Drinking this brew will not turn you into a newt. Nor does it weigh as much as a duck. But it is mixed by two self-identified witches who have only imbibed with it a love for the craft and the intention that the one drinking their cocktails feel joy.
Bernal and Smith, co-founders of the popular Every Witch Way Market (EWW) in Denton, are now co-owners of the Hemlock Fox bar nestled on a side street of the downtown square, behind Queenie’s Steakhouse. The bar is the manifestation of Bernal and Smith’s long-held dream to open a brick-and-mortar location. It was the seed from which the idea to create EWW market had originally sprung.
The market's popularity helped prove the concept and build a strong community following over the last four years as the two women scouted for locations. The building they finally landed on was once known as the Austin Street Studio, owned and operated by local watercolor artist Jo Williams.
“When I saw the for lease sign, I just felt compelled to call,” Bernal says.
She later learned it had been the same studio where her mother learned to paint. Something a little like fate, one might say.
They celebrated the grand opening of Hemlock Fox at the end of February complete with a tarot card reader, cake and free fox figurines. The bar is a cozy, intimate venue, its rich green walls adorned with all manner of witchy artwork sourced almost exclusively from Smith and Bernal’s houses.
The heady scent of incense wafts through the low, golden lighting of the bar as part of an intentionally curated, complete sensory experience. You can sip on a drink while seated on the velvet couch or chairs and perhaps grab something to read from the corner library of banned books. The TV will likely be playing a cult classic horror film in the background against that day’s, or night’s, mystical music soundtrack.
For the time being, Hemlock Fox is only serving mocktails, coffee, and teas until their TABC license clears. But fear not, for Smith and Bernal’s nonalcoholic menu is as extensive as it is delicious. Handcrafted mocktails have been a staple of the Hemlock Fox menu since the beginning of EWW to be inclusive of sober lifestyles and families with children.
Smith makes her own simple syrups, brews the teas and harvests most of the herbs from her backyard garden. She and Bernal have plans to transform the outdoor area behind the bar into a larger garden where they can source more herbs and fruits to use in alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks.
The women usually collaborate when creating drink menus for markets, landing simultaneously on the idea of making a caramel corn or circus animal cookie cocktail. The latter was featured at the EWW Night Circus market last November and realistically captured the taste of a frosted circus animal cookie. The Strong Woman Punch, from the same market and currently on the Hemlock Fox menu, has the warming spices of a cider balanced with the sweetness of a candied apple.
Smith and Bernal say the mocktails also fill a void in the local bar scene that they find lacking in mocktails that are more than just soda water and simple syrups. The ingredients for these drinks are more expensive than the price per ounce of most liquor so the mocktails aren’t as profitable. But Smith says, “We don’t really care, we just want people to have a solid experience.”
Their attitude is be what you want to see in the world.
“If no one else is doing it, why not us?” Smith says. “That’s why we started [EWW], it was initially just to create a community that we wanted to be a part of ourselves because, especially right now, it’s so hard to find a place that you just really feel safe and welcomed and like you can freely be yourself.”
That sentiment is one of the driving forces behind every decision made and detail chosen for the bar. In the design of both the drinks and the physical environment, Smith and Bernal aim to create an immersive experience that creates memories for their patrons. They’ll soon be announcing upcoming workshops and events ranging from botany and plant swaps to education for small businesses and entrepreneurs.
Dallas has a true taste for witchery. In 2020, for obvious reasons, North Texans turned to tarot readers and psychics for pandemic-related answers, and to artists such as Shamsy, who trade in mysticism. According to studies, about 40% of people worldwide believe in witchcraft. About half of that number holds true for Dallas' population.
The farm-fresh Insurgent food truck outside of the Hemlock Fox is now permanently parked in the backyard, crowned last year as the best in Texas. Smith and Bernal will be working together with Insurgent co-owners Sam Lopez and Gabby Sanchez on pairing complimentary food and drink menus, as both businesses strive for more sustainable practices of using local and seasonally relevant foods.
Bernal is especially excited for “Little Witches” family-friendly daytime programs where parents and children won’t feel excluded from the typical bar scene.
