07/02/2026
The Best-Laid Plans...
often go awry. But a spontaneous visit to start your Semi-Quincentennial weekend at TEXAS has no real downsides. Come join us tonight and tomorrow to wind down the week - and as has become our weekend tradition, join in a communal salute and national anthem rendition Friday night right around 7:00pm!
For those who are newer to the TEXAS family of friends... you may be mulling one of the repeat questions we've fielded over the past six years:
"Where'd you get that flag?"
"Why does your giant flag only have 48 stars?"
"What's up with a steakhouse singing the national anthem every weekend?"
So glad you asked! Er, mulled. Considered. Contemplated.
That flag hasn't always been hoisted at TEXAS. Shortly prior to the mandated closing of doors in March of 2020 due to the Virus Which Shall Not Be Named (covid, not Voldemort), a generous family whose son worked at the restaurant entrusted a magnificent, 17-by-9-foot US flag to us to be honored on display if we could find a way. That unfortunate shuttering of business gave us time to not only deep clean from top to bottom (literally from the rafters, in a scissor lift, down to the foundation), but also to come up with a system by which to fly that wonderful flag for all our visitors to see and appreciate.
That flag, an Ensign No. 6 in US Navy parlance, was manufactured by hand at the Mare Island, California naval shipyard in December of 1943 - smack dab in the middle of the United States' involvement in World War II (thus the 48 stars, as the non-contiguous states of Alaska and Hawaii had yet to achieve formal statehood). It would likely have been flown aboard the USS Howard W. Gilmore, which was commissioned out of Mare Island the following month.
So why does an entire restaurant start standing and singing?
Well folks... ten days of shutdown turned into two weeks. Then four. Finally after a month and a half of painfully pivoting to offering TEXAS food to-go with mere echoes of the proper TEXAS hospitality and total experience, word came that we would be able to re-open at limited capacity on a Friday - May 1st. We scrambled to get our staff together, let our wonderful customers know, and - pivotally - make sure Rodney Bowens, our resident saxophonist and musician extraordinaire, would be there to bring the re-opening vibes even with a sparse 25%-capacity crowd.
The relief and excitement of each guest coming in the doors that night is hard to describe, unless you were around for V-day a couple years after that flag was made. And oh, that flag. It held every eye and conversation captive throughout the evening, with a rippling wave thanks to A/C vents to its side. Drinks slaked, steaks sated, music resonated - and laughter began its return to TEXAS, just a bit more hushed than before.
Until about 7:00pm, at which time Rodney - saxophone in hand - was hit with the inspiration and compulsion to welcome those beautiful stars and stripes with a fitting tribute. "Oh say, can you see..." sang the reed and brass. Before the dawn's early light finished piercing the air inside, an instinctive, reverent hush fell over all present. As Rodney played, our friends and guests took to their feet by their tables, hands over hearts, facing that wool and cotton adornment above the fireplace. Servers, cooks, bartenders paused their bustle - and as voices joined saxophone, tears fell. Singing over our land of the free and our home of the brave, its free and brave people from every imaginable walk of life erupted into a rafter-shaking cheer and applause that would have you think we had opened at 250 percent capacity rather than 25.
Rodney played on, joy and camaraderie bloomed, and we did our best to process that singular moment of poignancy. The following night, the experience repeated for a new group of guests. Every weekend night in the years since, we've gotten to participate in the recognition and reminder of what is meant to be represented by our flag, as the plaque affixed below it describes:
"We honor its significance by displaying it with hopes that
each person viewing it will remember the events that have
shaped us - the things that have shaken and challenged
us nationally and globally - and appreciate the resilience
we've been given to bounce back each time from the brink
of disaster. Enjoy the times of plenty as we celebrate
that resilience and honor those who step up from among
us whenever seemingly insurmountable situations need
a reminder that everyone has a little TEXAS in them."
So the next time you find yourself standing next to someone on a weekend night while dining here, and they are confused... even a bit weirded out maybe... let them know it's cool, there's a reason this happens. We'll have the details in the "About" section of our website, texas1846.com!
And whether mouse or man, remember the poet Burns' insight that the best-laid plans may not be the ones that are laid at all - a little spontaneity can go a long way.
