Creekwood Grill: An Interview with Brian Sandel

Creekwood Creekwood ill ill

An Interview with An Interview with ian Sandel ian Sandel

By Patricia Hudson

PINP O INTE RESIDENT PR O FILE

Photo by Patricia Hudson

Creekwood Grill, located in Cypress at 12710 Telge Road, is a popular site for gatherings of family and friends. What began its life as a grocery in the 1940’s, was probably best known in the 1980’s as P.O.’s. In August 2018, Brian Sandel and Mark McShaffry became partners of Creekwood Grill. I interviewed Brian to learn more about this favorite Cypress restaurant.

Brian, your partnership with Mark McShaffry at Creekwood Grill is coming up on three years in August. How did this come about?

Mark and I met when I was a Managing Partner for Raising Cane's. We met in 2012, maybe 2013, at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the old Northwest Forest Conference Center, directly across the street from Creekwood, (irony!) His general manager and I ran into each other a lot at various school and marketing functions; we got to know each other through doing business in the Cypress area in the same industry. The way he built his business at The Backyard Grill is strikingly similar to the way I went about building a brand-new concept to Cypress, Raising Cane's, so we ended up running into each other a lot.

What do you see as the reason Creekwood is so popular with the folks in Cypress?

I think it's just basic business. We have a great location, away from the freeways and crazy traffic areas. We have a good menu that's easy to understand and we use high quality ingredients; we followed what our customers were telling us that they wanted us to be. We're a fun, laid back, easy to hang out at with friends kind of place, with a killer burger and great beer. Oh, yeah, the BEER! We have 40 rotating taps of great beer with a style and choice for anyone. We work hard to be a place where people can come learn about new beers without feeling like the beer snobs are everywhere. We're constantly

looking for great, mostly local craft beers for everyone to try. There is so much amazing beer that is brewed right here in the Houston / Gulf Coast area, and we try to showcase as much of that as we can. In a nutshell, good food, good beer, good music in a comfortable environment.

More than a year into the pandemic, has business finally turned the corner?

Absolutely! We are so blessed to have the support of the community and it seems like some of the folks that were waiting for things to become safer to return to normal are coming back to restaurants. I've heard many times over the past few weeks that "This is the first time we've eaten in a restaurant in a year." Known as a music venue, entertainment plays an important role at Creekwood Grill. The stage in our building has seen a lot of talent over the years. When we started, we just asked a few friends to come set up a guitar and a stool and sing a few songs. As word got around, we had more and more artists approach us to play. Now we have a group of probably a dozen or so artists that play on a rotational basis.

What are the improvements/ accomplishments of which you are most proud at CG? What improvements are still in the works?

We are happy with the way we've taken a location that has been a go-to for multiple generations of Cypress families and just continued to evolve it to fit what the community seems to be telling us they want right now. We want to keep moving forward, but still maintain the soul of P.O.'s and Cypress Saloon for generations to come. Many of the things you see today are ideas that came about during the pandemic, and from us trying to adapt to the ever-changing conditions over the past year. The massive outdoor dining area was developed so that folks could have a place to dine where they felt comfortable based on what the authorities were saying at the time, and as the situation evolved, we found that people still like to eat and drink in the sunshine, so it stayed. Several of our menu items were developed as family meals to do whatever we could to keep business coming in through the shutdowns, and ended up being so popular they made the menu. So, I suppose the thing I'm most proud of is the fact that we were able to survive a global

pandemic 18 months into opening a restaurant by constantly adapting and re-inventing ourselves. I'm also super proud to be able to continue to host Cypress Chapel every Sunday morning. Pastor Stephen DeMik has been a great partner with us from day one and the contributions the church has made to our facility and to our local neighborhood are invaluable. Our next project is getting the former P.O.'s building back into use. We've remodeled it, and we've had several ideas over time, but I believe we have finally settled on the

Righteous Cause performing

Photo by Patricia Hudson

If you know of an exceptional Greater Fairfield, Towne Lake, Coles Crossing, Bridgeland/Blackhorse Ranch, or Cypress Creek Lakes individual or family that needs to be featured in an upcoming issue of PinPointe Magazine, please contact me: texasteacher024@outlook.com. direction we want to take it. It's still Beer Flight early in the process, so I don't want to give too much away, but we are excited about the direction we're headed, and that we may finally be using the entire building and property soon!

What is your "Go to" meal at Creekwood Grill?

My personal go-to? Either the wings with either the dry rub bbq or the Honey Garlic sauce. We smoke the wings for an hour and a half before we flash fry them and I love that subtle smokiness. I'll grab a Wheelhouse Burger if I'm super hungry.

What's next for Brian Sandel?

Who knows? Truth be told, I'd have never seen this coming, so as soon as God tells me what's next for me, you'll be the first to know!

Creekwood Grill

12710 Telge Rd. • Cypress, TX 77429 (281) 746-635 • www.CreekwoodGrill.com • eat@creekwoodgrill.com HOURS Monday: Closed Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: 11 am to 9 pm Friday & Saturday: 11 am to 10 pm