Houston’s growing chain of modern ice houses is heading to the Bay Area. Kirby Ice House will open a Clear Lake outpost in September.
Located near the Johnson Space Center and Space Center Houston at open at 530 Bay Area Boulevard, the new Kirby Ice House will build on the brand’s winning formula — a huge indoor-outdoor bar with an extensive selection of beer and cocktails, lawn games, space for food trucks, and plenty of TVs for watching sports. The Clear Lake location will also offer Kirby Ice House’s daily specials and happy hour discounts.
The bar is customing its interior for Clear Lake. For example, the design will nod to NASA with a neon sign that depicts its signature cowgirl riding a rocket.
“One of the things we enjoy most is creating spaces that reflect the communities they serve,” co-owner Danny Evans said in a statement. “We never want our locations to feel copied and pasted. We want them to have their own personality, and we hope guests feel that from the moment they walk in.”
While the construction team is building the bar, Kirby Ice House has already begun recruiting the 100 or so employees who will be necessary at opening by setting up a hiring facility adjacent to the construction site.
Those employees will be pouring beers from dozens of taps alongside wines by-the-glass or bottle. Kirby Ice House also serves cocktails such as a cucumber-lime Moscow Mule, blood orange paloma, and lemonade Old Fashioned. A rotating roster of food trucks serves customers who want a bite with their beers. Taken together, the extensive selection and massive footprint have helped each location of Kirby Ice House rank among the highest’s grossing bars in Texas.
Over time, the concept has grown to four Houston-area locations in Upper Kirby, Memorial City, The Woodlands, and a Heights-adjacent location that opened last year.
“The Kirby Ice House team is excited to become part of Clear Lake’s vibrant, historic culture,” added vice president of operations Margo Axton. “We’re looking forward to being a neighborhood gathering place that supports local businesses, welcomes casual groups, and gives the community an easy place to meet up before, during, or after whatever the day has planned.”