An update on recent comings and goings:

  • Now Open: “A small group of cocktail freaks,” including former Beavers bartender Bobby Heugel, have at last opened the doors of Anvil Bar & Refuge on the Westheimer Curve. The location was originally a Bridgestone-Firestone tire shop, but was known more recently as the home of the Daiquiri Factory and Sliders.
  • Closed: In advance of that new 25,000-sq.-ft. Spec’s opening up in the former Linens ’N Things in Weslayan Plaza, owner Christopher Massie decided to shut down Cepage Noir, his considerably smaller wine shop on Times Blvd. in the Rice Village.

More twists and turns:

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  • Opening Soon: Smoked out of its former location, Thelma’s Bar B Que plans to reopen about 3 miles to the south — on the corner of Scott and Southmore. The Houston Press‘s Robb Walsh reports:

    The sign out front is already up. A note on the front door says the business will reopen on April 1st, but I’m thinking that’s an April Fools Day joke. Granted, the dining room looks ready to go, but there is some masonry work to do and that hasn’t even started yet. The building Thelma is taking over was previously used as a barbecue restaurant and there’s a nice-looking brick pit already in place–it just needs some repair work. If I had to guess, I’d say we might get some of Thelma’s smoked meat by May or June.

  • Open: “A 9′ x 32′ HDTV . . . need we say more?” asks the website for the new 5,366-sq.-ft. Loggia Sports Lounge, just opened next to Olive’s Martini Bar in Sugar Land Town Square. That’ll do it!

Got more openings or closings to report? Send ’em!

Photo of Anvil Bar & Refuge: Robert Heugel

03/24/09 6:02pm

4 Comment

  • Anvil is my favorite bar in Town. Bobby and everyone there does such a great job it is impossible to beat. Pretty soon I might have to go everyday. It is amazing to see someone with a true vision and dream and watch it come true. Go to Anvil Bar & Refuge if you want the best cocktails in town.

  • Went to Anvil last Saturday; it’s three walking blocks from our home in Cherryhurst; and loved it. It’s soooo much better than Beaver’s, primarily due to the great service these guys strive to deliver. The waitstaff at Beaver’s was so ridiculously bad every time we went there, I’ll never go again. Anvil will be a hit; great space, great drinks, great atmosphere, great service, reasonable prices.

  • Wanna see something that really takes the cake…. visit the Cepage Noir website site and read the owners going away letter. http://cepagenoir.blogspot.com/2009/03/and-they-always-told-us-winter-kills.html

  • From jost:
    Wanna see something that really takes the cake…. visit the Cepage Noir website site and read the owners going away letter. http://cepagenoir.blogspot.com…..kills.html

    WOW!!! Now this is not the kind of guy that is going to get my sympathy.