Fox Sports Grill takes to the field with Houston venue Allison Wollam Houston Business Journal Houston is about to secure a front-row seat in the national sports arena. Fox Sports Grill is planning to enter the Texas market early next month with the opening of an upscale sports bar in Houston's Galleria mall. The venue will be only the fifth of its kind in the country. Fox Sports Grill was founded in 2001 by Fox Sports and B&B Restaurant Ventures. The first Fox Sports Grill opened in Scottsdale, Ariz., in November 2002. Other locations include Irvine, Calif.; Seattle; and Nyack, N.Y. An Atlanta location is scheduled to open this fall. The local Fox Sports Grill will open one year after rumors surfaced that competitor ESPN Zone was looking for space to launch a similar concept in Houston. Last fall, retail sources said ESPN Zone was considering touching down in Houston. But the sports-themed restaurant has yet to make an appearance in the Bayou City. (See "ESPN Zone kicks around plan to enter Houston retail scene," Oct. 24, 2003.) ESPN Zone spokesman John Pierce said this week that the company does not currently have plans to establish a Houston presence. "Houston is a great sports town, but we're not growing our concept right now," Pierce says. Fox Sports does, however, see scoring potential in the Bayou City. The company's 15,000-square-foot restaurant and bar will be located next to Saks Fifth Avenue and will feature an outdoor deck with fire pit, atrium patio seating inside the Galleria, a cigar humidor, multiple plasma screens and sports packages for all major sporting events. "We are elevating the traditional sports bar to a new level," says Bill Freeman, president and CEO of Fox Sports Grill. He says the concept is unique because it places an emphasis on food and entertainment and is able to hold live entertainment productions, thanks to the deep pockets Fox Sports. For example, the Fox Sports Grill in Seattle presents a live television show hosted by former Houston Oilers quarterback Warren Moon. Freeman says Fox Sports chose to locate a grill in Houston because the area is not fully served when it comes to offering a combination of destination dining and high-energy entertainment venues. The fact that the Galleria hosts a large number of business travelers and pedestrian traffic gives Fox Sports Grill an opportunity to win over a wide range of new customers, says Freeman, who counts Champps Americana, P.F. Changs and The Cheesecake Factory among the grill's head-to-head competitors. "We're actually competing against any entertainment event or any restaurant for the same discretionary dollars," he says. Another competitor, Shucker's Sports Bar, will be located in hitting distance of Fox Sports Grill's new facility in the Galleria. Officials with Shucker's, which also operates in the Galleria, declined to comment on Fox Sports Grill's impending arrival. Scoring points Freeman says Fox Sports Grill targets the "socially active" crowd who dine out regularly. He says 25- to 35-year-olds typically make up the eatery's late-night crowd, while 35- to 50-year-olds are the mainstream customer base. Chris Tripoli, president of A La Carte Foodservice Consulting, says Houston has yet to experience the "reinvention" of sports bars that take food more seriously and offer an overall elevated experience. "The sports bars in Houston have slowly all gotten too similar with televisions, snack food and beer," he says. "The new wave of sports bars keep the sports feel but also offer a good restaurant with more enhanced decor." Indeed, Freeman says Fox Sports Grill will have its own executive chef, and the menu will feature items such as Maryland lump crab cakes, steaks, ribs and bite-size burgers. Tripoli believes Fox Sports Grill has a good chance of making it in the competitive Houston restaurant industry because of its "celebrity" name connection and prime location within the Galleria. awollam@bizjournals.com • 713-960-5936 © 2004 American City Business Journals Inc.
I'm not trying to be the BBS police.....I'd just like to share this with a few friends. do you have a link?
Eh.... I'll stick with Stack24's place (Live Sports Cafe - downtown). We got your back , Khalil -- droxford
We're not growing our CONCEPT right now? Who talks like this? I didn't even know you COULD grow a concept.
Been to one of those in Arizona. Take your cheesiest, loudest, tackiest sports bar you know - increase each factor by 10, and you have the Fox Sports Grill. Food was crap & overpriced too. The only good that can come of this is that it'll force other area bars to upgrade their TV's. FSG had nothing but huge HD plasmas everywhere.
Jeanne Zelasko serving cocktails on roller skates. Jeanne Zelasko serving cocktails on roller skates. Jeanne Zelasko serving cocktails on roller skates. Jeanne Zelasko serving cocktails on roller skates. Jeanne Zelasko serving cocktails on roller skates. Jeanne Zelasko serving cocktails on roller skates. Yes, it sounds better every time it's said.
I wish there was an ESPN Zone down here....As long as it is not Downtown and doesn't interfere with my sports bar i am happy =)
