Speaking off the toque: Ian Larsen, brewmaster at Two Rows Restaurant and Brewery [2400 University Boulevard, (713)529-2739].
Q. Two Rows seems to be the last man standing in terms of Houston’s brewpub scene. What, in your opinion, has caused the decline?
A. Actually, we are not the only brewpub in Houston. On the south side, there is Bradley’s [Bradley’s Steakhouse and Brewery, 515 West Bay Area Boulevard, Webster, (281)332-8488]. Nationally, brewpubs are doing well. I think that the problems have had to do with specific management decisions made about the brewpubs that have closed. The Mercantile was not open on Sundays even if there was an Astros game at Enron Field. People left the game, saw that the place was closed, and in their minds the impression was formed that the Mercantile was closed at other times as well, or had just closed down. Here in the Village, the brewpub that was in the space now occupied by Lucinda’s [2415 Dunstan, (713)394-7280] changed their hours several times, so customers who had become used to a certain time would be lost. I think they stopped being open for lunch for a while. The Bank Draft’s lease expired, and the owners decided to concentrate on their other business and closed it down. We have not had any significant downturn in business over the same period.
This article appears in Apr 5-11, 2001.