And now, a view of the scene at the former Westcott Bar by the entrance to Memorial Park, where Swamplot’s Rice Military correspondent is ready at the camera. The address: 6603 Westcott, at the corner of Durford.
That banner at the front is announcing a new location for the Onion Creek Coffee House.
Two more views:
COMMENT OF THE DAY: AWAY FROM THE ROPELINES “I’m new to the area, and am trying to learn about different neighborhoods. I thought [Rice Military] was a good place, but these posts are making me rethink. I want an area close to restaurants and neighborhood bars, maybe a few shops, but not late night strobe light clubs with velvet ropes and VIP sections. Are there any areas in Houston inner-loop that are cool like this, or are they all either club areas or suburban areas where everyone lives in a house with a yard? Why aren’t there any cool areas for the 30-something crowd that doesn’t want clubs and drunk drivers, but does want shops, bars and restaurants?” [Joe, commenting on Coming Soon: Late Night Rice Military Action]
From the Village News:
“Johns” may be sad to see the Southampton brothel close, but the neighborhood is glad to see the nuisance gone.
The location of Asian Massage Villa, 2401 Sunset at Morningside, appeared vacant after a notice of eviction was served by the property owner. . . .
“Their little driveway was always full at night and people were parking wherever they could. HPD and the city attorney’s office really did a fabulous job with this,” said [Southampton Extension Civic Association President Ann] Hightower. . . .
[The establishment’s] little door was around the side and towards the back on Morningside. There was no sign, just a lighted doorway and some stickers indicating donations to emergency responders.
Photo of 2401 Sunset Blvd.: LoopNet
COMMENT OF THE DAY: WHERE WILL ALL THE STRIP CLUBS GO? “The city seems to be acting fairly slowly on this (perhaps the right word is methodically). I wonder where these places will migrate to… Unincorporated parts of Harris County? Industrial areas, far from residents, churches, and schools? It seems unlikely that they’ll just disappear.” [RWB, commenting on The Great Houston Strip Club Crackdown]
THE GREAT HOUSTON STRIP CLUB CRACKDOWN The arrests last week of 6 dancers, the DJ, the manager, and the “house mother” at the All-Star Men’s Club on the corner of Winrock and Westheimer — along with legal action against the club for operating a sexually oriented business without a license — are the latest rounds: “‘This is part of a bigger effort by the White administration to use the powers that are available to the city to protect and improve the quality of life in the city’s neighborhoods,’ said private attorney Patrick Zummo, who was hired by the city to help enforce its sexually oriented business ordinance. ‘We are working on another lawsuit that would include many of those businesses that are operating illegally, and which will probably be filed in the next couple of weeks.’ . . . Frank Michel, a spokesman for Mayor Bill White, confirmed Friday’s legal action is the beginning of an offensive against sex clubs that operate in areas where they would not qualify for a city license.” [Houston Chronicle, via Boyd’s Blog]; previously in Swamplot]
Hey, what happened to Monday? Swamplot spent most of it fighting off a few tech demons. But hey, here’s some news!
Yelp user Minh L. does his part to clear up all those Washington Ave. rumors. How many new bars are planned there? Really?
1. “The Lot” next to Pearl Bar will be open at 2 pm this Thursday.
2; The Daily Grind that closed down, the owners of Cork Screw has taken over the place, and is now currently being remodeled.
3. Owners of Whiskey Creek is opening a bar right next to “Busty La Rue” which is also right next to Pub Fiction new place on Washington. 5102 Washington Houston TX 77007
4. That Gawd awful yellow/stone place your talking about is called “Zen Ultra Lounge”
5. Owner of Pandora is opening another one down the street. Its that purple buidling. DBA is called “Blue Book” don’t think they have a name yet.
6. That really big one is called “Reign Lounge” One of the owners name is Luis. Very nice guy.
7. The old Pig stand is going to be called “Sawyer Sports Bar”
8. “Rare Bar” is opening soon on Durham & Washington
All in all there’s about 16 bars/club so far wanting to open on Washington, but we’ll see how many of them really open. These are all the ones I have time to confrm.
And where exactly does Minh L. get his info?
Snapped this morning: that new butterfly roof on the new second story of what used to be the Pig Stand, at the corner of Washington Ave. and Sawyer. Going in: The Sawyer Sports Restaurant and Bar, from the owners of The Drake nightclub.
Another view sent in by the same reader, from yesterday:
Here’s a concept perfect for the former home of the Daily Grind coffee shop at 4115 Washington Ave.: A new bar!
But the Washington Ave. Drinkery will be very different from all those nightclubs Sixth Ward residents love to stand outside and videotape, owners Andrew and Doyle Adams explain to Allison Wollam of the Houston Business Journal:
“It will be a place where people will want to come to have a good time instead of wanting to be seen having a good time,†Andrew Adams says.
Unlike other high-end bars in the area, Adams says The Washington Ave. Drinkery is designed as an unpretentious, laid-back bar.
Sure, but what will all those down-to-earth customers do in the wee hours after the new bar closes?
Midtown’s lone island of light-rail-lining nightlife will likely be expanding one block north, Jay Lee reports:
The folks who brought you The Continental Club, Sig’s Lagoon, Tacos-A-Go-Go and Shoeshine Charley’s Big Top Lounge are at it again. This time right next door @ 3600 Main.
The new owners of the long-vacant one-story building have discovered some Deco-ish detail underneath the more recent stucco.
If you squint just right and imagine it with some paint to bring out the original design you can just make out what a wonderful space this is going to be. There’s already plans for a coffee shop and a pizza/burger joint and if Pete [Gordon, manager of the Continental Club] has his way, a new club called “Wallpaperâ€â€¦
LONE STAR SALOON CAMO REPLACEMENT The owner of the Lone Star Saloon in Richmond says he’s going to demolish what remains of the 120-year-old building at 102 and 106 S. Third St. and build a “gorgeous” new 4,000-sq.-ft. nightclub in its place. A fire last November gutted the brick structure and destroyed displays of American Indian memorabilia collected and installed by the previous owner. “[Bill] Lindquist, who owns the Lone Star along with his wife, Beverly, said last month he will rebuild the Lone Star as a large one-room nightclub, with a bandstand, dance floor, large modern bar and a kitchen. . . . ‘It’s going to be a metal building, camouflaged not to look like a metal building,’ Lindquist said.” [FortBendNow, via Hair Balls]
Last week Lucky Strike Lanes announced that the stalled buildout of the company’s new upscale bowling alley and lounge in Houston Pavilions would be “put on hold” — indefinitely. This time the company isn’t complaining about delayed equipment deliveries, though. It’s delayed money deliveries:
“At the moment we are seeking financing to complete the project and are having meaningful conversations with potential Houston-based partners as well as investors from elsewhere in the country,†Lucky Strike President Dolf Berle said. “We are still dedicated and committed to opening in Houston.â€
Meanwhile, this past Wednesday night HAIF poster houstonartstudent reported the quiet withdrawal of two minor — and seemingly out-of-place — retail tenants:
Former Heights landmark Super Happy Fun Land may reopen in its new East Downtown EaDo location soon, writes Omar Afra in the Free Press. What’s happened since we last checked in?
To give you a brief synopsis, Houston’s favorite uber-eclectic outsider arthouse and music venue SHFL operated out of a house in the Heights for 5 years until the property owners squeezed them out. Well, the silver lining was that they found a new home in a gigantic warehouse just east of downtown that could facilitate larger shows, more art, and crazier antics. So we at Free Press Houston decided to have a giant shindig at the new venue to celebrate our 5th anniversary and the opening of the great new spot. The place was packed. Err, too packed. The fire marshals came and, lo and behold, SHFL did not have adequate occupancy permitting to permit such an event. They of course got ticketed out the watoozy and have since been jumping through all the municipal hurdles required to submit building plans, acquire permits, and such to open their doors legit. It looked rather bleak for a while as the city does not exactly get excited about doing what it takes to get outsider-art venues open. After having their plans denied several times and given the run around for nearly a year, the good folks at SHFL have got their chance. Their plans were recently approved and they are set for a final inspection in early January to get their occupancy permit. Problem is, they need help.
How can you help Super Happy Fun Land open again?
COMING SOON: LATE NIGHT RICE MILITARY ACTION Some Rice Military residents are feeling a little antsy about the “4 to 5” new bars scheduled to open on the 4 blocks of Washington Ave. between Roy and Detering. The list includes The Pub on Washington coming to 5102 Washington and Tap’s House of Beers coming to 5120 — plus 3 more rumored newcomers at 5110, 5129, and 5317 Washington. A message making the rounds in the neighborhood reports that each has applied for late-hour permits, which would allow alcohol to be served until 2 a.m. [Swamplot inbox]
Problems with equipment deliveries are being blamed for the delayed opening of the Lucky Strike Lanes in the Houston Pavilions project Downtown. The party and pool venue, 16-lane bowling alley, and restaurant was originally supposed to debut this Wednesday, but now may not open for business until the beginning of next year. There are 20 other Lucky Strikes open or planned; the Pavilions location will be the first in Texas.
Meanwhile, all is swell at the new 300 Houston, the reimagined and rebranded former AMF Bunker Hill Lanes bowling alley that opened earlier this month near the Memorial City Mall:
. . . instead of an apathetic teen in a ill-fitting polo attending bowlers’ needs, each lane is outfitted with its own personal lane captain who is outfitted in a tuxedo vest.
“[The captain will] get them their drinks, get them any food and beverage that they want, take care of any issues on the lane – if they have a scoring issue, they miss a frame, one of the pins gets stuck – the lane captain takes care of all of that and they close out with the lane captain,” [Sales Manager Jill Maxwell] says. Before that you head to an equipment specialist who sizes you for a ball, gets your shoes and escorts you to your lane.
