Cool Down at This New Dive Bar in Houston’s Heights This Summer

Bar veteran Matt Tanner is hoping to make a new late-night bar in the Heights a Houston maintstay.

Located next door to Italian restaurant Coltivare, Agricole Hospitality’s latest establishment, EZ’s Liquor Lounge, will open at 3302 White Oak Drive later this summer, giving diners another neighborhood hangout spot to cool down and unwind.

Tanner, a co-owner of EZ’s, says the laid-back bar will serve well-made cocktails, beer and cocktails on tap, frozen beverages, and a selection of wine to accommodate those coming from next door. But some of the offerings, like buckets of beer, will be straightforward, and with more freezer space, the drinks will be cold — served in frozen mugs and glassware.

“Our big thing is ice cold drinks for a very, very hot city,” says Tanner, who previously worked at Anvil Bar & Refuge and Captain Foxheart’s Bad News Bar & Spirits Lounge.

The inspiration for the bar came from a conversation Tanner had with co-owners Morgan Weber, Ryan Pera, and Vincent Huynh about their favorite bars.

“We came to this agreement that we really wanted to open this neighborhood bar that made really great cocktails and give our take on every single dive bar that we loved going to,” Tanner says. The name is a play on the name of the Texas town, Ezzell — a city that Yoakum native Weber used to frequent for its bar scene.

Two and a half years later, the bar is coming into fruition with plans to later offer inventive spins on popular yet classic bar food like Frito pies, chips and dip, and wagyu hot dogs.

Tanner calls EZ Liquor Lounge will be an affordable and approachable bar with decor, wood paneling, and vintage signs that all feel nostalgic and familiar.

“It’s going to feel very comfortable and lived in from day one,” Tanner says. “My goal is to make sure EZ is the place that people stop at on Thanksgiving Night.”