There are kid-friendly holidays for restaurants like Halloween and Easter and then there is St. Patrick’s Day.
The 17th day of March ranks among the booziest of national holidays. It is often marked by binge drinking and pub crawls and rowdy eateries with warnings: No one under 21 after 7 p.m.
The Friendly Spot Icehouse is not one of those places. It is the kid-friendly town square of Southtown. An outdoor venue with rainbow slides and a patio for dogs. An open space for tables and lawn chairs and LED screens for sports.
The icehouse draws families for picnics under the sun and dinner under the stars. Open from noon until midnight. Seven days a week.
Lest you misunderstand, husband and wife owners Steve and Jody Newman have plenty of beer on tap, 76 craft beers to be precise, and “300 bottle & can brews,” according to their website.
So, yes, the alcohol flows. But the atmosphere remains relaxed and parents feel comfortable bringing children. From the icehouse webpage: “Our version of happy hour is #FriendlyHour. #friendly steals & #friendlydrafts every hour, every day, just for friends.”
“We’ve been welcome to all for almost 17 years,” Jody Newman said. “We welcome all family, all friends, furry friends, all things. St.Patrick’s Day is no different. We serve friendly eats from noon to midnight. Our friends love our green beer. And for those who don’t do beer, we can do green frozen cocktails or even sodas.”
Green alcohol is one draw. Half price nachos every Tuesday is another. Popular burgers and fish tacos also bring traffic. But the big draw today is the basketball game: San Antonio Spurs vs. Sacramento Kings at 9 p.m.
“When the Spurs are doing well,” Newman said, “every holiday is like on steroids. It’s wonderful for business.”
The Spurs are 50-18, boast the second-best record in the NBA and have won 18 of their last 20 games. Fans expect a deep playoff-run. Excitement is building.
The mood was dark last season. The Spurs were a team in transition under an interim coach. They struggled to build a dependable core around 7-foot-5 All-Star Victor Wembanyama. Regardless, The Friendly Spot drew a large crowd for the Spurs-Lakers game last March 17.
“We had a great St. Paddy’s Day last year,” Newman said. “This year will also be great!”
The Friendly Spot has been a hot spot since 2009. The Newmans worked in the insurance business until the Great Recession of 2008. When Steve lost his job, the couple pivoted. They gambled on a new concept and opened their icehouse on South Alamo Street.
“Steve always said we wouldn’t have left our jobs to take the risk,” Jody said. “The world had different plans. … It was slow to start but grew with great neighbors that patronized the spot.”
By design, the venue carries the same name as an icehouse that operated at the corner of Alamo and Beauregard Streets more than 50 years ago.
The original Friendly Spot sprang out of a converted, 1930s-era gas station. It served as an icehouse and popular music venue from roughly 1973-1981.
The Newmans honored the icehouse’s legacy, welcoming original customers, listening to stories and sharing an old photograph of a long-gone venue. The new Friendly Spot lives up to its name.
In 2019, the former consumer-driven website, RateBeer, named the icehouse the best in Texas to grab a beer. Soon after, the icehouse began selling cocktails and spirits.
“Friendly has been pretty steady for a decade,” Jody Newman said. “We attribute this to our awesome Southtown neighbors.”
The spot counts former San Antonio First Lady Erika Prosper as a friend. She has visited the icehouse more than a dozen times over the years.
“That’s been the site of so many memorable moments for our family,” said Prosper, wife of former Mayor Ron Nirenberg. “When our son Jonah was younger, he took advantage of the playground and the movies they used to screen. You could take kids and relax and at the same time enjoy cool beers and unique offerings.”
Due to her husband’s once demanding schedule, Prosper never visited the Friendly Spot on St. Patrick’s Day. Since leaving City Hall, however, Nirenberg’s calendar has opened up.
“We might stop by this year because we have this free time,” Prosper said. “I’m very curious to see what concoctions Steve comes up with. He’s always been a very creative brewer and has a great knack for finding great beers and up and coming breweries to source from.”
Color the Friendly Spot green. Green for beer and cocktails. Green for a splash of soda.
“St. Patrick’s Day is about celebrating the luck of the Irish and people coming together,” Prosper said. “The Friendly Spot lends itself to people having a good time. It draws you in like a pot of gold.”
