August 02 2013

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Houston’s Beer Can House: An Unofficial TopSpot Tradition Since 2011

Houston’s Beer Can House seems to be getting all the press lately! From CultureMap and the Huffington Post to PerezHilton.com and The Daily Mail in London, everyone seems to be talking about it.

When I began working at TopSpot just over two years ago, the Lead SEO took Nicole Buergers and I on a sort of introductory lunch trip — a lunch trip that has become a tradition for all of our new SEOs and many other hires in our marketing department. While it may be just a “bizarre attraction” to some, it’s a favorite and inspiring attraction to many at TopSpot.

The Lunch Trip

The journey begins at Sunrise Taquitos (also referred to as GST or Gas Station Tacos in the office). Normally, you wouldn’t think to order or have really good tacos at a gas station, but the tacos here are fresh, delicious and inexpensive. GST is the first half of the lunch trip and the first lesson.

After GST, the adventure continues across the busy Memorial Drive to a quiet, really nice neighborhood in the Rice Military area. We don’t let our new team members know where we’re headed. We prefer the reaction when they realize there is a house made of beer cans in front of them, which usually sounds something like, “Whoa, this is awesome!” or “Are those beer cans!?”

We give a little history on John Milkovisch, take a picture of our new TopSpot team member in front of the golden rule sign and then give them their first, ambiguous task/challenge — “What is the meaning behind this lunch trip?”

Below are some of their responses that have inspired us and made us smile.

1. Work isn’t work if you love what you do. 2. Anything, no matter how awful or obscure or different, can be made into art. It’s all about the way that you look at it. 3. Be remarkable.”

Jordan Peddicord

SEO Specialist, Jordan Peddicord

Just like the world is full of people who drink beer and live in houses, the internet is full of websites that offer products and services. We have to be resourceful and passionate. There are a lot of websites out there. We need to commit to letting our passions guide us and to finishing what we start (especially the little details). If we do all these things, we can lead our clients and TopSpot to industrial B2B glory.”

Lauren Simpson, Josh Blankenship

SEO Specialist, Josh Blankenship with team member Lauren

When the veteran TopSpotters took us to lunch forthe infamous “gas station tacos” and then surprised us with a visit to the Beer Can House, it was a great way to welcome us to “Team Geek” and become part of the tradition. The hard work, creativity and dedication that was put into building the house is something to definitely learn from. It’s taking something that is normal and transforming it into something unique.”

Laura Helleburg, Alicia Erb, Israel Perez
Alicia Erb (middle) with Laura Helleberg and Israel Perez
 

 

Mayuri Patel, Stephen Rifai, Lora Larson-Miller
Lora Larson-Miller (right) with Mayuri Patel, Stephen Rifai

 

As CultureMap put it, there have been “various degres of snark and awe” from others. Crazy or creative, we think it’s various degrees of awesome and inspiring.

For more information on Houston’s Beer Can House and tour hours, visit: http://orangeshow.org/beer-can-house/