phoenix rising
Soccer-obsessed Houston sports bar flies into new home in Montrose
The Phoenix will move from Westheimer to Richmond
An enduring Montrose sports bar is making a big move this fall. The Phoenix on Westheimer will move from its current location to a new home at 1643 Richmond Avenue.
Originally opened 20 years ago as the Firkin and Phoenix, the bar offers a comfortable environment for watching sports, which has made it particularly popular with local soccer fans. Alongside an expansive selection of beers, the kitchen serves a wide array of fare that includes traditional pub grub such as burgers, wings, and nachos, as well as salads, tacos, and more.
Owner Vu Truong tells CultureMap that he was unable to agree to terms on a lease renewal for The Phoenix’s current home at 1915 Westheimer. Inspired in part by the recent closure of Montrose staple Paulie’s, he realized that stability would only come from purchasing a property rather than leasing.
“That building, driving by, it made sense for what we thought the next spot for the Phoenix would be,” Truong says. “It’s kind of a similar path to when I opened the Firkin and Phoenix 20 years ago. I knew it was a cursed location, but we knew the Phoenix would rise above it all, and it did.”
Although the new location will be a little smaller inside than the current spot, it will have a larger patio.
“We’re hoping to stick with basically the same menu once we start going,” Truong says. “Hopefully, we’ll have more space that’s more efficient to push out more food and do some to-go business. We’ll try to keep our prices as reasonable as we can.”
If everything goes according to plan, the bar portion of the new location will be open before the World Cup kicks off in June. In that scenario, both locations would operate simultaneously until the end of August, when the original location’s lease will expire.
The new location’s kitchen and brewery components will follow after the bar opens. “I don’t have deep pockets or rich friends, so we’ll have to phase it this way,” Truong says.
“We’re taking a baby steps approach. If we can have two places during World Cup and not have a lapse in service, I’m hoping we can keep most of our clientele, especially by staying in Montrose.”
