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DESIGN+SUDS HISTOR Y+COMMUNITY A TOAST TO THE DESIGN ACUMEN OF MONGOOSE VERSUS COBRA STEVEN HEMPEL AND WILL WALSH DELVE INTO MIDTOWN���S SURPRISING ��� AND INSPIRING ��� REDUX OF A DERELICT CENTURY-OLD FORMER GROCER, RECENTLY SERVING AS A PIGEON ROOST, TRANSFORMED INTO HOUSTON���S MOST AUTHENTIC BAR. PHOTOGRAPHY JACK THOMPSON. ART DIRECTION MICHELLE AVI��A. STEVEN HEMPEL ON HISTORY MADE ANEW Corey Walton preparing a Negroni M VJ ARIZPE VJ ARIZPE ongoose versus Cobra sits in the former Auditorium Grocery Company Building, which was built between 1915 and 1917 at 1011 McGowen, in what is now jauntily termed Midtown but was, a century ago, a leafy neighborhood and community. The one-story-tall, unassuming brick building maintains much of its historic feel, thanks to the sensitive renovation work of a team led by Ian Rosenberg and Mike Sammons, founders of the lauded 13 Celsius wine bar, which sits less than half a mile away. The Auditorium building has had a number of tenants, the last being a U.S. Post Of���ce branch that closed in the early 1980s. Vacant for decades since, the building has been on Rosenberg���s radar for some time. A graduate of the University of Houston Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture, Rosenberg has searched for ways to build businesses that help Shafer Hall, Mike Sammons Corey Walton, Ian Rosenberg create a sense of community in his Midtown neighborhood. Recollecting his time in Santes, France, where he studied, he sought to create Before renovation, a small city-style cafe. Bringing this project to a pigeon coop reality, however, was no small feat. The building, abandoned for almost 30 years, had no power, no water and no sewage. Yet Rosenberg saw compelling factors in preserving and rehabilitating the modest structure that, though in disrepair, maintained an historic charm. ���It has redeeming Property before renovation factors ��� beautiful brick walls, original wood columns, beautiful high ceilings ��� that give it so much character,��� he says. The bold preservation plan was led by Rosenberg (who also made 13 Celsius happen), along with Baldemar Gonzalez and Alan Krathaus of Core Design Studio. The stalwart group made great efforts to preserve the Auditorium���s most authentic elements, including its de���ning feature: the original wood columns, which run ���oor to 1920s exit sign, ceiling and demarcate the space almost like a midfound in Chicago from Dunning Restroom door poem, ���Rikki-Tikki-Tavi��� Mongoose versus Cobra taxidermy, corridor. The period plumbing was also salvaged Mental Institute from The Jungle Book bought on eBay and restored, as were the windows, which are framed by vintage lights restored by Tom Delaney been truly a group effort to bring the once abandoned because they care. Need more proof? Well let���s just say that in London. The design and architectural team space back to life. Together, they have pulled off the having Four Roses Bourbon, Azul Tequila and Smith and removed sheetrock walls to uncover stunning 100-yearchallenging task of preserving the past while enhancing the Cross Jamaica Rum on your $6 Well Menu is not the mark old brick that became the design foundation of the space. present, a feat that connoisseurs of ���ne beer and cocktails of an establishment that short-pours and over-squirts. If Ductwork is hidden above the circa-1915 wooden studs, will no doubt appreciate for many years to come. Salute. you���ve grown weary of your Four Roses neat, don���t despair. and the original facade was cut away to frame a steel, For more Rosenberg t��te-��-t��te and the behind-the-rafters Ask bartending wildman Shafer Hall to take you out of glass and concrete entry that also delineates a patio area. preservation tales, peruse papercitymag.com. Bourbon County with the Buffalo Squeeze. A bourbon While historic charm is evident, Rosenberg added a -based libation of Campari, lemon and egg white to number of handsome and purposeful elements: A step make, as Sammons puts it, their ���quintessential Houston welcoming patrons to the bar incorporates the words from Cocktail.��� ���Gunga Din��� by Kipling. Geometric wood tables designed Beers and spirits are not the only thing that these guys are by the team lend warmth to the space. A handmade, doing right. A ���Grocery��� menu provides all the sustenance n this new era of nervy mixologists rolling their ballpark-style menu board sits against the main wall across needed to survive your global beer and cocktail trek. With a eyes at every request for a simple gin and tonic, from the bar and lists the various Brew selections. To the nod to a modern saloon, there are house-made pickles, beef bar-goers have grown increasingly frustrated with back of the main hall, a ���at-screen television is tucked away, jerky cured with black pepper, and, oh yes, pickled eggs. the chaser of pretension that accompanies one���s rising out of a wood casing for viewing big sporting events. The cured meats are not made in-house, but are made and imbibing. Mike Sammons and Ian Rosenberg Another elegant detail: Simple, polished-steel tap handles seasoned speci���cally for the bar. For a beer-hall vibe, try the have succeeded wildly in designing their approachable subtly remind us that no beer gets precedence over another. enormous Slow Dough pretzel with house-made mustard. and thoughtful craft cocktail and beer hall, Mongoose An innovative lighting display and backsplash allows patrons By far the most popular item on the menu, it pairs perfectly versus Cobra. to view the true color of the ale as it leaves the tap, while a with any glass that comes across the pass. Mongoose versus Cobra follows in the spirit of 13 large glass window above the bar shows off the network Most importantly, Mongoose versus Cobra has done a great Celsius by providing thirsty patrons with a selection of of KeyKegs housing the various brews. job achieving its maker���s vision of a ���bar��� ��� not to transport the beers from around the world, exposing us to new global That Rosenberg and his team, who received the Good customer to somewhere else, but to create an environment that ���avors and brews of the most superior quality. Mongoose Brick Award (from the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance promotes neighborhood living, community interaction, and now Historic Houston) for their initiative with 13 Celsius, have is equipped with 42 beer taps, including one reserved for ignoring ���good enough��� only to focus on the best. ���The Count the notorious Milanese digestif, Fernet. If Fernet on tap been nominated again for Mongoose versus Cobra, should would be pleased������ Don���t look at me. Ask barman Shafer Hall doesn���t get you in a boozy mood, the Mongoose guys come as no surprise. As Rosenberg notes, it has to tell you that one over your ���rst Roy Orbison. went ahead and carbonated it for you. You know, WILL WALSH WEIGHS IN ON BITES AND BREWS I ���I HOPED TO CREATE ... A REAL SENSE OF COMMUNITY IN MIDTOWN. THE UNIQUENESS OF THESE OLD BUILDINGS IS THEY HAVE A STORY TO TELL AS WELL. THE CRACKS, THE PEELING PAINT, THE NAILS IN THE RAFTERS, ALL ARE PARTS OF THOSE STORIES. NO MATTER HOW MUCH MONEY IS SPENT ON A PROJECT, WE COULD NEVER CREATE THOSE STORIES OR THIS PATINA. THESE OLD BUILDINGS GIVE OUR NEW RESIDENTS ... AN IMMEDIATE HISTORY AND PERMANENCE.��� ��� Ian Rosenberg DECEMBER | PAGE 28 | 2012