Brian Ching as Impresario

Beloved soccer star will open second bar in EaDo. By Jeff Gremillion, Photos by Daniel Ortiz

He’s a famous soccer star, and now Brian Ching is, ahem, kicking his post-playing life into higher gear. He announced this afternoon that, through a crowd-funding initiative with Houston-based NextSeed, he’ll open his second EaDo bar.

Ching is a native Hawaiian who grew to international notoriety as an early leader of the Houston Dynamo team more than a decade ago and also represented the U.S. national team for some eight years. He plans to open the doors to the neighborhoody, dog-friendly East End Backyard in the fall. A press release said to expect an enormous 20,000 square foot patio, community garden and an emphasis on outstanding service and sustainability.

“We want this to feel like the biggest backyard in Houston,” said Ching of the project, noting that live music and special events will be on tap. “EaDo is my favorite neighborhood in the city, it’s the most exciting neighborhood in the city, and my hope is that East End Backyard really helps it feel more like just that: a neighborhood.”

Ching, 40, retired from playing professional soccer in 2013. He opened his first bar, EaDo’s Pitch 25 Beer Park, last year.