OK, so my buddy's bar had it's "soft opening" last night, and though obviously I'm a little biased I will give my initial impressions to anyone looking for a new watering hole in NW Austin. I'll update on Tuesday after the real grand opening Monday night.
First, the place is pretty small but well laid out. The bar is in the center of the room and all the tables go around it. My first impression was "Man, this place is really nice!", with stained concrete floors, lots of wood (looks like cherry to me) and a very cool bar, but also that it looked bare. There is no signage, posters, anything at all on the walls, and pretty much everyone there agreed that he will need to put some stuff up, maybe UT ond Cowboy (Cowboys considering Jerry Jones owns the RIATA apartments!) paraphernalia, to give the place some personality.
Second, the food was freaking AWESOME!!! I had some fajita nachos that were the best I have had in a long time, and the burgers were really, really good. I didn't eat any of the entree's, but I will on Monday. Everything coming out of the kitchen looked really good, and everyone was raving about it. They're going to do a great lunch business there.
OK, now for the fun stuff! Of course, there's a full bar and I believe there were four beers on draft. Right now there are three good-sized TV's, with at least one more waiting to be installed right where all the people sitting around the bar will have a good view. I'm not sure if there's any plans for more than that or for a big screen. There were two Golden Tees and a pool table, too. Most importantly, though: THERE WERE LOTS OF HOT CHICKS!!!! For all you single guys that live in the area, or for those of you not single but looking to trade in for a newer model, this place is going to be crawling with hot women! All of the bartenders and waitstaff were good-looking to extremely hot, and there were a ton of hotties there for the opening. Even though they weren't on the invite list, three different sets of hot girls stopped in to see what was going on, and of course me and my buddy told them they could come on in and noone would mind. Tonight they are doing a party just for RIATA residents, and for any of y'all that don't know much about RIATA the place has a lot of talent, so I imagine by next weekend the pickings will be VERY above average!!
All in all, I think that the place is going to be a hit. There's really not a lot nice in that area as far as bars go, so it should go over well. He's determined that it will be a great place to watch UT and other sports, so I'm sure that by football season anything that's lacking to make it so will be added. I know my buddy has put a ton of effort, heart, and soul into making the place a success, and I think he's done a great job so far! Congrats, Jason!!
I'll add further thoughts after the Grand Opening, and after my hangover wears off!
OK, we went back last night (Saturday) and once again had a really good time. The RIATA turnout wasn't as much as I had expected, but I found out that they had one of their community parties the night before, and it's graduation weekend, so that could explain why. Got there too late to eat again (dammit), but the scenery was as nice as it was on Friday.
Monday is the grand opening, so we will be up there to break the place in right! I invite all of y'all to come up there and join us for a drink and some good times!!
First, the place is pretty small but well laid out. The bar is in the center of the room and all the tables go around it. My first impression was "Man, this place is really nice!", with stained concrete floors, lots of wood (looks like cherry to me) and a very cool bar, but also that it looked bare. There is no signage, posters, anything at all on the walls, and pretty much everyone there agreed that he will need to put some stuff up, maybe UT ond Cowboy (Cowboys considering Jerry Jones owns the RIATA apartments!) paraphernalia, to give the place some personality.
Second, the food was freaking AWESOME!!! I had some fajita nachos that were the best I have had in a long time, and the burgers were really, really good. I didn't eat any of the entree's, but I will on Monday. Everything coming out of the kitchen looked really good, and everyone was raving about it. They're going to do a great lunch business there.
OK, now for the fun stuff! Of course, there's a full bar and I believe there were four beers on draft. Right now there are three good-sized TV's, with at least one more waiting to be installed right where all the people sitting around the bar will have a good view. I'm not sure if there's any plans for more than that or for a big screen. There were two Golden Tees and a pool table, too. Most importantly, though: THERE WERE LOTS OF HOT CHICKS!!!! For all you single guys that live in the area, or for those of you not single but looking to trade in for a newer model, this place is going to be crawling with hot women! All of the bartenders and waitstaff were good-looking to extremely hot, and there were a ton of hotties there for the opening. Even though they weren't on the invite list, three different sets of hot girls stopped in to see what was going on, and of course me and my buddy told them they could come on in and noone would mind. Tonight they are doing a party just for RIATA residents, and for any of y'all that don't know much about RIATA the place has a lot of talent, so I imagine by next weekend the pickings will be VERY above average!!
All in all, I think that the place is going to be a hit. There's really not a lot nice in that area as far as bars go, so it should go over well. He's determined that it will be a great place to watch UT and other sports, so I'm sure that by football season anything that's lacking to make it so will be added. I know my buddy has put a ton of effort, heart, and soul into making the place a success, and I think he's done a great job so far! Congrats, Jason!!
I'll add further thoughts after the Grand Opening, and after my hangover wears off!
OK, we went back last night (Saturday) and once again had a really good time. The RIATA turnout wasn't as much as I had expected, but I found out that they had one of their community parties the night before, and it's graduation weekend, so that could explain why. Got there too late to eat again (dammit), but the scenery was as nice as it was on Friday.
Monday is the grand opening, so we will be up there to break the place in right! I invite all of y'all to come up there and join us for a drink and some good times!!
