A new brewery and restaurant opens its doors Wednesday at 308 Market Street in Old Town Tomball, filling the storefront left vacant when Fire Ant Brewing Company closed after eight years in business. Southern Oak Brewing's grand opening begins at 11 a.m., bringing 28 taps of house-brewed and guest beer alongside a chef-driven menu to the space that anchored the neighborhood's original brewpub scene.
The venue is the work of two Tomball families who were already friends before deciding to go into business together, according to co-owner Josh Schwaiger, who runs Southern Oak with his wife Kendra Schwaiger. The couple also operates Paradigm Brewing Company, which opened its 10,500-square-foot production facility at the Tomball Business and Technology Park in December 2021, as reported by Community Impact. That facility sits roughly two miles from the new Market Street location, according to Hello Woodlands, putting the partners' two Tomball operations within about a seven-minute drive of each other.
Josh Schwaiger brings more than 20 years of combined beer, sales, and hospitality experience to the venture, with stints at Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Karbach Brewing rounding out his resume. Joining the Schwaigers are Tatia George and Doug George, who run Graze at 208 N Elm and bring the food side of the new operation. Doug George has 37 years of experience as a corporate chef, including work as personal chef to the Dedman family, with training at the Culinary Institute of America's Hyde Park and Greystone campuses as well as Le Cordon Bleu in Paris.
A Menu Built Beyond Typical Bar Food
Southern Oak occupies the former Fire Ant space along with the adjoining 310 storefront, giving the restaurant room for a patio and balcony in addition to the main dining area. Josh Schwaiger said the menu was built to go beyond typical bar food, and the lineup backs that up: wings and egg rolls sit on the menu alongside shepherd's pie and a bison burger. Tatia George said the Southern Oak name itself came from a list of ideas drawn from nearby street names, ultimately landing on South Oak Street in Old Town as its namesake.
Three of the four owners have staked out favorite dishes. Josh Schwaiger's pick is the bison burger, while Tatia George favors the elote corn dip as an appetizer and the ancho cocoa tacos as an entrée. Doug George's choices lean more adventurous, naming the ahi tuna tostones as his favorite starter, the tandoori chicken quesadilla as his entrée pick, and the white and dark chocolate bread pudding for dessert.
Brewing Under a Texas Brewpub License
Southern Oak brews its beer on-site on Market Street under a Texas Brewpub License, a state permit that caps on-site manufacturing at 10,000 barrels annually per venue while allowing direct sales for on-premise consumption and limited off-premise takeout, according to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. House beers include the Southern Oak London Ale, Southern Oak Italian Pils, and a West Coast Brew, served alongside guest beers, wine, champagne, cider, seltzer, and non-alcoholic options. The brewpub permit allows beer and wine up to 17% ABV, but the operation does not offer spirits or a cocktail program.
The space Southern Oak now occupies carries its own local history. Fire Ant founder Bruce Kissinger began brewing five-gallon homebrew batches over an open flame before Fire Ant became a business at 308 Market Street in 2018, according to the Houston Chronicle. Fire Ant closed on May 17, 2026, after eight years in operation, following the retirement of owners Bruce and Sylvia Kissinger.
Opening Against the Grain of a Tough Industry
Southern Oak's opening lands at an uneasy moment for Houston-area craft brewing. Hello Woodlands notes the launch arrives amid a wave of 2026 Greater Houston brewery closures, including East Downtown's True Anomaly Brewing in April and Conroe's Southern Star Brewing in June. Nationally, U.S. craft beer production contracted 4% in 2025 to 22 million barrels, with 60% of craft breweries reporting production drops, according to data from the Brewers Association updated in May 2026.
That contraction follows years of growth in the craft brewing industry. Pew reports that the share of U.S. adults ages 18 to 34 who have ever consumed alcohol fell from 72% to 62%.
Against that backdrop, Southern Oak's bet is pairing house-brewed beer with an elevated, chef-driven menu rather than leaning on beer sales alone, per Hello Woodlands' reporting on the opening. Southern Oak Brewing is located at 308 Market St, Tomball, TX 77375, and will operate Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The brewery is closed Mondays, and more information is available at southernoakbrewing.com.
