The mark of shuttered Rice Military drinking spot R Bar is now cropping up in the site plan for Kaldis Development’s planned redo of the former Montalbano Tire building (top photo) at 1302 Houston Ave.
Back in March, the signage came down from the sports bar’s previous and now-shuttered location in the L-shaped Memorial Dr. strip center half a mile west of Shepherd, where it mediated between Memorial Park Vision and the dental office of Dr. Catalina C. Johnson:
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It now plans to take over the front-parking-lot-fronting portion of the 15,000-sq.-ft. former auto shop — shown behind the pointy awning in the photo at top, which was taken from Dart St.
Some sort of porte-cochère will hang out even after renovations wrap up on the property, in the more rectangular form shown in the rendering below:
To the west along Dart St., a drawing of the elevation shows new windows and black metal siding will go in place of the current Montalbano and Good Year signage:
- 1302 Houston Ave. [LoopNet]
- Previously on Swamplot: Post-Retirement Plan for Montalbano Tire: Restaurant, Retail, Offices
Photos: LoopNet (1302 Houston Ave.) R Bar (former bar). Site plan and renderings: LoopNet
Happy to see this redeveloped as retail, but why! why! why! do they need parking in the front!
Why not put a patio instead, Kills the whole feel. Typical Houston. SMH
Jmat: Don’t blame the owner. I wanted to open something similar and have a cool garden in front. Couldn’t due to city rules around parking. Those HAVE to change
Perfect place for a bar – all the folks walking out of HC Court complex, past the bail bond places, can stop in an have a cocktail before going home and telling their spouse they lost the case and/or bond has been revoked.
I’ve lived in that part of 1st Ward for a while now. I thought the corner of Dart & Houston was too close to the church (ecclesia) at 1100 Elder to be the location of a bar. I guess I’m wrong. I’m not looking forward to the traffic problems a bar will likely bring to that corner. I’m not looking forward to having a bar at the entrance of my neighborhood at all.