What’s been going on with the transformation of the former Wendy’s at 1303 Westheimer Rd. into the first Houston location of Doc’s Bar & Grill? The Austin import had been aiming for a November opening — last year. Now the target date is late August — a full year after Swamplot’s original story on the venture. A publicist attributes the delay to “a city plan to widen Westheimer,” which triggered some sort of redesign.
Here’s how it’s supposed to look when it’s finished:
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A 100-seat, dog-friendly patio will wrap parts of the building; the surrounding parking lot will have room for 41 cars. Inside, amid 20 big screens, the bar is promising decor that “will pay tribute to Houston and the neighborhood,” not the bar’s hometown.
Here are a couple more pics of the construction scene last week at the corner of Westheimer and Graustark, in front of the Tremont Tower:
- Doc’s Bar & Grill Houston [Facebook]
- Previously on Swamplot: Austin Bar Doc’s To Remedy Montrose Wendy’s Wreckage
Photos: Doc’s Bar and Grill. Renderings: Mark Odom Studio
Who cares about this bar. The real story is the long overdue rehab of Westheimer!!!!
It’s likely to be similar to the 11th St repairs.
That looks like a place that I would definitely never want to go to.
haven’t seen the westheimer repairs jump over shepherd myself yet, but I take it they’re just going to be working their way down the street all the way to the end? that would put this section of Westheimer about a year from now right?
Yes, please tell us about the Westheimer street plan!
Houstonians, beware. The food is bad. Very bad. But alcohol is alcohol, so they have that going for them. Which is nice.
Being an avid ghost-hunter, I will definitely have to try out this bar. If the plans are accurate in any way, I should have no trouble finding a nice ghost to communicate with.
Let’s see: The COH has signage up near St. Anne’s Church / School trumpeting its “upgrade” of Westheimer from Shepherd to Kirby . Yet by some coincidence the repairs extend west to Buffalo Speedway.Once again, River Oaks gets new streets and the rest of Houston gets crap. And now Westheimer is supposedly going to be “widened ” into the Lower Montrose. I’ll believe it when it ACTUALLY happens. Never believe ANYTHING anything ANY government agency or employee EVER says. EVER !!! They can & DO backtrack and rescind previous statements and promises..
You think Doc’s publicist is some expert on City of Houston street plans? I doubt it. I’m guessing they ran into some setback or ROW issues, but that’s about it. Just because the ROW exists, doesn’t mean the City is going to use it. Repave it someday, maybe. I’d hate to see it widened. Slow traffic is better for the neighborhood.
It’s going to the be worst when they start to tear up Shepherd, that’s going to be a nightmare.
How does ROW work? Say 40 – 50 years ago the city exercised its ROW to expand what started out to be an ordinary residential street into a four-lane collector. Now the four-lane collector is no longer sufficient to carry the traffic that has grown up around it. Did the ROW reset after the city took its ROW the first time? Is there more ROW? Can the city just keep exercising ROW until they’ve expanded the road to within inches of the buildings that started out with a 25-foot setback?
The “city plan to widen Westheimer” is likely just referring to the Major Thoroughfare & Freeway Plan which dictates different setbacks for different streets. Every street is on the the plan so it doesn’t necessarily mean there is a pending project on the street.
Generally the planned ROW is brought into reality over time (a very long time) by requiring development / redevelopment to dedicate space for it in the new plat. The COH tries to avoid outright eminent domain for road widenings whenever possible, unless a TIRZ is doing it. The Major Thoroughfare and Freeway Plan is the guiding document.
I’d prefer the Wendy’s …
If the City was really going to widen Lower Westheimer, then they should have gotten started 20 years ago. That way, it would be completed by today.
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Waiting for the City to do anything is either a fool’s errand or a desire to get something done poorly. Or, both.
I have just seen signs of the coming Apocalypse. One sign is an illuminated letterboard sign on northbound S. Shepherd at Portsmouth by the Whataburger and announces upcoming roadwork on S. Shepherd. The other sign is a wooden sign on southbound S. Shepherd near Westheimer, I think, and announces the same roadwork courtesy of something called Rebuild Houston. Fixing S. Shepherd? The Apocalypse, I say.