Drag Queens and Sports Bars

There’s a new spot opening up right next to the Hollywood Super Center, Anita’s Bar and Grill (2409 Grant). Rich’s owner DJ Mark D is opening the place with his wife, along with the restaurant’s namesake, popular Montrose fixture Anita Bump, and her husband. Apparently they decided to leave the “Bump” part off the restaurant name, and we have to say, that’s probably a good call. Mark describes the vibe as “Hard Rock Café meets a high heel.”

He envisions a restaurant that will attract a nighttime crowd for drinks. They’ll have a DJ booth and will be serving the Anita Rita. “It’s her own private recipe,” says Mark. “It even has a touch of beer in it, which is really weird, but it’s really good.” As for the food, the place will be serving sugar cane shrimp, sweet bourbon salmon and drag queen chicken. And the kitchen will be open late on weekends… — Cathy Matusow

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What do you do when you want to open a restaurant but don’t have much experience? According to father-and-son duo Dave and Michael Fontaine, open a franchise — in their case, Indigo Joe’s Sports Pub & Restaurant (1140 Eldridge Pkwy., 281-496-5037). “After 30 years in the corporate world, my dad decided he wanted to something different,” says Michael, who’s the general manager of the new restaurant. “Since my father didn’t have any restaurant experience and since I had limited restaurant experience, we knew we didn’t want to go it alone, so we decided to look for a franchise. We did a lot of research online and came across this franchise out of California, which has a sports theme as well as a family-friendly atmosphere. This is the first one in Houston.” The place has 50 LCD and plasma TVs as well as a sound-proof kids’ game room.

And the food? “All of the beef we’re serving here is Certified Angus, from the burgers to the steaks,” says Michael. “We’re also serving some things that you won’t find in your typical sports bar, like a fresh fruit and cheese plate as well as a fresh veggie plate. But then we also have the traditional wings and nachos and 20 beers on tap, so we have something to please everyone.” And so far, things have been going well. “We sent out some postcards letting people know we’d be opening soon but didn’t name a date. Yesterday, our first day, it was amazing; we hung a sign outside that said we were open, and we were slammed for happy hour.” — Paul Galvani