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Two Rows in Rice Village Closing

6,806 Views | 53 Replies | Last: 14 yr ago by jetch17
StickyNote
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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.
ATM9000
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But where will I get ****ty flat beer and average food now???!!!
rdag04
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well, bye
jetch17
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Time for Saint Arnold to buy it, brew and sell in house with a restaraunt.....
Diggity
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their beer was pretty awful if I remember.
Ezra Brooks
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I always thought the beer was good enough, and the food was OK.

But the service was usually some of the worst that I've come across.
gordo97
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their beer was pretty awful if I remember

+1
jetch17
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a brewpub is a killer combo, IF you have good stuff to sell and a good setup.

Two rows was never very good and i hated watching games there, +1,000,000 on the sh*tty service. If an established local brewer like Saint A or another joint did it and did it right i think it could remain as a popular destination.

Just like when we visited Kona brewery on the big island they had a restraunt attached to the brewery with BADASS food plus all thier brews, freaking great.

[This message has been edited by jetch17 (edited 9/20/2010 12:39p).]
rdag04
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breckenridge brewery/bbq in denver is also tits
metrag06
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quote:
Time for Saint Arnold to buy it, brew and sell in house with a restaraunt.....


That would be awesome.
cajunaggie08
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the beer was always good enough. Def good enough for wednesdays when it was only a buck. Food was never that good, but it was a convient gathering place for my friends and i since we all work in different parts of houston. I'll miss it. It would be great if Saint Arnold's could take it over but it seems the space has already been leased to Jason's Deli.
Velvet Jones
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Awesome and illegal.

TABC code expressly forbids this.
Tom Hagen
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Does anyone remember the name of the brewpub in College Station back in the 90s?
cajunaggie08
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TABC sux.
Ferris Wheel Allstar
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Place was terrible.
Velvet Jones
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TABC does suck.

There were actually two for awhile in CS: Brazos Brewing Company and another down by K-Mart that wasn't very good.
jetch17
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so what did Two Rows do that any other place couldnt? werent they actually brewing on site and peddling it through thier taps?

or was it just that they got in when brewpubs were allowed?

[This message has been edited by jetch17 (edited 9/20/2010 1:12p).]
Houston_Ag
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You can brew and serve it on site. You can't do that AND bottle/can/keg it and sell it outside of your joint.
Velvet Jones
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They're different licences. A brewpub license allows the brewer to produce a limited quantity of beer which is only available for sale on the premises. St. Arnold has a licence that allows unlimited production but it must be distributed by a third party for sale off the brewery premises.

When we go to the tour, we're not paying for beer, we're paying for a glass and a tour. The beer is technically complimentary.

It's another example of antiquated booze laws in Texas.
jetch17
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word, it makes more sense now.
ATM9000
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Brewpubs are a great idea in theory, but for some reason the VAST majority of them completely suck. There are of course exceptions but almost all of those are the places that actually mass produce and distribute their beer to some larger region. My theory is that you are combining 2 of the hardest businesses to profit at into 1 therefore your product is cheap and generally crappy.

If I'm ever in another city and somebody suggests a brewpub, I just shrug my shoulders and go expecting a subpar experience.
Green Fairy
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quote:
Time for Saint Arnold to buy it, brew and sell in house with a restaraunt


That would be awesome.
Panama Red
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This announcement should have been made 4 years ago.

Brazos Bottom Brewery is still available for any of you looking for a place for something to guzzle down after work.
Furlock Bones
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only went there for $2 beers. food sucked. the beer was blah. well, bye.
Furlock Bones
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Portsmouth Brewery in New Hampshire is an exception to this rule. It's a fantastic place. I recommend hitting it up if your ever in the New England area.

quote:
Brewpubs are a great idea in theory, but for some reason the VAST majority of them completely suck. There are of course exceptions but almost all of those are the places that actually mass produce and distribute their beer to some larger region. My theory is that you are combining 2 of the hardest businesses to profit at into 1 therefore your product is cheap and generally crappy.

rdag04
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since when does BRB have brewery in its name?
Finn Maccumhail
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quote:
MiniShrike
posted 1:17p, 09/20/10



They're different licences. A brewpub license allows the brewer to produce a limited quantity of beer which is only available for sale on the premises. St. Arnold has a licence that allows unlimited production but it must be distributed by a third party for sale off the brewery premises.

When we go to the tour, we're not paying for beer, we're paying for a glass and a tour. The beer is technically complimentary.

It's another example of antiquated booze laws in Texas.


Indeed, but what's to stop St. Arnold's from setting up another corporation and calling it something like St. Arnold's Brewpub and then brewing all the same recipes for on-site consumption in a brewpub?
jetch17
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As mentioned in the other thread, im betting Saint A doesnt have that kind of disposable income to get into another venture like that even if they could.
tamulax33
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quote:
Just like when we visited Kona brewery on the big island they had a restraunt attached to the brewery with BADASS food plus all thier brews, freaking great.
I loved this place on my last visit to the islands. We went there early on a saturday morning and stumbled out god knows when.
Velvet Jones
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Yeah, I can think of several on the West coast that are excellent, and Dogfishhead in DE is nothing short of epic.

It's true though, most are disappointments. Slim margins make it all too tempting to cut corners, and when you do you're screwed.
jetch17
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quote:
We went there early on a saturday morning and stumbled out god knows when.



cant beat the weather, brew, food, and patio... not to mention we loaded up some growlers from the growler shack to take back to the condo.

sh*t i just got extremely jealous & depressed that i am unable to be there this very moment
Green Fairy
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quote:
quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We went there early on a saturday morning and stumbled out god knows when.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



cant beat the weather, brew, food, and patio... not to mention we loaded up some growlers from the growler shack to take back to the condo.

sh*t i just got extremely jealous & depressed that i am unable to be there this very moment



Count me in that group too. Kona Brewing's set up was the first place that came to mind when this discussion came up. Damn, I need to go back.

[This message has been edited by Green Fairy (edited 9/20/2010 1:57p).]
jetch17
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THIS is what i want here, but will never get it....


[This message has been edited by jetch17 (edited 9/20/2010 2:09p).]
Green Fairy
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GoAgs92
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Houston Brewery and Rock Bottom both had better beer and went under after a few years...surprised Two Rows lasted this long.
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