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]
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I am indeed one of those unhappy residents. At first I was excited about the idea of bars that I could walk to. Then I saw what it did the the neighborhood! We have drunken suburbanites walking the streets at all hours of the night. People with trucks that big clearly dont live in the city.
This is par for the course when you buy in an “up and coming” area, and is part of the reason why I chose a house a few blocks back from Washington.
NIMBYs should have known better than to buy a townhouse within yelling distance of a major thoroughfare. Look on the bright side… there are bargains to be had in the suburbs, with nary a bar for miles.
Another location for Coco Loco is opening up at 4105 Washington Ave. Its going to get busy, noisy and ghetto in no time. That location is actually building a new building for the Urban crowd.
Kong, tell us what you really think.
Please tell me you are kidding about the coco locco.
Didn’t know anything about Coco Loco, so I Googled this:
“Get crazy at Club Coco Loco, where the ear-rattling sound system pulses hip-hop, dance and Latin beats. In the main room, there are two cages to get your groove on. Climb in with a couple of friends and get shaking. VIPs can watch all the antics on the main floor from their own private perch. To get VIP status, you can either purchase a card or, if you’re one of the lucky ladies, you may get one free of charge. Things heat up in the second room at Coco Loco. Climb up on one of the blocks and ”get your freak on.” This club has four bars, so you’ll never be ”jonesing” for a drink — unless, of course, you are a minor under 18. On Thursdays, it’s Teen Night, where kids 13 to 18 have the club to themselves. Sundays offers special events and concerts and sometimes a second Teen Night.”
AWESOME!!! … not. I drove west down Washington today looking at these locations on my way to the office. My thought was “Here comes Houston’s version of Austin’s ‘Sixth Street.'” Excuse me for being a curmudgeon, but this sucks.
Hellllo?
What would you expect to find when you move to the barrio?
Washington is/has been the barrio from one end to the other since almost the beginning of time.
I thought everyone who bought over there was looking forward to the “diversity”.
Keep Houston weird.
I live a couple of blocks from Washington. We realized a while back that Washington is becoming Houston’s “6th Street”. I pity the poor people that will be living nearby Coco Loco, but as someone pointed out, when you buy in an area that has no zoning and no deed restrictions, you have to expect that there will be diversity all over the area. One thing that these ‘hoods have in common these days in the inner city is that relatively high dirt values typically prevent things that neighborhoods abhor like body shops, tatoo parlors, etc. What these high dirt values don’t prevent, however is mixed use commercial and residential construction. There have been quite a number of quality restaurants built on Washington lately. It is no surprise that there will be some bars that want to tap into the popularity of Houston’s new “restaurant row”. These bars have every right to be there if they conduct their operations within the limits of the already established land use regulations and restaurant/bar regulatory requirements. If you buy a house on property adjacent to a busy commercial thoroughfare, there’s a pretty good chance that down the line, there’ll be some questionable development close by since there are no deed restrictions or zoning. The upcoming Rice Military Civic Club meeting on 12/03 will be an interesting one….
“We have learned that 4 to 5 new bars are scheduled to open on Washington between Roy/Reinerman and Lester – that’s the 5100 to 5300 blocks!!!
Just a two block area!!The addresses are 5102, 5110, 5120, 5129, and 5317
It appears that each has applied for MB and LH, which is mixed beverage and late hours.This means that they can serve alcohol until 2:00 a.m.!! There is little to no parking at each of these addresses, which gives patrons the only alternative of parking on the streets of Rice Military. Public intoxication, loud noise, litter and debris also have accompanied these businesses. We have seen this kind of situation already created by the bars on the east end of Washington. While all of us want to see Washington Avenue become a “World Class Street”, we know that a mixture of businesses is required to create the kind of atmosphere that is good for long term survival of these businesses and the value of surrounding properties.
LET’S STOP IT BEFORE IT HAPPENS!!!! LET’S TALK IT OUT!!
EVERYONE IS INVITED TO ATTEND THE RICE MILITARY STAKEHOLDERS MEETING WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 6:30 DORIS MILLER CENTER 5216 FEAGAN
The City of Houston has joined us in bringing together the property owners, business operators, TABC and City of Houston representatives. Attendees: Donna Edmundson, Senior Assistant City Attorney, Chief Neighborhood Services Giovanna LaFleur, TABC Community Liason Art Valdez, CoH Investigator, TABC matters Wendy Shields, TABC representative Brittany Phillips, District G – CM Pam Holm’s Office Jane Cahill-West, President Super Neighborhood 22, Old Sixth Ward Resident Urban Living Representatives Oxberry Group Representatives Operators of Proposed Establishments We look forward to seeing the plans that are being proposed by these businesses, and to the question and answer session to follow.”
Relax. Get your freak on.
I live behind a rocking, bluesy bar. They have been good neighbors. When the new ownership bought the place we began negotiations about the sound. We were lucky to have such good, caring and community conscience bar owners. I know that you can get some narcissistic ones that have no care about the community. Call them, meet them, compromise. Find out who the owners are and what they value.
Once you have that information, then take appropriate action. Nuisance bars can and have been shut down.
I, for one, welcome our new neighbors and will be at the stakeholders’ meeting supporting entrepreneurship in our area. Here’s why:
This morning I walked my dog in front of all of these buildings and, with the exception of the new building that is going to be Benjy’s, they’re all abandoned eyesores.
I have news for you folks… they’re not going to put in day spas, epicurean markets or a golf course on Washington Ave. I’d rather have our neighborhood have some cool hipster bars than a bunch of abandoned buildings.
Look at ‘The Usual’ off Allen and TC Jester as an example. That place used to be an illegal gambling hall and before that a ‘house of ill repute.’ They’re still working on it, but it looks borderline respectable. I’m looking forward to having a beer there once it’s open.
No NIMBYs IMBY.
Bob, I wholeheartedly agree with you. I look forward to walking to some of these places to have a drink or two and enjoying myself. The people that think that they should be able to dictate what is built on property that is not there’s are delusional. Buying a residential property adjacent to a busy street with commercial exposure like Washington is just a waiting game for the next crap shoot for what new commercial business goes in. You may get what you like, or you may not. On the other hand, the real issue to be reasoned out is parking and/or lack thereof. The COH should really needs to determine in advance where patrons are going to park at these places. The streets in Rice Military are narrow and do not accomodate parking well at all. I plan on making the civic club meeting as well as I’m curious how the interaction will go between the well meaning but oft clueless nearby residents, the COH representatives, proposed business owners and the civic club members. I support the new venues coming into the hood.
I must chime in. I live in O6Ward right off Washington. The bars, coffee shops, restaurants, etc. are all fine with me. I LOVE small business and I support them as much as my bladder will allow.
What many of us do not like are the late evening opening/stay open until 2am bars. Parking is a major problem, as is the behavior of SOME of the crowd after closing. There is a big difference among these establishments and that is why it will be smart to establish communication between homeowners and operators early in the process.
ALSO, remember, bars are not permanent establishments. They create hype, they get popular, they get lame, they close. Very very few bars are in it for the long haul. In 5 years time, most of these bars will be restaurants, coffee shops, antique stores etc.
I was very involved with many places that opened in the Historic District downtown. It started with some older bars and cool restaurants. Then a couple of hipster or yuppie driven establishments. Then TOC opened. The TOC crowd took over and the bad operators chased off the good operators. Now all that is left is the old bars and TOC. The same thing is about to happen on Washington Avenue. I hope you enjoyed it and enjoyed complaining about the neat little venues that added flavor to Washington Avenue. You are about to be overrun by a string of poorly run 18 and up establishments and all of the crime and trouble that these places bring. The good news is that in about 5 years the area will be so bad that the city will finally get involved and within 5 years the area will be totally dead and will have to start over. The bad news is that with the horrible zoning and permitting policies we have in Houston and Texas that once you do rebuild it will be about 7 years until another bad operator moves in and it goes downhill again. I hope you enjoy your inner city life driving in your Smart Cars truck hating snobs. By pushing out the original local businesses and not allowing the area to develop at a natural rate you are about to reap what you have sewn. Get familiar with the lyrics of one of the artist played in heavy rotation at Coco Loco so you can sing along as the patrons boom it from their cars:
i’m brown i get down
the girls love how i lean
like a G to the beat
doing why MJ’s on my feet
i’m lookin real good i’m so hood
tryin to stay clean if u know what i mean
pockets full of feria
mucho dinero look me in the eye tell me pappy te quero
let me do my dance u do yours
shakin what u got till ur sweating out ur poors
just like that ya i like that
ima perro trying to tase that cat
hey DJ won’t u play that same track
(whined it back) i can lean to that
Crowner:
Seriously guy. How long have you lived in Houston? Please let me in on how well former entertainment hotspots like Richmond Strip, Shepherd Plaza and the Historic District are doing now. The only one that has made anything close to a comeback would be Shepherd Plaza. If the developers in this area were smart they would have tried to attract businesses like Cactus Records, antique shops and the bakeries and restaurants put under by the River Oaks redevelopment. The problem is that they can’t afford the $25 nnn rent. In Houston short term profit always wins out over long term sustainable development. The citizens are always the losers.
RE: ‘DaSwankOne’
<3 trolls.
We be keepin’ it real downtown. Go back to the Woodlands in your Hummer.
srsly tho, what do you mean by ‘pushing out local businesses?’ These buildings are vacant– that’s the point.
Besides that, these are shitty metal pre-fab buildings. The TOC crowd requires a level of bling that isn’t available on Washington Ave. Woodlands river walk on the other hand…. ;)
Besides that, our neighborhood is attracting the Yupster demographic. Yupsters <3 dive bars.
Bob:
You have obviously never heard of Mary Jane’s or Silky’s. It sounds like someone is upset because they paid too much for a home in a transitional area at the top of the market. Although I would happily drive my Hummer to the Woodlands if I worked there, I happen to work in the Willowbrook area so I live out there (it is actually more sustainable living than many urban developments). Believe it or not we have restaurants and bars all the way out here. Fortunately none of them near my house have teen latin gangsta night. Hope you enjoy that $400,000 poorly built townhome as the G’s drive by leaning like a cholo. You will be able to hear it through the paper thin walls.
DaSkankOne:
Awwwww… my Grandmother lives in Willowbrook. You must be neighbors. You might even play bingo together (that’s where she won her Hummer), or go to local restaurants like Chili’s or Applebee’s. <3
Of course, her property values haven’t increased 7.7% in the past year like ours have… Pooor Nana.
I’m actually supporting these local establishments– please see previous posts.
Of course, unlike you and Nana, I actually support racial diversity in my neighborhood. I enjoy walking up the street and ordering a plate lunch at El Tiempo market for $5. I enjoy talking to immigrants from Korea, Vietnam, and Lebanon who own small businesses I frequent.
Well Bob:
You seem to know as little about the Willowbrook market as you do about the history of the neighborhood you claim to live in. I am starting to think you are a renter. That is why it does not bother you that Coco Loco will destroy your property value and make it harder to sell your home. What is really sad to me is that you some how think that just because you rent in a certain zip code that this somehow makes you cool. Those of us that don’t define our lives on the opinions of others find people like you pretty funny. BTW – I am not sure if you know this or not, but you don’t even live in our city center. If you want to do that you really need to move to Mermorial Bend. But then you could not hang out with your wannabe gangsta friends. If you don’t believe me just ask the police officers that worked the Meridian on Thanksgiving night. That is what is coming to your hood. Enjoy.
Hey Bob,
While you are at it ask people at the St Germain, Capitol Lofts and Kirby Lofts how much their property values have gone up since the Historic District went ghetto. You might have to knock on a lot of doors since many of those units are in foreclosure.
DaStankOne:
Oh yea, those poor folks right around Coco Loco are screwed… Totally agree. I live closer to the 5500 block, and about 2 blocks set back from Washington.
All the other places are clearly going to be hipster bars tho… and if they’re loud and disrespectful then we’ll bring the wrath of God down upon them. I can file more nuisance complaints than my Nana at a scrabble game…
Oh, and where you live does say a lot about you… In fact, there’s a whole science around it called “Demographics.” May want to look it up. :P
Look Boob (oh that is funny I can change a name to a total laugh riot),
I am curious what bars you think are hipster bars. I hate to let you in on it, but no real hipsters hang out on Washington Avenue; well maybe at Walter’s during a good show. I also hate to let you in on it, but the only demographic you fit into by moving to Washington Avenue is the wannabe cool by zip code demographic. You know what your comments remind me of? The kids that fold shirts by day and then order bottle service at night while visiting the club. You are right about my demographic. I live with a whole bunch of other well to do people with children. It is boring and not as cool as your soon to be destroyed neighborhood. We still have boring dinner parties instead of trying to keep the cholos from peeing in our bushes. I also have many years experience in commercial real estate and the hospitality industry have seen what happens to these areas once a bad operator moves in. No one at the city cares about residents complaining about a punk rock bar like Mary Jane’s and kicking out the kids with the mohawks. When you try to do this to a bar that has a minority driven clientele it is not quite as simple. It is much harder to get the police and city to move. TOC started as a small bar in the far Northwest corner of downtown. It killed the entire historic district. Coco Loco is going to affect what happens down the street.
It is obvious that you are either young, ignorant or some kind of snob troll. Maybe a combination of the three. It is getting tired and boring for me. I am pretty sure that some cool hipster like you should be out at the club instead of arguing with some boring old guy in the suburbs that your life in a transitional area is so much better than my boring life. I bet you are really hip. I bet you even listen to Coldplay and Spoon. You are so freaking cool that you think hipsters hang out at Pearl or Social or The Drake. You should really look into this hot thing called ultralounge or trip hop. It is a really up and coming genre. Since you love Coldplay you will be all over it. It is like Radiohead with drum machines. It is really hip and cool fresh and now. Well it is for those “hipsters” on Washington Avenue.
Someone’s got a bad case of the snobs goin on. I used to have an office out in the Willowbrook area years ago. You couldn’t pay me to live way the f*ck out there. I am not a hipster, or some naive wannabe. A few years ago I moved back to the West End after 17 years of living a little further out. I like the area and it’s convenient centralized location. I had a single family home built with a yard and a driveway that was underpriced for the area. While anything built right by Washington will always be subject to what is built near it on Washington, the rest of the neighborhood between Memorial and Washington will do just fine as all of the teardowns are turned around and the neighborhood builds out completely. Overpriced condos and lofts will always be problematic as there is usually a glut of condos. Comparing overpriced condos and lofts to townhomes and single family residences is apples and oranges. The West End will remain a popular, vibrant area because of it’s close in location and proximity to Memorial Park and Allen Pkwy. There will always be builders that put up questionable construction. The West End is certainly not immune to builders like that, nor is the Willowbrook area, or any other part of Houston. It boils down to being a smart consumer. How’s that inexpensive Taj Majal sports complex in Cy-Fair workin for ya? No overspent tax dollars there were there?
Goodness, such ugliness. Someone needs to take their thanksgiving nap.
CK:
My point is that were you live does not say anything about who you are. I more likely says something about where you work. The fact that you let your zip code define you says a lot about you. I am also curious as to how you do not seem to be aware of your neighborhood’s history. Not too long ago it was a very bad area. We are currently going through a time were urbanization is trendy so the area is hot. The problem is that urbanization leads to problems (like crappy night clubs moving next door) and eventually will lead to another period of people leaving the area. You and your buddy Bob live in some la la land where people think you are cool because you live off of Washington Avenue and people care that I live in in the suburbs. This might be very important for a 20 year old, but the fact that you have been in the work force for 17 years and still think where you live makes you better than a suburbanite is laughable.
I really don’t understand my comparison to the downtown lofts. These were a hot commodity for a while, now they are having a very hard time getting rid of them. Washington Avenue will go through the same problems if it is allowed to turn into an entertainment district. Come back about six months after Coco Loco opens and tell me I was wrong. Oh BTW – you might want to be aware that oil prices are under $50 a barrel today and falling.
If you like living there great. If I were you I would do everything I could to keep Coco Loco out of my backyard because regardless of your opinion it will have a drastic effect on property values in the area in about a year. If you think that where you live makes you better than someone else you are just a tool.
Is it just me, or has anyone else noticed the increase in vitriol in message boards?
E:
You’re right. I feel bad for feeding the troll.
A quick google search on ‘daswankone’ turns up a wide variety of disparaging comments on politico.com and foxnews.com riling the locals.
DaSwankOne is even his Myspace handle. How embarassing.
My apologies for feeding the troll as well. I really like my neighborhood and I take offense to some idiot that belittles the people that live here. I live in Rice Military even though I have my office in the villages. Since I travel to clients frequently, my house being centrally located works out great. I lived in the area before the redevelopment 20 years ago and liked the location so much that I’ve moved back here again, now that the area has been rejuvenated. I don’t live here because I think it defines me. I had the house I like built in the convenient to everywhere area I like. I rarely sit in traffic, unless I’m going out to the burbs someplace. I don’t even have to sit in traffic going to my lake house because I just hop on 59 N, which has no traffic backups. I also like being able to walk to a very good restaurant, wine bar or beer joint from the casa. Apparently, I’ll be able to do the last one here before too long.
This a MASSIVE ISSUE…coco loco is near hilcroft and richmond. I used to live in that area and look at it today. I broke even on a Condo there after 7 years. This is not good at all. Here is what I saw first hand the bars and clubs are nice and clean for a while and then its get a little bad and then everyone wants to go where they hear its hot and it GOES WAY DOWN. I mean bad. After hours spots, drunks, drugs, sex in cars, break-ins, and nasty behavior. I dont go out much anymore so I dont know what midtown is like but this is what happened in the Galleria/Richmond Strip, Downtown and now with Washington Ave its only a matter of time.
Washington ave also has a huge issue with parking and narrow streets. Clubs need 10 spaces for every 1000 sq ft, a super club like ToC, Coco loco or Bar Rio needs just 40-60 spaces but really has 1000 people on a busy night. Even at that show me a parking lot on or near Washington that can hold 25 cars??? This is really bad news. I will go to every meeting I can. I will be calling my Dist. G Rep Pam Holm 8.393.3007 , 311 , Planning 7.837.7760, TABC 7.426-7900…. I dont want to be a party kill to anyone and everyone should have a good time but EVERYONE should play by the rules and I hope everyone will call and check everyone is playing by the rules as I do.
Wait– Sex in cars!? ::calls realtor::
“Yes, a condo across from Coco Loco. That’s right. With a good street view. Huh? No, price is no object.”
Just kidding. I agree clubs are bad news for the folks right near Washington. That being said, I think the Coco Loco issue is different than the bars issue up on the 5000 block. Am i deceiving myself?
Good one … er, we’ll call you…. Bob. Cracked me up. I agree that the places intended for closer to our end of Washington will be nothing compared to something of the ilke of CacaLoco. It is definitely in everyone’s best interest to see to it that CacaLoco is coerced into going elsewhere. Nobody wants to be around the kind of trouble this kind of place brings to wherever it calls home.
DaSwankOne = http://michaelneilbell.com/
Word.
No way… DaSwankOne is at least 30% cooler than that guy.
The page you sent links to a different myspace profile than the one i found:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=16177374
Cute kid… looking very scared and confused! :O
Bob and CK,
You can call me a troll all you want. Let’s look at some of the gems the two of you have offered up in this thread.
“We be keepin’ it real downtown. Go back to the Woodlands in your Hummer.”
“Awwwww… my Grandmother lives in Willowbrook. You must be neighbors. You might even play bingo together (that’s where she won her Hummer), or go to local restaurants like Chili’s or Applebee’s. ”
“I used to have an office out in the Willowbrook area years ago. You couldn’t pay me to live way the f*ck out there.”
Then you have the nerve to say:
“I really like my neighborhood and I take offense to some idiot that belittles the people that live here.”
You are so full of your false sense of entitlement by zip code that you don’t even see what hypocrites you are.
The fact is that I have close to a decade’s experience in both hospitality and commercial real estate in the Houston and Austin market. I had a business plan to open a lounge bar on Washington before the Social opened its doors, but could not find investors even with my experience. The same experience that told me that Washington would be a hot spot eight years ago now tells me that I would not touch the area with a ten foot pole if Coco Loco is moving in. I can promise you that any other reputable operator thinks the same way. My experience also tells me that ten blocks is not going in insulate you from what is going to happen if Coco Loco opens.
My original post was meant to inspire you to do something about this, but after the reception I have received from the two of you with your zip code envy comments I can say that I hope that TOC and T-Town 2010 are next. You guys are total losers.
Hey Bob,
I am sorry I hurt your feelings, but let’s be honest. The only “hipster” places on Washington were shut down due to noise complaints. If you are confusing yuppies with hipsters then you are right, Washington Avenue is currently full of Yuppies. That is until Coco Loco moves in, once this happens they will leave.
Brad = http://www.pixyland.org/peterpan/
You guys are so cool
All haters can flame me but don’t flame cause you dont know. Don’t make me ethug it up in here – ethug 4 life, *gang signs**barking* whoooty whoot
COCO LOCO is da sh*t I cant wait and when all these club like roxy are used up then in no time we coolio will chill on wash ave
Wow…whoever started the rumor about the Coco Loco must be pretty convincing to get people so riled up.
The facts: 4105 Washington is not a Coco Loco. It is Reign Lounge http://www.reignlounge.com and is under construction with signs everywhere.
Any other reports of a Coco Logo are unfounded. Besides, I would dare say that this neighborhood could even support a Coco Loco. There are not enough of their target demographic in the immediate area.
Buildergeek.
Way to put the lid on that pot!
IDK … Buildergeek
Stephen, Joseph
3833 Hillcroft
Houston, TX 77057
United States
(281) 235-5995
Owners of website show up as Coco Loco Location…different name same crowd?
Having lived in a neighborhood with some good bars and some bad bars (smaller scale than CocoLoco, but similar) I can tell you from experience, get on a first name basis with your council member(s). They will be your first line of defense and greatest supporter. Call the police each and every time you see anything illegal going on either on the premises of a nuisance bar and/or by people coming or going to said bar. If the bar makes the news for criminal acts (robberies, burglaries, murder), keep records of that. Have your councilmember send you monthly police call reports. When their liquor license comes up for renewal, take all that ammo to the hearing and very possibly they will lose their license.
I am not opposed to bars in the neighborhood, there are four in very close proximity to my home that are either good neighbors or at the very least, neutral. There is one that has had two murders, multiple armed robberies in their parking lot, prostitution, noise complaints and at least three cars ending up in ditches on my street that were coming from there. Our complaints got the TABC to investigate and lost them their license. There is another bar trying to reopen that is equally a nuisance and we are actively trying to block that. Don’t give up, but remember, call the police for anything that is a nuiscance. We still have noise limits between certain hours that even they have to abide by. Good luck. Washington Ave. will survive. You may have to be more vigilant for awhile, but it will clean up if you and your neighbors stay on it.
Judging from the song playing on the Reign Lounge website, it doesn’t appear to be targeting the same CocoLoco audience. Maybe it’s the same owner venturing to a different type of bar/lounge?
Thanks somebody for posting that it’s actually Reign Lounge and not Coco Loco.
I was reading some of the other posts and was pretty shocked/amused to see all the strong feelings based off of misinformation.
A simple three second google search was all it took for me to realize it wasn’t a Coco Loco planned.
It’s crazy that I haven’t even read a zip code in anybody’s post, but a “sense of entitlement to zip code” keeps on getting mentioned.
Anyway, I do prefer for the trends to move towards restaurants/shopping rather than bars. I actually forsee Washington resembling Midtown, rather than 6th St. I doubt the City of Houston would ever shut down Washington for revelers to traverse the streets 3 nights a week. Washington has a looong way to go before that happens.
Im sorry… but didn’t Mary Janes close like 5 years ago?? Not very “hip” to the “hipster” joints!!
Compusa:
3833 Hillcroft is a block away and the other side of the street from Coco Loco, which is listed as 3700 Hillcroft. Looks from Google Maps like this is an apartment address.
I’m no expert but I don’t see anything that connects this property to Coco Loco other than extemely weak circumstantial evidence.
Coco Loco in Harris County Assumed Names database is owned by DC COMMERCIAL INC.
Reign Lounge does not have an entry.
Kong:
Do you want to weigh in with your source?
Looks like Stephen Joseph is the owner of “Phantom Wireless” at 3838 Hillcroft.
No matter what the opinions are (some seem to be a little envious with some ‘I knew It!’ sprinkled in), I love the Washington area.
I found a little gem of place called Pagoda by Cadillac Bar the other day and was pleasantly surprised to find it as a trendy Vietnamese Bistro/Bar.
It will be a lounge, not trashy at all. This bar is being built and leased by the same group, IKON development, that is building the $800,000 townhomes next door. Probably even backed by the same, sports-star filled investment group.
The idea started off badly when they decided to build $800k townhomes in Rice Military in the first place.
The fact of the matter is however, if they want to sell their townhomes – they will have to keep the elements at their lounge pretty tame. I would NOT expect anything like a Coco Loco.
Idea could be to con people into the $800k townhomes then start the club and make cash flow there. Anyways looks like thing are not doing that great more down on Wash ave already:
http://houston.craigslist.org/bfs/954260189.html
These areas dont last.
Bob:
That location used to be Little Hip’s Diner, which closed and recently became Broken Spoke Cafe. We were going to Little Hip’s for a while back when it opened in 2006 and then it got a good review in the Chronicle. The owner probably wasn’t prepared for the onslaught of people that read the review and really didn’t care for most of them either. In any case, he had plenty of business – the price points were good – so lumping this into hip bars and restaurants that you think won’t last is probably a bad assumption.
I’m new to the area, and am trying to learn about different neighborhoods. I thought RM 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?