I'm working on concept based off of ice houses and sports for a dining and entertainment project. I've only been to the Pearland ice house and am looking for some more information about ice houses. I figured since these are primarily a Texas phenomenon to tap clutchfans' experiences with ice houses. Can y'all tell me what you think of when you think about ice houses. Particularly why you would go to one? What sort of things would you do there (keep it clean guys)? I remember there were pool tables at the Pearland one but any other games? While I know ice houses aren't generally associated with family friendly we are looking at making the concept more family friendly which is why we are looking at a sports angle too. From the family friendly side for those of you with kids when you take your kids to pro or college sports games what sort of things do your kids like and are there? Do your kids like using the funzones (playgrounds built into stadiums) or skills challenges like shooting hoops, throwing pitches or batting cages? Any feedback is appreciated along with pictures of ice houses.
West Alabama Ice House is cool. Check it out next time you're in Houston. Cheap cold beer, basketball hoop, lots of dogs and kids, small band stage, pool table and lots of TV's.
an ice house is just an open air bar that serves beer. Is there anything else that differentiates it from a normal bar? The West Alabama Ice House usually draws bikers and a bunch of granola types who like to have their dog in tow, but I'm not sure if that's true of all ice houses
They're not allowed to serve liquor, but you're allowed to bring it in. You have to purchase the mixers from the bar. IIRC, this is a Texas thing. Check the laws in Minnesota. Your general assessment is no where near true of all ice houses. I frequent one in Austin that gets people from all walks.
Drink beer, play pool, play shuffleboard, be near my house. I live in the 77007 and I ain't got them options...get it done, Morey!
Also, I know nothing aside from living here, but Washington from Studemont to Houston is going to explode very soon.
Ice Houses are literally a left-over anomaly from the days when you actually had to buy ice for your "icebox" at home. You'd go to an ice house and pick up your block of ice on the way home from work and put it in the box. Eventually the dudes running the ice houses figured they'd keep some beer (among other things) on some of the ice to sell the guys stopping by for their daily block. One thing led to another (refrigeration) and the ice became less and less of the focus and the beer became the law of the land at the ice houses. The ice house is sort of a "loop hole" in the TABC system. What makes an ice house unique is that they can sell beer "on premise" (for you to drink there) or "off premise" (for you to take home). The result is the bottles (or cans) of beer you get from an ice house retain the cap (or are unopened). This is in stark contrast to a "bar" or "restaurant" where it's illegal to serve an alcoholic beverage unopened. Also, if you have an "ice house license" you cannot sell liquor. You can, as one poster mentioned above, serve "set-ups" for folks who bring their own booze. There's more information if you need it. I've had to make myself extremely knowledgeable of TABC codes over the years. I've been in the beer and/or wine business (in Austin) for about 15 years. That's the basic outline. I've left out plenty of details, though... Good luck.
Oh, yeah...I forgot to mention... I absolutely love the West Alabama Ice House. I lived pretty much down the street from there around 1990-91ish. I still make it a point to drink at least one beer there every time I visit Houston. It's truly a Houston landmark (in the drunkard sense). Sure, it's changed owners and hip-ified itself over the years, but at its core, it's still Houston's Ice House. Enjoy it. In Austin, there's really only one "real" ice house remaining. It's called C-Hunt's (named after owner Chester Hunt). It's off Burnet Rd. just north of 183. It's kind of hidden (which is a good thing), so good luck finding it. It's a gem...
Is C-Hunt's still open? It seems like he closes for months at a time. I've been there many times. It's a great after work place if you're in N. Austin.
Oh, yeah...C-Hunt's is still open. He closes at 10:00pm and on weekends. He usually closes for a stretch in the middle of winter for a couple of reasons. First, it's really freakin' cold. Second, he takes all those lovely ladies who work for him on a group vacation to Hawai'i or Mexico or something for a couple of weeks. Not the worst lifestyle for an old man...
Thanks for all the info so far and please keep it coming. That sounds exactly like the concept we are looking at. Unfortunately I'm not going to be able to make it down to Houston before we make our presentation. Maybe if things move forward I could work out a trip for research to come down.
Thanks again for the info, especially from the futants. I just wrote up a preliminary report based on the info from this thread. Please feel free to post more info about ice houses though.
I loves me a good icehouse. The douchebag factor is usually pretty low, if not non-existent altogether, since no one gives a crap about 'the scene' or what other people are doing/wearing. The people and staff are usually pretension-free, which is very refreshing and rare for any bar/club these days. Basically just a bunch of people wanting to hang out, drink beer, watch a game, hear a band, play some pool, play some darts, or even sing some karaoke. My kind of place.
I think Carlos' Beer Garden down in Clear Lake counts as an Ice House. No booze, but you can bring it in. It's a converted old car repair shop (you enter and exit through garage doors), with some tasty greasy food. They do open your beer for you, but I don't know if that's "service" or a rule? Funny atmosphere in there. Lots of older folks, NASA engineers, with some younger folks usually at the pool tables. Eclectic.
Just because you can bring in your own liquor, doesn't make it an ice house. Technically, you can bring liquor into any establishment that doesn't have a liquor license specifically. A beer/wine permit doesn't count as a liquor license. If they serve beer that has been opened, they are NOT an ice house (by TABC definition).
