SPORTSMAN LOUNGE OFFERS DOS X AT $2.50, $15 BUCKETS

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

Ever been downtown on a hot summer day and and crave a cold Dos X? Used to be – many, many moons ago – you could just cross the bridge and saunter over to Cano's or Garcia's and sip at leisure watching the maddening crowd and traffic trying to cross the gateway Bridge. But, alas, the troubles over there have made that almost impossible except for the more adventurous of us.

Well, here comes Ernie Avalos' Sportsman to the rescue! 

You remember Ernie. He used to be a planner with the City of Brownsville, director of BUS, and then branched out to owning bars first at Xochil's, Kina's, and now the Sporstman Lounge in downtown Browntown. Ernie tells us that – by popular demand – he now offers Dos X at his fine drinking establishment at only (drum roll) $2.50, and a bucket of six brews for $15. Domestic beer is still $2. Now, remember that Dos X is a kind of cult beer and local so-called "upscale" bars charge as much as $4.50 per bottle.

The comely lass above – Ernie's better half, Berta  – doesn't come with the bucket, but you can catch her running the bar most mornings (the Sportsman opens at 10 a.m. for discerning drinkers and the residents of the BHA high-rise a few blocks away.) She's there Monday through Thursday if you want to say hello. 

With so many changes going on downtown (HEB's gone and parking is always a challenge) it's good to know that one of the anchors remains the Sportsman Lounge. Once  a hideout for snowbirds, it now caters to the general public. Ernie tells a funny story that as a kid, he and other shoeshine urchins would duck a cop named Oliveira and sneak into the Sportsman to shine shoes because the winter visitors were generous with their tips, unlike the customers in the rougher bars on Market Square.

Things have changed, as we said earlier. Cop Oliveira is long gone. Now, instead of being run out of the joint, Ernie owns it. That deserves a toast of a cold Dos X. Bottoms up!