I was a friend of The Ginger Man and Bob Precious when there was just the original pub in Houston’s Rice Village (you can read more about the history of The Ginger Man under the History tab above).  We spent many nights after closing discussing whether it was wise to open a location in Dallas, and how it could be done without diluting the feel and spirit of either location.  Many local patrons had commented on how comfortable they felt in the Houston pub, and the dynamite selection of beer and the knowledge of the staff added to that.  We felt it was essential not to lose that feeling.  The Dallas location came alive and was very popular.  Buoyed by this success, Bob added a third location in Austin, which has also been very popular and successful.  Since then, and under new Texan ownership, two more successful Texas pubs were created in Ft. Worth and Plano.

One night I was enjoying a meal of fish & chips at Fado down the street in Austin.  While chatting with the person next to me at the bar, I asked him if he ever went to The Ginger Man.  He responded “no, I never go to chains”.  That bothered me (not solely because Fado has 13 locations across the country), and I’ve thought about it a lot.  When I think of chains, I think of Benigan’s (now closed), IHOP, Denny’s, Chili’s and other such places.  They’re all constructed in cookie-cutter fashion and it appears the total experience is engineered to be nearly identical in all of the different locations.  I think “uniform mediocrity” is implied by the “chain” moniker. The Ginger Man certainly doesn’t fit into that definition of a chain.

It’s true we have a “home office” in Dallas that takes care of some of the paperwork and other busy work that would detract from the General Manager’s attention to beer and keeping the patrons happy (although there’s still plenty of paperwork left over for them to do).  Beyond that, each pub has been given the freedom to develop its own personality.  Houston isn’t so big on serving food, both because of the tiny kitchen area and several great restaurants within walking distance.  The newer Dallas-area pubs have larger kitchens and serve more pub food.  All of the pubs are dog-friendly, as much as local health regulations allow.  Patrons at the Houston and Dallas pubs love the blended beers that the bartenders create, but they aren’t very popular in Austin.  Some of the pubs have regular live music that is enjoyed, while patrons at others prefer to left alone to talk. Some ideas, such as the “buy-a-beer, keep the glass” nights are popular at all the pubs.  Each of the pubs has their own charities they choose to support through special events.  The Austin pub has “trunk shows” where local artists bring in their creations to sell; I don’t think that happens in any of the other pubs.

I personally know all the General Managers at all the pubs, and I’d challenge anyone to find a more independent group of people.  I’d say “good luck” to anyone who tried to fit them into a cookie-cutter definition of their job, other than some general principles on providing good beer and good service.  And I’d extend that challenge to say you’d never find a group of more dedicated and hard-working managers.  Its a LOT of work to keep all those taps flowing with fresh beer.

So, please, think of us as a family of pubs, not a chain.  We feel that is a far more accurate description of us.

The first in the family of pubs was created in Houston in 1985 by Bob Precious. Certain aspects of Bob’s history bore resemblance to the main character, Sebastian Dangerfield, in J.P. Donleavy’s 1952 novel The Ginger Man^*, and this provided the name of the pub. The blossoming appreciation of fine imported beers and the excellent level of service provided by the Houston pub led to overwhelming success and a desire to expand to other cities in Texas. The Dallas pub opened in 1992 and the Austin pub followed in 1994.

Around this time Bob and his family left Texas and moved to the Northeast. Not being content to have New Yorkers suffer from lacking the experience of Texas hospitality and a fine selection of beer, Bob built a pub in the Murray Hill section of Manhattan in 1996. As with all the pubs, it was overwhelmingly successful.

As the Manhattan pub required a large percentage of Bob’s time, he felt he was ignoring the original Texas pubs. He knew that running a proper pub requires a great deal of work to maintain the quality of both beer and service, and sought out buyers in Texas who would be able to run them with the proper level of diligence. In 2000, after a long vetting process, the three existing Texas pubs were sold to Steve and Christy from Dallas. Bob was confident they would maintain the Texas pubs in the style he had created them, and he was right. Steve and Christy have changed little in the spirit of the pubs, while streamlining the back-of-the-house operations to remain competitive in an ever more difficult economic climate.

Early in 2007 Steve and Christy put their own mark on the Texas family of pubs and built the first new Texas Ginger Man in many years in Ft. Worth, where it has been greatly loved by those who appreciate good beer and good service. Last year (2009) the boom in downtown Austin high-rises led to the need to move the Austin pub to a location just a block away. As construction on the beautiful new pub was nearing completion, it was found that the original building would not be demolished because the economic downturn put the high-rise construction project on hold. That building was remodeled and now is a sister to The Ginger Man as a music venue called The Ghost Room.

There has been no lack of energy on the East Coast either. There are Ginger Man pubs in Greenwich and Norwalk, Connecticut run by Bob’s longtime colleague, Christian, and the Manhattan pub remains under the stewardship of Mr. Precious. There is no business connection between the Texas and East Coast pubs, but we remain good friends based on our shared histories and similar goals.

And that brings us to the present day in Texas and a brand new Ginger Man in the Shops at Legacy in Plano, Texas. We have full confidence you’ll love this newest pub just as much as the others.

Rick Gray, Ph.D.
Spiritual Advisor and Ombudsman
The Ginger Man

^*Set in Ireland just after World War II, The Ginger Man relates the bawdy, picaresque misadventures of Sebastian Dangerfield, a young American studying at Trinity College, Dublin. Time magazine called Dangerfield “one of the most outrageous scoundrels in contemporary fiction, a whoring, boozing young wastrel” and predicted correctly that readers would come to love him for his “killer instinct, flamboyant charm, wit—and above all for his wild, fierce two-handed grab for every precious second of life.”

Sebastian is a source of inspiration for many of us.

Check back soon for our brand new food menu!

Reds

Apothic Red
Canyon Road Pinot Noir
‘09 Red Rock Pinot Noir
‘09 Bridlewood Blend

Whites

‘09 Martin Codax Albarino
‘09 William Hill Chardonnay
Naked Grape Pinot Grigio
‘07 Alamos Torrontes
‘08 Lamarca Prosecco

“Hyper-Bole” Texas Beer Fest Pre-Party

February 4th
7pm / Music @ 8pm

Come out and celebrate the coming of Texas Beer Fest with some great beers. Special offerings, pint glasses for sale and Oh My Gogi food truck serving up deliciousness. Starts at 7pm w/ music starting at 8pm.

Annual Beer & Chocola

February 11th
3pm

Pre-registering is suggested. Call (713) 526-2770 or come in to sign up.

Mark Your Calendars: Annual One-Pot Charity Cook-Off

February 19th, 2012
Doors open at 1pm

The Ginger Man is proud to host another Cook-off benefiting Best Buddies. Come out for what has been referred to as “The Best Quality Cook-Off for the Money in Houston.” A $5 donation gains you entry to taste and entry for dozens of raffle prizes. Live music throughout the day, so practice up the Sunday before rodeo cook-off here at The Ginger Man.

Spaten Sunday

All Spaten draught beers are $3.75 a pint until 11 pm!

2/8 – Peroni
2/15 – Duvel Parra Art glasses
2/22 – Independence
2/29 – Karbach

The tabs under this heading will show you lists of our available draught and bottled beer. The selections undergo constant evolution for several reasons:

• A certain beer may become temporarily unavailable because of situations with an importer, local distributor, or the brewer themselves;
• As we find new beer we like, less popular ones may be cycled out to make room on the tap wall;
• Addition of seasonal beer (e.g., Maibocks, Oktoberfests, Christmas ales) may require temporary retirement of other ones.

We make a special effort to keep this page updated, since it is arguably the most important page on the whole web site. There are times, however, when a new beer may arrive with short notice, or a planned one arrives later than expected, so the best way to know what beers we have is to visit the pub and see for yourself. With those caveats in mind, here is a snapshot of our current draught selection. They are arranged by country of origin and color (either dark, amber, or pale.

Negra Modelo – To achieve its unique taste, Negra Modelo uses a greater quantity of malt, the finest hops, a special yeast and the purest water. It is a delicious, creamy, full-flavored dark brew with a pleasant malt aroma and dry hop flavor that has a smooth mellow taste.
More info…

Red Hook ESB – Brewed in the style of a traditional British ESB (Extra Special Bitter), we’ve been making ESB continuously since 1987, and it’s now the benchmark for the Amber beer category. Despite having “bitter” in its name, Redhook ESB is really not that bitter at all. This brew is all about the balance of caramel malt sweetness completed by spicy, citrusy hops.
More info…

Additional new beer:

Shiner Wild Hare Pale Ale