They are a North Texas microbrewery that has taken home awards from national competitions. They have expanded operations and sales from coast to coast, including internationally. They have consistently good standard house beers and a quality kitchen, including (occasionally) hosting their own beer-pairing dinners. But rarely do they appear on any craft beer fan’s list of, well, anything.
The brewery is Twin Peaks. Yeah, that one. As the tagline says, “Eats. Drinks. Scenic Views.”
For those unaware, Twin Peaks is a local tongue-in-cheek concept known informally as a “breastaurant,” or a sports bar that specializes in standard fast-casual fare served by young female servers wearing shorts and halter tops. Several competing franchises are found locally and around the country, including Hooters, Bikinis Sports Bar & Grill (closed), Tilted Kilt, Ojos Locos, Bombshells, Tight Ends and Bone Daddy’s. Surprisingly or not, most of these concepts are based or originated in Texas (Hooters from Florida; Tilted Kilt from Las Vegas). An all-male version called Tallywackers popped up briefly in Dallas in 2015-2016.
The formula is very simple: A menu heavy on fried dishes served by attractive young women wearing tight shorts and tops, not quite as revealing as conventional adult entertainment but tantalizing enough that most would not wear the outfits socially. They often do not qualify fully as an “adult-oriented business” for zoning matters yet they can often attract the same protests from local residents. The theme is the only variable―Scotland for Tilted Kilt, World War II for Bombshells, Southern BBQ for Bone Daddy’s―and includes references centered heavily on the mildly sexy double-entendre. It is not seedy or explicit, but a wholesome, family-friendly environment is never intended.
Make no mistake, Twin Peaks does not deviate from this marketing model. The staff is made up of young women occasionally wearing revealing thongs, miniskirts, bralettes, and bikinis, usually adhering vaguely to a mountaineering lodge theme of hunting and camping, flannel and plaid. Theme nights are not uncommon, and staff will dress accordingly in swimsuits or lingerie, and for holidays or major sporting events televised on up to 80 wall-to-wall screens usually bordering a central wraparound bar. Somewhere in the back is the obligatory Golden Tee, and the restrooms (at least, the mens) are adorned with racy yet PG-13 pinup art.
This offering makes Twin Peaks the first craft brewery in Texas to sell shares publicly.
Where Twin Peaks breaks from this crowd is that it includes in-house craft brewing operations as well as commercial beers, whereas most breastaurants carry only the standard national brands―or at best only the largest local brands. With their regional brewing operations centralized at their North Irving site since 2013 (and still the only brewery in that city), Twin Peaks original brews are distributed to restaurant locations around the state and replicated at their 115 restaurants across the US and Mexico. The house beers were initially created and added to the business model by Tom Janik, the long-time head brewer from the North Texas Humperdinks locations. (Janik has since moved on to Unlawful Assembly Brewing in Plano.)
Their offerings are usually not adventurous nor extensive, including only a handful of original brews centering around crowd favorites like “Dirty Blonde” (blonde ale), “Knotty Brunette” (brown ale), and “Drop Dead Redhead” (IPA). However, the occasional special or seasonal style will appear such as Oktoberfest, Mexican lagers, red ales, and dry-hopped or barrel-aged variants. Each is solidly mid-range for the appropriate style, reliable if not groundbreaking, and they did take home a bronze medal at the 2015 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) for their Barrel-Aged Brown Ale. (Annoyingly, they also pride themselves on “29°F beers” served in frozen mugs, complete with live-display cooler temperatures, but requesting a room-temperature mug is not a problem.)
Objections to this business model on moral grounds are entirely understandable, if not also indefensible in our modern age of enlightenment. The franchise does objectify women, and makes no apologies for that practice; some might even describe their operations as misogynistic, if not at least openly exploitative. All these accusations are valid but, at the same time, locally brewed beer of consistent quality is produced and maintained throughout all locations by full-time, professional brewers at their Irving brewhouse. And occasionally, a beer might even win an award or two.
Whatever your personal opinion of the business and its concept, it has proven to be persistently successful. In January 2025, Twin Peaks went public, as in selling shares as Twin Hospitality Group (TWPN) on the NASDAQ; this offering makes them the first craft brewery in Texas to sell shares publicly. Meanwhile and almost simultaneously, their competition is faltering as Hooters prepares to file for bankruptcy.
The food deserves special mention here, as although the menu does not vary widely from the standard for this market sector (burgers, wings, appetizers), the dishes tend to be more original kitchen creations rather than frozen items quickly deep-fried and served in a paper-lined basket. No culinary awards are likely but the menu includes house-smoked barbecue and most items prepared as close to “scratch” as modern franchise restaurants can manage. Haute cuisine it is not, but it is a step above their competitors.
Whether a successful concept or just a very successfully run business, Twin Peaks probably deserves more acknowledgement in the local craft beer scene than they currently receive. PH
