ABOUT ANVIL

Anvil Bar & Refuge is owned and operated by three cocktail freaks — Bobby Heugel, Kevin Floyd, and Steve Flippo. Our cocktails are crafted in the classic tradition in a lively, warm atmosphere. What that translates to is spirit-forward drinks made with fresh ingredients -- including house-made bitters, sodas, infusions and liqueurs — each fashioned with careful attention to detail and favoring local flavors and locally-sourced ingredients. Anvil also features an always-changing selection of 13 hard-to-score beers on tap, including a cask beer, of mostly American micro-brews.

In developing the concept for Anvil, we envisioned a return to the elegant simplicity of a past era when cocktails were fashioned with pride and bartending was a respected profession that took years of apprenticing to master. It is this sense of history that we embrace at our establishment. We also enjoy the opportunity to share good conversation with our customers and impart the historical factoids and lyrical stories about spirits and drinks we’ve collected along the way.

ABOUT THE DESIGN

Anvil is located in a Bridgestone-Firestone tire store built in the late 1950’s. Designed and remodeled by the partners, the finished space reflects the same respect for history, elegant simplicity, and raw ingredients as the cocktails that are served there. The building was completely gutted, revealing original brick walls, high ceilings and industrial ductwork, all of which remain untouched. Reclaimed materials and locally salvaged artifacts were discovered at antique stores and thrift shops and then retooled to craft the bar, shelving and tables. The result is a modern industrial design softened by the rich, recycled natural materials that furnish Anvil. Even the glassware is vintage, reminiscent of grandmother’s fancy glasses, all unearthed at small local stores.

Each design element has a local story – we’ll tell the tale if you ask...

• custom bar shelving built using steel palette-racking from the local piano store where Bobby and Kevin worked in high school
• the bar’s foot-rail, constructed from freight rail track forged in the 1950’s for the train that ran from Houston to Eagle Lake
• reclaimed meat locker doors that lead to the restrooms and kitchen found in the rural Texan countryside
• weathered 12-gauge steel plating fashioned into the custom bar top
• tongue-and-groove wood flooring repurposed into hand-crafted table tops
• the modern arts and crafts style lamps are crafted by local, sustainable design firm van Almelo and Black, made from reclaimed wood from French wine tanks