Kilt or be kilt: The Blue Lion Pub celebrates its grand presence in The Woodlands

THE WOODLANDS, TX – This weekend, The Blue Lion Pub is belatedly celebrating its grand opening with an all-day and all-night extravaganza. From 7 o’clock Saturday morning until 2:00 a.m. Sunday, patrons of all ages will be fêted with fun, featuring mouthwatering crawfish and icy refreshments to keep the party vibes strong, an incredible lineup of local artists and bands, face-painting, a photo booth, free swag giveaways, and a raffle for VIP Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion tickets.

For those unfamiliar with the story of the little Scottish pub grown large, the Blue Lion was originally tucked away in the Grogan’s Mill Shopping Center under the ownership of Wes Cordova. As the center’s fundamental status in the community shifted – first with the closing of the Randall’s and multiple smaller businesses, then the announcement that the center would be completely reimagined as the site of a massive development including the new site of the South Library – the pub found itself unable to sustain itself, and shut down to the disappointment of owner and patrons alike.

Ordinarily, that would be the end of the story, one of a million about a small business making a temporary mark on the local economy. But the Lion wasn’t dead; it merely slept for a bit. Months later, on the former site of The Breakfast Place in The Woodlands, a complete refurbishment started taking place. The story shifts to Travis Fitzpatrick and his wife, Millie.

“We used to be a consistent regular at the original Blue Lion Pub, and we were devastated when it shut down in that land swap where they couldn't have a pub in that area,” Travis told Woodlands Online in an exclusive interview. “So the Blue Lion had to shut down after being voted the number one pub in The Woodlands. It was a very special place, and I had an opportunity to kind of step in and keep it alive. And that’s what we did; we reached out to Wes Cordova, and I told him that I wanted to take the concept that he already had and just keep it going at a new site.

Ironically, the site of The Breakfast Place was previously the location of another British-style pub called the highlander, with Wes and who would become the original Breakfast Place owner working together but eventually parting ways. This parting inspired Wes to start the first incarnation of the Blue Lion while the Highlander became The Breakfast Place, which finally became the site of the new Blue Lion. The classic definition of ‘full circle.’

“So, there was the opportunity to come back and get this place I wanted. All I really wanted in addition to the pub was music; I love live music and wanted to have a live music stage. So this is a new concept I think for both Wes and I that's a whole new thing, and we’re trying to get that up to speed and bring back some of the regulars that were there and also, you know, bring in new folks,” said Travis.

For longtime patrons of The Breakfast Place (including this writer), it was a pleasant surprise to discover that Travis and Millie kept a vast majority of that staff for the new pub. “We have the same cooks, the same everything. During the time of construction and we were closed, people started going to other places. We’re trying to get back to the original crew to come back and say, hey, we’re still here.”

With the new pub came a new menu. The former breakfast-and-lunch cooks were now getting training on how to cook a proper British meal.

“We knew that authenticity was huge. Actually, with the fish and chips we actually brought in an Englishman and two Scotsmen to taste our recipes over and over until we got it right. The ingredients, the recipes, the sauces, the brands used and presentations, we put all the Lion’s plates through their paces to make sure our menu was authentic.”

Neither Travis nor Millie started off wanting to own a pub, although Travis laughs that he got experience being a very good customer of pubs. But last year at a golfing event, he found himself in the company of a visiting Exxon employee from a small village outside of London. According to Travis, the man observed, “You don’t have a local,” meaning a local public house, the ‘official’ name of a British pub.

The visitor described to Travis the concept of the pub – which relies heavily on community and family engagement, a place where it feels like a second (or sometimes first) home, and where – to pardon the possible copyright infringement – everybody knows your name. The description struck a chord within Travis, and he immediately knew that this was missing from – and needed in – The Woodlands.

“I had a company that performed veterans evaluation services where we did disability evaluations for veterans. Our main client was the VA, which had a huge backlog of veterans waiting for benefits. So they would send them to us and we would train doctors and we would get the vets in and get them seen.”

Inspired by the Englishman and his wish for a public house, Travis sold the business – largely led today by one of his best friends – and embarked on a whole new path.

The pub reopened to great acclaim, due in no small part to the comprehensive British menu, and brought in not only the former Breakfast Place regular customers, but a whole new trove of patrons wishing for a British watering hole. Practically every day holds something special.

“On Tuesdays we have trivia; actually we call it ‘Trevia’ because it’s run by Trevor Marcos, a true character who’s so popular that we usually have between 20 - 25 teams playing for prizes. On Wednesdays we’re about to start a weekly Latin Night where sometimes we’ll have a Latin band and sometimes we’ll teach salsa dancing. Thursdays are karaoke. And then every Friday and Saturday, we have a live band. We vet and hand-pick each group or act who gets on our stage. And we use the sound guy who worked for years at Dosey Doe as our sound guy, and he’s amazing. And we do everything we can to make each music act feel welcome and appreciated.”

The belated grand opening could be equated to a honeymoon after an elopement. “We were so busy rebuilding and getting permits and getting the power on, and were ready to rock as soon as possible. Literally, the day the fire marshall signed off on us, we decided to open right then. So we took off like a rocket with a huge crowd that came in. And though we weren’t fully prepared, the pressure testing allowed us to start adjusting, making changes, fixing service issues, getting everything, making sure we had enough beer, making sure we had enough this and that. But everything was a problem of volume. Too much fun. So. So that's always a positive. Basically we didn’t have an official opening back then because we were having too much fun.”

Being the owner has had a profound effect on Travis as he reflects on the tradition of the public house. “Being a patron of the original Blue Lion, I couldn't articulate what it was, but now I understand. What it was about the original Blue Lion was that it was a real pub and what a pub means, through the centuries of tradition across the seas, versus a bar, and the difference even if it’s not something you can see on paper, it’s there.”

Woodlands Online encourages readers to come out to The Blue Lion this Saturday, all day and evening, for the grand opening. The pub is located at 8000 McBeth Way, suite 100, off Woodlands Pkwy near Branch Crossing, across the street from the Sterling Ridge Park and Ride.

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