Heugel and Huerta To Bring Tequila Bar Downtown

In a press release issued this afternoon, Anvil co-owner Bobby Heugel announced that he and his partners, who have named the business that co-owns Anvil, Hay Merchant, Blacksmith, Underbelly and Julep Clumsy Butcher, will open a tequila bar at 310 Main Street. Heugel will collaborate with Alba Huerta, now named Clumsy Butcher's Bar Director, on the project.

The bar's location puts it adjacent to Justin Burrow's cocktail bar, Captain Foxheart's Bad News Bar and Spirit Lodge, which is tentatively set to open this week, and Joshua Martinez's ramen and more restaurant Goro & Gun. Combined with the Original OKRA Charity Saloon that opened in December, casual bar Clutch City Squire that opened earlier this month and Latin American tapas concept Batanga that will open next week, the tequila bar will be the sixth new establishment to open in downtown Houston this year.

One interesting item to note is that the downtown movement isn't nearly done. In her write-up about the announcement, Press critic Katharine Shilcutt teases a coffee and dessert shop for 300 Main and another restaurant in the former Les Givral's space at 801 Congress. Anyone who wants to share more information about either of those concepts should utilize the tipline.

Here's how Heugel describes the tequila bar:

The bar itself will not be a cocktail bar, but it will serve freshly made drinks (held to Anvil standards) that feature mezcal and tequila. We will serve an incredible margarita, with well-crafted, traditionally made tequila and freshly squeezed lime juice as cheaply as possible. We will serve your favorite Mexican beer for around three dollars, and we will have frozen mezcal margaritas. We will only carry tequilas and mezcals that taste good, because it's silly to carry every single tequila on the market when so many of them have allowed quality to slip. We aren't in the business of charging people money for products we wouldn't drink ourselves.

Finally, the release confirms the story from earlier this month that Erin Smith has been hired to be Clumsy Butcher's full-time Culinary Director. Smith's new menu for Anvil, which she previewed at the bar's fourth anniversary party on Sunday, will officially roll out tomorrow. Smith will also assist Hay Merchant after Antoine Ware departs at the end of the month.

· Clumsy Butcher [Twitter]
· Clumsy Butcher: Bobby Heugel and Company Announce New Restaurant Group and New Downtown Tequila Bar [-EHOU-]
· All Coming Attractions on Eater Houston [-EHOU-]
· All Anvil Coverage on Eater Houston [-EHOU-]