Only been there once due to poor service and vowed never to return. Will this place be missed?
From the Chronicle:
Two Rows, a Rice Village fixture for nearly 14 years and Houston's last remaining brewpub with beer made on the premises, will close Oct. 2 after the company owners failed to negotiate a new lease with Weingarten Realty.
"At that point, Houston has no brewpub anymore," brewmaster Ray Mitteldorf said this morning. "... I hate to see a city this big with no brewpub. It's sad. Plus, it's a great opportunity."
Rusty Loeffler, general partner and one of the four co-founders of the original Two Rows location in Dallas, said the company had hoped to work out a long-term lease with Weingarten and may look at other locations in Houston. Ultimately, however, the two sides were unable to reach an agreement on the rent for the 10,000-square-foot space.
"Put it this way, we were far apart," Loeffler said.
I'm working now on a story about the forthcoming closure for tomorrow's Chronicle. I will update the blog when I hear back from Weingarten.
Loeffler, Mitteldorf and Two Rows general manager Aaron Solomon said Jason's Deli will move into half of the space, upstairs at the corner of Morningside and University.
Solomon said the closure comes on the heels of three months in which Two Rows sales exceeded the same period last year.
"Sales are picking up," he said. "I think we finished this week about 16 percent over the same week last year. Things are coming back. It's sad."
That sentiment was shared by Scott Birdwell of Defalco's Home Wine & Beer Supplies. Birdwell recalled the years following the legalization of brewpubs in which Houston had several restaurants selling fresh, locally brewed beer on site.
"Here we are again," Birdwell said. "We're back to where we were in 1993."
Mitteldorf, who said he would be interested in partnering with someone to open a Houston brewpub, said his main concern is making sure the beer he's got on tap now is consumed before time runs out on Two Rows.
"I just put the Oktoberfest on and I'd hate to see that go to waste," he said.
From the Chronicle:
Two Rows, a Rice Village fixture for nearly 14 years and Houston's last remaining brewpub with beer made on the premises, will close Oct. 2 after the company owners failed to negotiate a new lease with Weingarten Realty.
"At that point, Houston has no brewpub anymore," brewmaster Ray Mitteldorf said this morning. "... I hate to see a city this big with no brewpub. It's sad. Plus, it's a great opportunity."
Rusty Loeffler, general partner and one of the four co-founders of the original Two Rows location in Dallas, said the company had hoped to work out a long-term lease with Weingarten and may look at other locations in Houston. Ultimately, however, the two sides were unable to reach an agreement on the rent for the 10,000-square-foot space.
"Put it this way, we were far apart," Loeffler said.
I'm working now on a story about the forthcoming closure for tomorrow's Chronicle. I will update the blog when I hear back from Weingarten.
Loeffler, Mitteldorf and Two Rows general manager Aaron Solomon said Jason's Deli will move into half of the space, upstairs at the corner of Morningside and University.
Solomon said the closure comes on the heels of three months in which Two Rows sales exceeded the same period last year.
"Sales are picking up," he said. "I think we finished this week about 16 percent over the same week last year. Things are coming back. It's sad."
That sentiment was shared by Scott Birdwell of Defalco's Home Wine & Beer Supplies. Birdwell recalled the years following the legalization of brewpubs in which Houston had several restaurants selling fresh, locally brewed beer on site.
"Here we are again," Birdwell said. "We're back to where we were in 1993."
Mitteldorf, who said he would be interested in partnering with someone to open a Houston brewpub, said his main concern is making sure the beer he's got on tap now is consumed before time runs out on Two Rows.
"I just put the Oktoberfest on and I'd hate to see that go to waste," he said.
