You don't need to be in Wisconsin for brats and beer

Photos by Kathy Tran

In the first few weeks after opening its doors, District 9 Draught Haus smells new. The owners haven’t quite figured out what height to keep the blinds to block the sun, but that hasn’t stopped a small crowd of regulars from finding their bar stools by 4 p.m.

The bar is a Thompson family affair. On a Wednesday afternoon, Andy is cooking on the line. Dana greets customers and sweeps the floor. Their son pours pints behind the bar, and their daughter helps where she can. It’s a different lifestyle than Andy experienced in his younger years as a member of The Buck Pets, an alt band in the late ’80s. Andy and Dana wanted something they could do as a family.

DID YOU KNOW: Customers should order food and drink at the bar and it will be brought out to their table.

Their first family venture was a country store in Virginia where Andy perfected his bratwurst recipe. That is also where they created their Reuben sandwich, a recipe with a cult following that they brought to Dallas with them.

“In Virginia we had a pretty big meat counter business. That’s when Andy started developing his own recipe for bratwurst,” Dana says.

Since then, brats have developed a special place in the Thompson family.

“Brat is like bread and butter on the table. It’s so common that I don’t think of it as special. You have to have it on the table.”

The couple almost bought a spot in Deep Ellum but decided against it.

“We want to be in the neighborhood,” Dana says. “District 9 Draught Haus seems to be very much a place where you can come have conversations with neighbors and talk about what’s going on. That’s what we wanted, and it seems like that’s what’s happening.”

Dana had a little advice for those on New Year’s diets who might shy away from fatty meat and beer: “A little sausage never hurt anybody. I think happiness is more important than the scale. There’s something so valuable in just being happy. This sort of food and this beer, that’s what it brings you, happiness.”