The gutsiest investments in Clubland – conceptually, financially, location-wise – always prompt the question: Will it make it? Take Metro Cinema + Indigo Grille.
The crisp, clean theater that serves $10 cosmopolitans and an $18 maple leaf duck entrée is, without question, an all-in endeavor, especially since the building is buried in the sleepy suburb of Colleyville. Every time you go, you’ll see moviegoers looking around with an expression on their faces that says, “Are there enough of us to keep this sucker afloat?”
Anyway, I’m not in the prophesying business, so I like to enjoy the gutsy joints while they’re still around. And no matter how annoyingly superficial the Glass Cactus is, I gotta give it props. Overlooking Lake Grapevine, this $16 million, 34,000-square-foot monster brings a whole new meaning to the phrase “cocktail lounge.” It’s more like a “cocktail village,” what with a two-story disco, a massive elevated stage, and an outdoor veranda that looks out onto the lake and is decorated in tiki torches and expensive-looking patio furniture. And the staffers: They wouldn’t seem out of place on the covers of Men’s Health or Shape.
Other than the joint’s overbearing glitz, the only rub is, well, the location, out in the middle of nowhere and across the street from the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center, which is essentially an ersatz posh hotel. A shuttle ferries guests back and forth every 15 minutes, which means that a majority of Glass Cactus’ clientele isn’t hipsters but, that’s right, family types. On the night I dropped by, the staffers swore up and down that well-coiffed, spendthrift Dallasites normally pack the joint. But when I was there, the vibe was less big city, more Branson, Mo. To further support my claim, pre-historic rockers Foreigner are scheduled to perform next month. Now don’t tell me everyone’s parents aren’t gonna be there.
There are other onsite options, the most promising of which is a Fox and Hound-ish sports bar called Texas Station. But even there, you’re likely to find more bluebloods and blue hairs than fun, young sports nuts.
So what’s a clean, well-lighted palace to do? It’s not like there are Grapevine locals to draw from, and no matter how busy convention business is, you know it’s not even enough to pay for the Sugar Free Red Bull that keeps the staffers in shape.
I guess that’s not our problem. The Glass Cactus is worth the short drive to Grapevine, but it’s probably not gonna end up on your circuit of regular haunts. Maybe if it were closer. Maybe if you lived there.
Contact Last Call at lastcall@fwweekly.com.
Glass Cactus
1501 GaylordTrail
Gaylord Texas Resort and Convention Center, Grapevine.
817-778-2800.
