The art-gallery building at 4411 Montrose, just north of the bridge over the Southwest Freeway, stands only a few feet back from the front sidewalk. But just one block south, the Midway Companies is planning to plant its new 13-story office tower (which, like 4411 Montrose, will feature a restaurant space on the ground floor and gallery spaces upstairs) a full 25 feet back from the Montrose Blvd. property line. But that’s not because Midway is shy about getting any variances necessary to get around mandated city setbacks.
No, Midway director Shon Link tells Swamplot the M Fifty-Nine building must stand clear of the bright yellow Clear Channel billboard that pokes out from the southwest corner of the property. Restrictions require the billboard to have a clear view of oncoming traffic driving south on Montrose. Currently peeking out from the bottom part of the billboard: The Nesquick Bunny.
Behind Montrose, M Fifty-Nine won’t be so shy with the streets:
Big Star Bar owner Brad Moore, former Beaver’s bartender Ryan Rouse, and a crew of bartending partners have bought Ernie’s on Banks in the Museum District and shut it down. But they plan on reopening the bar at 1010 Banks St. across from Bell Park later this month as “a little two-story neighborhood bar…and then some,” Moore tells the Houston Press‘s Katharine Shilcutt. Moore says he wants to “[keep] the vibe as casual as possible.” One new feature: a large grill on the back patio, tended by a “rotating roster of guest cooks.” But the Ernie’s name is gone: “
