Co-owners Mark Zientek and Luis Padilla opened The Refuge Steakhouse and Bourbon Bar in March in the Village of Creekside Park with the goal of offering the largest selection of bourbon in the North Houston area.

Zientek, who has lived in The Woodlands for 25 years and also owns The Refuge Bar & Bistro on Waterway Avenue, said he chose the location for his newest venture in a village that seemed underserved when it comes to dining options.

“When we decided to expand [The Refuge] concept, we were looking for the perfect area, and Creekside Park was it,” he said. “The demographics are great. There are so many homes back here and really not a lot of food and beverage options.”

The Refuge Steakhouse and Bourbon Bar offers bourbons and whiskeys sourced from as close by as Texas, Kentucky and Tennessee and as far away as Scotland and Ireland, Zientek said. The restaurant is sourcing its own barrels of Buffalo Trace Bourbon from Kentucky as well.

“Opening this one, I knew there was such an appetite for inspiration,” Zientek said. “People want to try something new, and there are so many great whiskeys. The fun part is to explore it.”

Although wood-fired steaks are the restaurant’s top-selling item, Zientek said surprisingly frequent-selling entrees include Chilean sea bass and redfish.

In addition to bourbons and whiskeys, the new Refuge concept offers a craft beer menu compiled entirely of Texas-based breweries, 90 percent of which are in the Greater Houston area.

The restaurant also maintains a live music lineup on Friday and Saturday nights from 8 p.m.-midnight, along with a live jazz Sunday Brunch from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Since The Refuge Steakhouse and Bourbon Bar opened, Zientek said the restaurant has been consistently booked on weekends with a steady flow throughout the week.

“People want to go local,” Zientek said. “The residents of Creekside Park are really big on supporting their village, like a lot of the villages [in The Woodlands]. They say it’s a bubble inside of a bubble.”