🌱 Brewery Bonanza + St. Patrick's Day + Gordon Grocers

Good morning! I'm here with your fresh copy of the Houston Patch newsletter, filled with everything you need to know about what's happening locally. Today's issue includes news about:

• Three new breweries that are turning heads.
• St. Patrick's Day celebrations this weekend.
• A new grocery store chain comes to Houston.

But first, today's weather: Mostly sunny and nice. High: 72 Low: 63.

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Here are the top stories today in Houston:

1. Houston may be home to more breweries than most places already, but why not add three more draft halls to the list? Fortunately enough, two of them are basically right next door! Black Page Brewing Co. and Bad Astronaut Brewing Co. are both located on the White Oak Bayou across from White Oak Music Hall. Black Page specializes in naturally carbonated German style lagers with a focus on daring American ales while Bad Astronaut keeps to crushable, low alcohol content ales. As far as atmosphere, Black Page provides the perfect patio for dogs and young families while Bad Astronaut is a huge warehouse stocked with old school gaming favorites including air hockey, pool, foosball, and more. The final new brewery is technically a "nano brewery" located inside of Big Owl Craft Beer House. It's called Turkey Forrest Brewing and features many beers that are heavily influenced by the team's Mexican American background. (CultureMap Houston)
2. Six years after Hurricane Harvey devastated the Houston area, the General Land Office has decided to send $750 million to Harris County to prevent future flooding. The federal funds must be spent by 2026 or will otherwise go to waste. The primary use for the money would be the construction of so called "detention ponds": areas that can absorb water during times of flooding and help it flow back out to the Gulf of Mexico. However, planning for such large projects can often take several years which has local officials worried about the money's timeline. (KTRK-TV)
3. St. Patrick’s Day fires off this Friday and parties are popping all around H-Town. On Friday, the Trinity Irish Dance Company will present a free performance at the Miller Outdoor Theater at 8 p.m. and bars all across Houston are offering Irish drink specials, live music, and more with no cover. Some notable bars participating in the celebrations include Kirby Ice House, Truck Yard, Little Woodrow's, and Saint Arnold Brewing Company. Day drinkers can also celebrate on both Friday and Saturday by partaking in the annual Lucky's St. Patrick's Day Bar Crawl in Midtown. Tickets to the 4 p.m. event go for $20 and will see participants hopping from bar to bar before an after party kicks off at Playground at 10 p.m. (365 Things to Do in Houston)
4. Grocery store chain Gordon is opening six locations across the Houston area as it expands into Texas. Gordon operates in states across the Midwest as well as New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, and now, Texas. President Tim Grabar said, "We are excited to open our doors to the greater Houston community and provide the chef-quality food products our stores are known for." Gordon food stores specialize in serving restaurants who seek to buy cooking materials in bulk but are also completely accessible to the everyday grocery shopper. (KHOU.com)
5. The Commercial National Bank Building at Franklin and Main in downtown Houston will soon receive a makeover. While the old bank was considered the first skyscraper when it opened its doors back in 1904, the ravages of time and progress make it hardly noticeable in the modern day. The 1900s-era neoclassical style building was named a Houston landmark in 2000 and currently houses law offices as well as a Thai Café restaurant. Newform Real Estate, the company handling the renovations, have experience restoring historically significant buildings across the downtown Houston area. (Houston Chronicle)

Headlines you need to see:

• Severe weather threat moves into the Houston area later this week (KHOU.com)
• Texas Rent Relief program starts accepting applications again at 8 am Tuesday from people unemployed or impacted by pandemic (KTRK-TV)
• Texans were among the most impacted by internet crimes last year, FBI says (Houston Public Media)
• Cody Jinks makes his RodeoHouston debut and brings mom onstage (Houston Chronicle)
• Houston's feral hog invasion continues as population grows (Chron)

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Today in Houston:

• Dungeons & Dragons with Circle of Barhaven at Darkhorse Tavern (6 p.m.)
• Free HIIT Class at Discovery Green (6:30 p.m.)
• Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Lakers at Toyota Center (7 p.m.)
• Theater: Denise Fennel's The Bride: or, Does This Dress Make Me Look Married at Stages (7:30 p.m.)
• Concert: Kenny Chesney at the Houston Rodeo (9 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• You can join legend Willie Nelson to celebrate his birthday at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in July. Nelson turns 90 this year and is going on a 16 city tour along with a number of other artists. (KHOU 11 News via Facebook)
• Catalytic converter theft across the United States has increased by over 1200 percent since 2019. Converters can be easily stolen in less than a minute and sometimes go for prices upwards of $1,000 on the black market. (ABC13 Houston via Facebook)
• A Buffalo Wild Wings customer is suing the company under the grounds that their boneless wings are actually chicken nuggets and ought to be advertised as such. In other news, the wings also don't come from buffalos. (FOX 26 Houston via Facebook)

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Featured events:

• Free Zoom meeting about Houston fibroid treatment! (March 18)
• STEM Adventures at Kiddie Academy of Cypress (March 18)
• STEM Adventures at Kiddie Academy of Grand Harbor (March 18)
• STEM Adventures at Kiddie Academy of Rosenburg (March 18)
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That's it for this issue. See you tomorrow morning for more Houston happenings.