TG’s opens near Kosse

Agnes Watson, David Shaw and Jeanette Shaw stand behind the bar at TG’s Bar & Grill, located 2 miles north of Kosse on Highway 14. The business has been open about a month and has become a popular stop among locals. Journal photo David Stone Spurred by the opening of a new coal mine east of town and continuing construction on a nearby power plant, new businesses are popping up in and around bustling little Kosse. The latest venture -- TG’s Bar & Grill -- has been open about a month and already is drawing crowds.

Although work on the building is far from complete, the new eatery and watering hole located two miles north of Kosse on Highway 14 has become popular among miners and local residents.

“We still have a ways to go,” said David Shaw, a former NASCAR driver who owns the business along with his wife, Jeanette, and daughters Tina Privett and Gail Duff (TG‘s gets its name from the first letter of their names).

“We were originally going to open a barbecue and beer business, but we haven’t got the pit built yet,” David Shaw said. “That’s still in the plans though. This place is still a dream in the works.”

Shaw and family have been busy putting the final touches on the new 2,400-square-foot building, and a large covered patio is in the works. Once complete, the establishment will sport awnings across the front of the building and an improved parking lot.

Although barbecue is not yet available, TG’s large kitchen has been booming.

“The grill has been doing great,” Shaw said Thursday morning. “We’re selling a lot of chicken wings, Black Angus burgers, patty melts and taco salad.”

TG’s chicken wings are available naked or hot, and other menu items include grilled chicken, steak fingers, quesadillas, Frito pie and wraps.

While food sales have so far accounted for nearly half of TG’s sales, most customers come for the beverages. The bar sells domestic and imported beers and wines, and is one of few area taverns to offer beer on tap.

Tina’s husband, Randy, has been running TG’s on weekends and the Shaws manage the place during the week. The families are from the Pasadena and Dayton areas, but the Shaws moved to Kosse in 2005 and the daughters plan to build homes on the land behind the tavern.

“We were planning to move to Lake Limestone,” David said, “but we saw this piece of land and fell in love with it. We wanted to open a business, and Jeanette and our daughters were leaning toward a restaurant. Since Sharon’s (in Thornton) closed down, this area doesn’t have a bar -- there’s no place for people to vent. So, we decided on the bar and grill.”

In addition to food and drink, TG’s soon will be serving a variety of entertainment. The business has a pool table and plans to hold weekly tournaments. A large television and three smaller screens are connected to Direct TV’s NFL ticket, so all league games are available for viewing.

“We have four televisions, and we can have a different game on each one,” David Shaw said.

“We also will be having a weekly karaoke night and live bands,” Jeannette Shaw added. TG’s first band will be Houstonbased Cattle Prod on Saturday, Oct. 24.

“They play country and classic rock,” she said.

TG’s Bar & Grill is open 11 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. every Saturday. The grill is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday through Tuesday and 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. every Wednesday.