The Ginger Man Dallas

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 1991 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. Earlier this 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