This year has already been a good one for Houstonians who enjoy well made cocktails, as new bars such as Starduster Lounge, The Kid, and Augustine Lounge have given the city some intriguing new drinking dens. Other recent openings, ranging from Brennan’s refreshed bar to Latin American-inspired Botonica, demonstrate that the trend won’t be slowing down any time soon.

Add veteran Houston restaurateur Chris Cusack to the list. Known as a co-founder of the late, lamented Heights restaurant Down House and for his intergalactic pizza and cocktail spot Betelgeuse Betelgeuse, Cusack is preparing to unleash a speakeasy-style, immersive tiki bar on Montrose.

Called Endless Bummer, it’s currently in a quiet soft opening ahead of a grand opening on Wednesday. July 2. Cusack collaborated with Houston artist Brian Dibala (aka Neon Thrash) to transform a 700-square-foot room at Betelgeuse’s Montrose location into a 50-person space that’s equally inspired by tropical destinations and purgatory.

“Our original thought was along the lines of, ‘How can we make this special?’ and ‘What unique experience can we create that will be unlike other places in Houston?” Cusack said in a statement. “I had known Brian a little bit from mutual friends, his work at Meow Wolf, and a design project we worked on several years before. I reached out and it was really an instant click where our ideas lined up and he really took it from there.”

Fittingly for an experiential bar, patrons enter through an unmarked entrance that’s accessed by using a code they’ll receive when booking a reservation on Resy (limited walk-ins are also available). Once inside, people will sit at either one of the cozy booths or the 10-seat bar. Either way, they’ll be surrounded by vignettes and other artifacts curated by Dibala. Just like Meow Wolf, the room has a few easter eggs for those will to explore.

“I was so lucky to get a chance to bring one of my dream bars to life, and even luckier to get to include several other Houston artists to really make it magical,” Diabala added. “Houston is having a big art moment and hopefully, with this project, we're able to show people what the artists in this city are capable of creating.”

Just as the decor is anything but traditional, Endless Bummer puts its own spin on familiar tiki drinks and other classic cocktails. The drinks have a strong emphasis on presentation, as in the Pistachio Mai Tai, which is flamed tableside, or the Silver Surfer, which has a LED light dropped in that sparkles like a star (please don’t drink it). Other options include a Brown Butter Rum Old Fashioned and the This Sunset Should be Illegal, a mezcal-based riff on the Tequila Sunrise.

Endless Bummer will be open from 5 pm-12 am Wednesday through Saturday. As noted above, reservations are recommended but not required.

  

Photo by Sergio Trevino

Houston artist Neon Thrash (Brian Dibala) created the bar's interior.