Aspens Bar & Grill opened mid-summer at 817 Clear Lake Road in Clear Lake Shores. The immediate cross street is Aspen Road and also the inspiration for the bar’s name.

“It’s a nice hole in the wall,” said Nikki Pandanell, the manager at Aspens. She means that as an endearing term. “Aspens is a great neighborhood bar that’s relaxed and casual. Our customers really enjoy that.”

Pandanell credits her father Vinnie for making Aspens a reality. “We live here in Clear Lake Shores and opening a bar in the community was my dad’s dream. He looked into several location options, but no venue felt quite right. This went on for a good bit of time until one day, he checked with the owner about leasing this property.” The building was actually an automotive garage with three separate shop spaces that were filled with content… and not for lease. The Pandanells prevailed and secured the perfect spot.

“My dad and I rolled up our sleeves and actually cleaned out the space ourselves” said Pandanell.  “And it took nine months to complete the renovations and create Aspens.” “It was definitely a labor of love,” said Vinnie. “And blood, and sweat, and tears.”

Aspens is an open-air bar when the weather is good. Two garage-type doors located at each end of the fully stocked bar are rolled up to let the breeze in. There is also outdoor patio seating on the Clear Lake waterfront.

Indoors, Aspens has games like Golden Tee, TVs to show major sports games, numerous tables, and a sofa seating area in the back. Acoustic musical entertainment takes the stage on Saturdays from around 6 to 9:30 p.m.

The kitchen is open Mondays through Thursdays from 2 to 8 p.m. and noon to 11 p.m. on weekends. Enjoy pizza, sliders, a club sandwich, BLT, Reuben, French dip, chicken sandwiches, or the Aspen Burger.

Happy hour is Mondays through Fridays from 2 to 7 p.m., offering $3 wells and wines, $2 domestics, $3 imports, and a couple of rotating drink specials. Buckets of beer are a part of happy hour, too. It’s $12 for a bucket of domestics and $16 for a bucket of imports. Aspens is open seven days a week from 2 p.m. to midnight during the weekdays and on weekends from noon to 2 a.m. It’s an intimate venue that could host a festive birthday party or after-work get-together.

For more information on Aspens Bar, call 281-549-6384.

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- Rhonda Meredith