Drinking For Charity: Houston's First Nonprofit Bar

If you've ever wondered how you can turn your Friday and Saturday night activities into, well, charity, here's your answer: head to Houston's Charity Saloon, the first ever nonprofit bar. 

Sound crazy? It's got the legs to do it: organized by OKRA (Organized Kollaboration on Restaurant Affairs), the Charity Saloon has supporters from some of Houston's top restaurants and bars: Anvil Bar and Refuge, Grand Prize, Big Star Bar, Poison Girl, and Antidote. Co-owner of Anvil Bar and Refuge, Bobby Heugel, is the mastermind behind the plan, says the Houston Chronicle.

How does it work? Everything beyond the "double black line" expenses (like paying employees) will go to a different non-profit each month. Drinkers will vote for the charity of their choice by, well, drinking: each drink you buy counts as a chip, that you can use as a "ballot" for the charity you want to earn money. 

Charity Saloon is set to open in four months in downtown Houston; while the bar doesn't plan on being a mixology bar, it will have a stocked bar and food, owner Brad Moore told the Houston Chronicle. The bar, which will open in the refurbished Red Cat Jazz Café, still needs some dollars to help with renovation costs: you can visit friedokra.org to help out. After all, philanthropy is the best excuse to grab a drink.