"Garland TX" news and stories

The Flying Saucer Draught Emporium's newest addition.

A weekly look at the draft selections in beer-friendly establishments across the country.

The Flying Saucer Draught Emporium has one aim: to be the place to go for great draft beer, especially in Texas, which boasts a neat half-dozen outposts of the watering hole. Residents of Arkansas, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee also sip suds at Flying Saucers. The newest landed in the suburbs outside Dallas.

Just over three weeks ago, the new Saucer on the Lake opened in a scenic spot overlooking Lake Ray Hubbard in Garland, Texas. "There's all these little communities out there," says Diane Willingham, director of sales and special events. "People working in Dallas drive 30 minutes to an hour to get home ... They want to go to the lake and hang out on a patio." Workers also want to drink beer, and Saucer on the Lake delivers, with more than 80 on draft and a diverse selection focused almost entirely on craft brews and imports.

But as the Saucer continues to expand, couldn't the company risk losing that independent spirit craft drinkers relish? Willingham doesn't think so: "We expand very slowly and don't franchise. Owner Shannon Wynne researches each location himself."