Bottomless mimosas are going the way of the Dodo (or iPhone headphone jack, if you will).
Even if you haven't noticed that unlimited mimosas have faded from menus during your most recent Sunday Funday excursion, we know of at least two eateries that have stopped offering the cocktails due to visits by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.
It so happens that the TABC is using the
Current's article on bottomless mimosas, published on June 1 with the rest of our Brunch Issue stories, as a hit list of sorts, handing
out warnings to bars and restaurants offering said mimosas.
Which is interesting, considering we actually called a representative with the TABC prior to running that article just to make sure bottomless mimosas weren't, you know, illegal.
A representative from the agency told us back in May that restaurants could offer said bottomless mimosas, but that establishments are held responsible for over-serving and have to police how much people are actually drinking.
That's just not true. After targeting the establishments listed in our story, a representative with the TABC was now more than happy to point us to its
administrative rules for on-premise promotions, which states pretty clearly that bottomless items aren't allowed. Essentially, bars can't charge a single fee for an unlimited or undetermined (or "bottomless") amount of booze.
Since the article's publishing, Rosella Coffee Co., which was given a warning by TABC, has pulled bottomless mimosas from its menu. Single pours are still available. According to owner Charles Gonzalez, the coffee shop rarely had any issues with intoxicated patrons.
Over at Tucker's Kozy Korner, which is known for their soul food brunch, owner Chris Cullum and his staff also dropped bottomless mimosas from their menu after a June visit by TABC. Instead, they offer $5 single mimosas or $10 for a bottle with juice set-ups.
King's Hwy. Brew & 'Cue, which offered bottomless mimosas since its inception, will now offer mimosa set-ups like the ones at Tucker's. Though King's wasn't visited by TABC, co-owner Denise Aguirre says she'd rather not risk it.
"We just took it off the menu," Aguirre said. She added a few patrons at her other bar, The Point Park, were surprised they still offered bottomless mimosas because of said citations.
Chris Porter, a media rep for TABC, tells us the agency uses any materials (articles, accident reports) that make mention of bars or restaurants with licenses for their purposes. He also confirmed that the agency used the
Current's article to target the bars and restaurants listed. TABC usually shows up to bars based on amounts of complaints and staff availability to pop into said joints for a visit—and to hand out warnings.
So, that's why we can't have nice things. Our handy guide turned into a hit list, and there's no amount of cheap sparkling wine that can make that better.
—
Update 9/9/16: Last night
Kens5 aired a story on the issue quoting a Madhatters manager who said the restaurant hadn't served bottomless mimosas since 2009, yet was included on our list published over the summer (which has since been taken down for obvious reasons). The
Current regrets the error.
