Deacon Baldy’s – a continuing breath of fresh air to The Woodlands area, rain or shine

THE WOODLANDS, TX – This October marks the sixth year anniversary of the opening of Deacon Baldy’s on FM 1488 in the northern side of The Woodlands. Since 2017, the innovative dining / drinking / entertainment establishment has provided open-air comfort and fun, and the stage is literally getting set for an upcoming celebration: co-founders, co-owners, and friends Kevin Mims and Joey Muckenthaler have set the dates for the three-day annual Birthday Bash for October 20 - 22 and expect their largest crowds yet.

Recently, Mims and Muckenthaler sat down with Woodlands Online for an exclusive interview, where they talked about Deacon Baldy’s origins, the highs and lows of operating such a unique establishment, how to convince people that the place is perfect for all weather, and what’s in store for the future.

What prompted the creation and naming of Deacon Baldy’s?

We already had the land and were running another business on the property out of the building that is now behind Deacon Baldy’s. We had this great frontage spot on FM 1488 that was totally undeveloped, but we weren’t sure what to do with it. We lucked into a great location, to be honest. The land was purchased to build a business called “Imagimotive” long before 1488 developed into what it is now.

As for the origin of Deacon Baldy’s… Coming back from a trip to Florida, we stopped at a small food truck park for lunch. It wasn’t anything like Baldy’s – really just a few food trucks with some tables between them – but it gave us the idea that maybe we could set up a food truck park on the property. We started talking about the concept of a food truck park and it occurred to us that there wasn’t really a place to get a good selection of craft beer in the area. At the time the only real craft beer spot in the area was Hop Scholar on Rayford, which is a solid 25 minutes away on a good day – but still a worthwhile 25 minutes. One thing led to another, and what started as just some food trucks became a bar, which became a beer garden, which became a full bar.

The naming of Deacon Baldy’s is actually a funny story. We had a list of probably 30 possibilities and we were so torn, but we were also at that point where we needed something to put on company documents. Kate, Kevin’s mom who was nicknamed “Mrs. Baldy,” suggested as a placeholder we just call it “Deacon Baldy’s” after Deacon Mike Mims, Kevin’s dad. Kevin and I have been friends for a long time and we have a lot of good memories of sitting on the late Deacon’s back porch just talking and having some drinks and we wanted to do our best to capture that same environment.

One day we’ll decide on a name though. Any day now.

Some people may hear 'outdoor drinking and eating' and think it's too hot or too cold or too stormy, depending on the time of year. What would you say to these people to get them to try the venue?

A few years ago, for the winter months, we added powerful heaters – and if you’ve ever sat directly under one you know what I mean by ‘powerful’ – that help tremendously, and earlier this year we added garage doors to cut off the wind. The end result in the winter is, it gets really warm and comfy in there. So the cold is a problem we’ve largely solved.

The rain can be an issue but the garage doors keep that to a minimum. We’ve never had an issue with leaks or anything like that. Plus I love sitting and watching a storm with a beer, but I think that’s something that just happens when you become a dad, like breaking in a pair of white New Balances or being way too early to the airport.

I would say I totally understand the hesitation people may have when coming to us in the summer. We have three massive fans that move a ton of air, but if you genuinely don’t enjoy the heat there’s only so much the fans can do when the heat index is 115. That being said, the beer helps for sure. We do have plans to improve for the summers but we don’t want to make promises about it just yet.

How important are words and concepts like 'family friendly' and 'community' to you?

Being family friendly is incredibly important to us. I have five kids, Kevin has six, and most of our friends have kids. We’ve had the same large group of friends for a long time and – as we’ve had kids – taking everyone anywhere has become quite the ordeal logistically.

Several years ago, before Baldy’s, we all tried to go to a restaurant together and I think the total headcount was 41. When we started thinking of Baldy’s, we realized we had the opportunity to build a place we could all go without feeling like we’re being an imposition on the staff. We love spending time with friends and family, having a drink and eating some food, and letting our kids play, but there really wasn’t a place to do that until we built it. We even built our bar program around being family friendly; we don’t really serve shots, we close at 11 o’clock at night on the weekends, and we work hard to try to make sure everyone’s being responsible.

Kevin and I have lived here most of our lives. The community was and is hugely important to us. We want people to get to know the people around them; it’s why we have community seating. I can’t tell you the joy it brings when our regulars inevitably start recognizing each other and sitting together. We donate to local organizations and bring in small businesses every Friday so people can see these incredible things people are making right in their community.

What are some of your proudest moments, achievements, and events?

We believe our proudest moment was our genesis. We didn’t know what we were doing when we started this place; neither of us had ever done anything like it. That first year was a trial by fire, and there was a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. But at our first anniversary we looked up and saw all our regulars, our staff, and realized we did it. That was a great moment.

Our proudest achievement is our staff for sure. Most bars and restaurants have incredibly high turnover rates. It’s just part of the industry. At Baldy’s however, we don’t have staff turnover very often – maybe one position a year or so over the last five years – and the reason for that is we really are a family. Evan and Chase have been here since almost the beginning, Keaton and Alex have both been here for years, and Rich has been here over a year, which seems hard to believe. If we’re going to emphasize family and community, the staff has to be the first place that happens, and we can’t say enough how much they mean to us.

Our favorite event is always our Birthday Bash. We bring out a bunch of stuff we don’t normally have, we tap a bunch of rare beers, bring out some rare bourbon, and celebrate. This year our birthday weekend is October 20 - 22, and we’re already planning some really fun stuff.

What's in store for the future?

We have some improvement plans we’re really excited about – but not quite ready to talk about yet – but by next summer Baldy’s may look a little different. We are going to be doing a new cocktail menu soon. Cocktails are surging in popularity and we really want to do a menu that emphasizes both the new and old guard of cocktails, while maybe teaching some people a couple of new things as well.

No matter the season, temperature, or weather, spend some time at Deacon Baldy’s for some creative craft beers – dozens on tap – and the food-truck delicacies to go along with them. Tons of fun for adults and families alike. Located at 5447 FM 1488 between Kuykendahl and FM 2978.