I stopped into The Empty Glass on a Sunday afternoon in July — the kind of afternoon where you figure most people are home under the AC — and every seat was taken. Bar. Patio. The lounge chairs in the corner. Taken.
I've watched a lot of concepts come and go in Old Town. Dana and Brian Sacco didn't build a concept. They built a place with regulars, a rolling library ladder, and owners who perform from inside the tasting room on a Sunday afternoon.
The building does a lot of the work before you even get through the door. Corrugated metal siding, wood framing, ceiling fans turning on the covered patio. White market umbrellas shade the outdoor tables. Potted plants keep the front facade from reading industrial — in mid-July heat, that's not nothing.
Step inside and the bar wall stops you: two levels of wine racked floor to ceiling, a rolling library ladder to reach the top tier, stemware hanging in a long lit row just above bar height. It's one of the better-looking bars in this part of Harris County. The vintage "Ice Cold Beer Sold Here" enamel sign hanging off to the right earns its place — no pretense, no wink.
Brian had his guitar out when I got there, performing inside the tasting room while Dana sang alongside him and the Astros played on the screen above the bar. That's a lot of things happening at once. Nobody in the room seemed to notice — which is the only way to measure whether an atmosphere is actually working.
The interior runs tasting room into retail into live music space without a hard boundary between any of them. Empty Glass tees, wine-themed gifts, clothing racks, string lights wrapped around wood columns — it has the warm, slightly overstuffed feel of a place that's been added to over time by people who actually spend time there. At the bar, couples were deep in conversation with the bartender. No two-top rush, no check dropped before you asked for it.
If you're making a day of Old Town, the taco and tequila bar a few steps away is worth the same trip.
There was a Christmas in July giveaway card on the side table next to one of the lounge chairs. Two glasses of white wine on the table. The room full behind her. Not busy. Not rushed. Full in the good way — which is harder to pull off than a full room.
Check their schedule before you go if you're coming for live music. When the owners are also the entertainment, the room runs on a different frequency than a hired act. Worth timing right.