蜜柚直播

They started with an upgrade to the kitchen equipment.

They also set their sights on introducing a digital ordering system so customer orders will be relayed quicker to the kitchen to improve service; and upgrading the sound system to enhance the club鈥檚 live entertainment.

鈥淚t does well right now as a bar, but certainly there鈥檚 some room for some massaging and some improvements,鈥� said Krueger, who co-owns a trio of popular St. Philip鈥檚 Plaza restaurants including Union Public House. 鈥淚t will be gradual changes. You don鈥檛 want to mess something like this up. It鈥檚 a legendary, old school 蜜柚直播 institution. You don鈥檛 want to bring a wrecking ball.鈥�

Jay Zucker, who owned the The Maverick Country Night Club for 13 years, sold it in July to Krueger and his fianc茅e Papoutsis, who operates an online fashion retail business.

鈥淚f there was anybody 20 years younger than me that can take the Maverick to the next level it鈥檚 Grant and Kat,鈥� said Zucker.

Zucker, who made his fortune from selling Spanish language radio and TV stations in 蜜柚直播 and Phoenix before buying the 蜜柚直播 Sidewinders baseball team in the late 1990s, said the sale allows him to finally retire. He splits his time between his native 蜜柚直播 and his home in Pinetop-Lakeside.

Krueger and Zucker鈥檚 relationship goes back nearly 20 years to the time when Zucker docked his boat at the marina in San Carlos, Mexico, where Krueger owned the Marina Cantina dockside bar.

The pair kept in contact after Krueger sold the bar and moved back to 蜜柚直播 10 years ago to open Union Public House. When Krueger heard that Zucker was interested in selling The Maverick, which is hosting a 57th anniversary celebration on Sunday, Oct. 20, he jumped at the chance.

鈥淭he Maverick is an institution in 蜜柚直播,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a brand since 1962. Everybody knows The Maverick.鈥�

Krueger and Papoutsis, whose nearly two-year-old online retail business Four Halos Boutique represents fashions from 50 different labels in the U.S. and Canada, are focusing on improving The Maverick鈥檚 menu to go beyond fried foods and bar snacks; they rolled out the new menu last week.

They also plan to take a cue from Union Public House鈥檚 popular daily happy hour and place more emphasis on happy hour food specials in addition to $3 to $6 drink specials.

The pair also want to restore The Maverick鈥檚 old 鈥淜ing of Clubs鈥� moniker that Zucker replaced several years ago with 鈥淟ive Country Club,鈥� and build on the club鈥檚 long history of live entertainment that includes rotating local bands, a house band and occasional national artists.

The Maverick鈥檚 current house band, Flipside, has been with the club for a decade.

In addition to Union Public House, Krueger co-owns and operates Reforma Modern Mexican Mezcal + Tequila that opened four years ago in the old Scordato鈥檚 Pizza spot at St. Philip鈥檚, across the courtyard from Union Public House. Last November, he and his partners opened Proof Artisanal Pizza and Pasta in the St. Philip鈥檚 space that was briefly home to Sazerac, the short-lived Cajun and Creole venture from Vero Amore parent JAM Culinary Concepts.

Krueger and Papoutsis are the fourth owners of the Maverick, which opened in 1962 at 6951 E. 22nd St.

The business, started by Fritz McTarnahan, had three operators before Mo Farhang, who came to 蜜柚直播 in the early 1960s from his native Iran to attend the University of 蜜柚直播, bought the business in 1971.

Farhang owned it through two major fires at the original location before moving it to 6622 E. Tanque Verde Road in summer 2002 鈥� six months after the second blaze gutted the structure.