The Ginger Man history began in Houston in 1985, at a time when finding a wide selection of quality draft and imported beer under one roof was anything but common. What began in a small Houston house grew into a family of pubs across Texas and helped introduce generations of beer drinkers to beers from around the world.

The history below was written by Dr. Rick Gray, longtime friend of The Ginger Man, Spiritual Advisor and Ombudsman. His words have been preserved as originally written.

“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. In 2009 the boom in downtown Austin high-rises led to the need to move the Austin pub to a location just a block away on Lavaca. Late 2009 brought the opening of a new pub in Plano followed in 2012 with a pub in Southlake.

Large changes have come in 2018. A second pub in Houston, in the Midtown area, opened in February, followed by a second pub in Austin in the Hill Country Galleria that opened in April. The beloved downtown Austin pub closed on Memorial Day, but a new downtown pub will open in Plaza Saltillo in 2019. Along with these new pubs, there’s a change in what we serve. Of course, all the beer is still there, but you can now get a meal with our expanded menu, as well as a cocktail. The food and drink enhancements will percolate through the other pubs throughout the year.” – Rick Gray, Ph.D., Spiritual Advisor and Ombudsman

The Ginger Man has changed over the years, but the things that made it special from the beginning remain at the heart of our pub: a deep appreciation for great beer, good service and the kind of place where people want to stay awhile.

Today, The Ginger Man carries on that Texas specialty beer tradition in Las Colinas, with more than 100 beers, pub fare, cocktails, live music, beer events and plenty of familiar faces around the bar.