. “This organization does critical work to educate the public and fight for issues that affect the community,” Lee says.

Beyond the celebration, the dinner marked an important moment in the restaurant’s evolution. The whirlwind first year has come with considerable acclaim, including an enthusiastic review in Texas Monthly and a Recommended designation from the Michelin Guide. With operations flowing more smoothly, Lee explains that she and Wong felt it was time to revive the collaborations they participated in prior to the restaurant’s opening.

“When we opened the restaurant, one of the tenets is being part of the community. It’s one of our core values,” Lee says. “We needed to make sure we were sustainable first before we started to branch out. If we can do more, we want to.”

Next up, Agnes and Sherman will host a pop-up with Food Mahjong Club, a New York City-based organization that’s held pop-ups in Chinatown. Taking place March 2, it will feature a mahjong tournament and food and drink specials. Details will be released soon.

Photo by Vivian Leba

Agnes and Sherman owners Lisa Lee and Nick Wong with Khoi Barbecue's Don Nguyen and Theo Nguyen.

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