Tag: Bars

03/02/18 2:00pm

PJ’s Sports Bar on W. Gray Now Fully Healed from Its Run-In with an Off-Roading Audi S4

by Dan Singer

Montrose, North Montrose, Renovations

No Comments

Repairs on PJ’s Sports Bar’s patio have the outdoor space back up and running after a sports car hopped the curb near the corner of W. Gray St. and Stanford and nearly totaled the seating area in January. One driver was hospitalized, but there were no major injuries at the scene pictured above; it was past last call when the accident occurred. The bar’s patio, however, remained in pieces for nearly 2 months after emergency workers removed the projectile.

Now, only one pre-crash item remains absent from the bar’s frontage at 614 W. Gray: the fluorescent crosswalk sign shown on the ground in the photo below:

High-Speed Corners

77019, Bars, Montrose, North Montrose, Renovations

Adaptive Reuse

07/06/17 3:00pm

Reopened East End Hardware on Leeland Now Welcoming Dogs, Offering Screwdrivers

Bars and Clubs, East Downtown, Openings and Closings

6 Comments

Actual neighborhood hardware store East End Hardware (see inset second photo) went belly-up only a few years after its 2012 opening at 3005 Leeland St. (at the corner of Ennis St. in East Downtown). Now opened in its place, as of the first of this month, is a replacement (pictured at top): East End Hardware.

Among the changes: a revamped exterior, with the name of the establishment now rendered in vintage Houston blue tile; a dog-friendly patio; and a new beverage menu that includes 20 beers on tap, mixed drinks, andÂ “boozy” New Orleans-style sno-balls in flavors such as piÃ±a colada, tiger’s blood, and screwdriver. Also: food.

EaDo Hard Drinks and Wares

77003, Adaptive Reuse, Bars, East Downtown, Openings and Closings, Retail

06/27/17 2:30pm

Checking in on the Work Underway at Baileson Brewing Company, the Tiniest Car-Repair-Shop-Turned Brewery Ever to Hit Bissonnet

Proposed Developments, Renovations, Rice Village

No Comments

The startup 3-barrel “nano-brewery” carving its ferment-and-serve spaces out of the former Bissonnet Auto Service Center garage on Bissonnet St. between Kirby and GreenbriarÂ isÂ scheduled for a Labor Day Weekend opening, according to a recent report in the Chronicle. New glazedÂ overhead doors have beenÂ installed in the 2 garage bays, but according to this photo of the spot from earlier today, there’sÂ still a bit of work going on inside.

If future passers-by do a double-take after seeing drinkers out on the front patio of the single-story structure at 2322 Bissonnet, it might be because the brewery-barÂ will be next door to the former Kay’s Lounge, also a single-story building serving drinks onÂ a front patio, which was demolished last fall. These homes are scheduled to go up on that site.

Houston’s Baileson Brewing edges closer to opening later this summer [Houston Chronicle]
Previously on Swamplot: Baileson Brewery Planned in Former Auto Shop Next to Emptied Kayâ€™s Lounge Spot

Photo: Swamplot inbox

77005, Bars, Breweries, Openings and Closings, Proposed Developments, Renovations, Rice-Village

06/27/17 11:00am

If You Like the Idea of Living Upstairs from Kay’s Lounge, Here’s the Next Best Thing

New Construction, Proposed Developments, Rice Village, Townhomes

6 Comments

NewlyÂ postedÂ to MLS: a listing for 1 of the 6 ~~townhomes~~Â patio homes from Frasier Homes intended for the site of the former Kay’s Lounge. Garages, spare bedrooms, and side yards only will grace the ground floors of the propertiesÂ in this shared-driveway 6-pack, however, because Kay’s Lounge itself — an establishment that was founded back in 1939 — was demolished last year.Â The new residential compound covers both the Kay’s lot, formerly known as 2334 Bissonnet, andÂ the oneÂ immediatelyÂ to the west at 2332 Bissonnet, which formerly housed an adjacent structure as well asÂ longtime bar’s parking lot.

But if it’s the idea of living veryÂ close to storied nightlife that attracted you to this property in the first place, don’t beÂ disappointed: Just next door to this property, in the formerÂ Bissonnet Auto Service Center at 2322 Bissonnet, a new brewery and lounge called Baileson Brewing CompanyÂ is about to open. The fourth-floor patios at the top of the homes at 2332 Bissonnet (pictured at top right in the rendering above) will overlook Baileson’s driveway-turned-drinking-patio directly.

Here’sÂ the second view from the listing, showing how the shared-drive fronts of the 3 units on the Baileson side might look if they’re completed before the other 3 are begun (they’d be in the foreground):

New Neighbors in Rice Village

77005, Bars, Patio-Homes, Proposed Developments, Rice-Village, Townhomes

05/25/17 10:45am

Raw Materials of Fourth Ward Refinery Restaurant Now Being Processed, Converted into Seafood Bar

Fourth Ward

5 Comments

The Refinery Burgers & WhiskeyÂ is currently in the process of moving past itsÂ oil theme dependencyÂ and rebranding to pay homage to a different set ofÂ Gulf Coast-al tropes: the new name of the joint at 702 W. Dallas St. will be South Bank Seafood Bar, and a menu including some Asian and Cajun-Creole nodsÂ is purportedly in the works.

TheÂ patio in front of the 2-spot retail strip (which the restaurant sharesÂ with barber and beardwrangler Shave) has been getting dressed up and expandedÂ as part of the remodel. And just this morning, a reader caught sight of what may be preparations to slice a service-window-shaped hole into theÂ shipping containerÂ now sitting out front:

Habitat Alteration at Downtown’s Edge

77019, Adaptive Reuse, Bars, Fourth Ward, Remodeling, Restaurants

05/24/17 3:30pm

Is the Ginger Man Poised To Take Over the W. Gray Junction’s Junction?

Fourth Ward, Midtown

2 Comments

It doesn’t take effect until August — but a new sales permitÂ looks to have been okayed last month for 160 W. Gray St., bearing the name The Ginger Man – West Gray. The Rice Village bar has previously established outposts in locales as far-flung as Austin, Dallas, and PlanoÂ (and claims a somewhat looser connection to a trio of spots in New York and Connecticut), butÂ a West Gray location would be the chain’s second spot inside the Loop(s). That spot, meanwhile, is still the home of Junction Bar & Grill, just north of the W. Gray Y with Webster St. — though the building itself (shown above) was listedÂ for lease on LoopNet earlier this spring.Â Prior to theÂ turn of the decade, the spaceÂ previously went by The Wet Spot.Â

A recent-ish photo from the lease listing (above) shows off the wrapping up of the Dolce Living apartments next door. Â Not pictured, just beyond the duo of homesÂ visible to the east below: the charred skeleton of Fuzzy’s Tacos, which wasÂ cleared out some time after its November flameout.Â

Midtown Fourth Ward Junction

77002, Bars, Commercial Buildings for Lease, Fourth Ward, Midtown, Permits

05/18/17 1:30pm

Body of VRSI Nightclub Could Be Cut Up, Reanimated as a Beer Hall by the Kirby Funeral Bar Folks

Midtown

4 Comments

A permit was issued yesterday to knock out some walls atÂ the former medical clinicÂ at 820 Holman St.,Â remodeled back in 2015 into abbreviated-French-themed nightclub VrSi. The club (shown here as it looked in its early days)Â seems to have stopped promoting itselfÂ right after Mardi Gras,Â and a new business name for the addressÂ was registered with the county clerk’s office late last month: Holman Draft Hall. That new moniker is stillÂ connectedÂ to VrSi co-owner Andy Aweida, part of the group that owns nearby Wooster’s Garden and used to ownÂ those demolished Kirby funeral parlor bars;Â the same folks are also behind the Heights Bier Garten, which openedÂ last monthÂ in the former Longhorn Motor CompanyÂ spot on N. Shepherd (now full of parked picnic tables):

Signs of Life on Holman St.

77003, Bars, Midtown, Names, Openings and Closings, Remodeling

05/03/17 1:45pm

Sharpstown Drive-Thru Parking Lot Bar Planning Options for Walkers, Eaters, Sitters Too

Renovations, Restaurants, Sharpstown

4 Comments

TheÂ drive-your-drinks-home daquiri shopÂ planned for former MJ Motorcars office island at 8275 Beechnut St.Â (in the parking lot of stripmall nightclub Club Tequila) isn’t just going to be a drive-thru bar, a media rep for Prime Daquiri tells Swamplot. The rep says it’ll have a fullÂ kitchen, too — and that the company will be opting for screwtop bottlesÂ for their drinks instead of a Louisiana-styleÂ tape-on-the-top arrangement, as far as legal distribution goes. The landscaping and portico in the above rendering of the remodel show options forÂ customers on foot, as well — or perhaps even those who want to dine (or drink) in. The bar is planned near the parking lot’s Watermill Express kiosk, though going the nonalcoholic route will require self-service.

Previously on Swamplot:Â Former Used Car Dealership To Pass Out Daiquiris to Drivers in Club Tequila Parking Lot

Images: John Mene (rendering);Â Erick Ganzo (photo)

Prime Location

77036, Adaptive Reuse, Bars, Drive-Thrus, Redevelopment, Remodeling, Sharpstown, To-Go Alcohol

04/13/17 1:30pm

Watch an Adult Red Oak Get Craned into Place in Axelrad’s Tree-Bereaved Patio

Lower Midtown, Midtown, Trees

7 Comments

Swapping in for the tubelight-bedecked elmÂ that’s been standing in the middle of Axelrad Beer Garden at the corner of Almeda Rd. and Alabama St.:Â this way-past-saplingÂ Shumard red oak, carefully trucked, tipped, and droppedÂ into place earlier this week, as captured in the Yakety-Sax-tracked video montage above. The changeover comes at the end of the original tree’s years-long shuffle toward death, per the bar’s telling: the groupÂ was advised to evict the tree when they first started setting upÂ the space — as it was already old, and had been hit pretty hard by that tire-revealing 2011 droughtÂ —Â but opted to keep it around for a few years instead.

Following a recentÂ lightning strike from which it would never quite recover, the tree finally lost enough branches that the bar owners opted to put it out of its misery:

Series of Tubes in Midtown

77004, Bars, Beer Gardens, Cranes, Midtown, Trees, Videos

Bankruptcies

03/31/17 11:45am

Hunky Dory and Bernadine’s Are Not Dead Yet

Bars and Clubs, Houston Heights, Quicklink, Restaurants

11 Comments

HUNKY DORY AND BERNADINE’S ARE NOT DEAD YET Patio, Hunky Dory Tavern, 1801 N. Shepherd Dr., Houston Heights In a statement posted simultaneously yesterday to the Bernadine’s and Hunky Dory TavernÂ Facebook pages, Treadsack’s management team says the twin restaurants at 1801 N. Shepherd (along with the company’s remaining establishments: Down House, D&T Tavern, and Johnny’s Gold Brick) remain open — and that it’s hoping customers will support the decision by continuing to eat there: “Weâ€™ve filed Chapter 11 Bankruptcy for Hunky Dory and Bernadineâ€™s so we can restructure our debt and continue to operate. This was a very difficult decision, and not one we came to lightly, but the chance to save the businesses that all of our employees have worked so hard to build and so many of you, our guests, have supported, made it a risk worth taking. We love these restaurants and will continue to fight for them.” [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Hunky Dory

77008, Bankruptcies, Bars, Houston Heights, Restaurants

03/29/17 2:30pm

With Better Luck Tomorrow, Dry Creek Is About To Get Very Wet Later This Month

Houston Heights, Quicklink, Renovations, Restaurants

10 Comments

WITH BETTER LUCK TOMORROW, DRY CREEK IS ABOUT TO GET VERY WET LATER THIS MONTH Dry Creek Cafe, 544 Yale St., Houston Heights The spot on the corner of White Oak Dr. and Yale St. where Dry Creek Cafe (pictured) closed down last year is expected to open next month as a â€œneighborhood bar with food that meets restaurant standards.” Proprietors Bobby Heugel (who got his start at Anvil) and Justin Yu (who shut downÂ Oxheart) know a bitÂ about each, respectively. The newly renovated space at 544 Yale will be called Better Luck Tomorrow, they announced today. [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Andy M.

77007, Bars, Houston Heights, Openings and Closings, Restaurants

03/20/17 11:15am

About Those Big Holes in the Sides of the Old Royal Oak Spot on Westheimer

Hyde Park, Renovations, Restaurants

1 Comment

1318 Westheimer Rd., Montrose, Houston, 77006

Just in time for the spring equinox, a reader sends shots of some recent trimming back at the formerÂ home of Royal Oak Bar & Grill, which may soon sprout a 2-story patioÂ if permits issued overÂ the last few months tell true. The bar and restaurant (right across Westheimer Rd. from the Doc’s formerly known as Wendy’s and thatÂ long-tarped turret of the Tremont TowerÂ condo building) was closed down last SeptemberÂ by owner Shawn Bermudez, who told Eric Sandler he planned to reopen the space under a new name and theme. The late-1950s house (previously converted intoÂ dance club Bartini, before the structure’s Royal Oak days began in the earlyÂ 2010s)Â has sinceÂ had its nose cut off; some larger holes on both stories have also been wooded over, over on the parking lot side:

New Growth in Hyde Park

77006, Adaptive Reuse, Bars, Hyde Park, New Construction, Remodeling, Restaurants

East End

02/22/17 5:30pm

Brad Moore and Friends Snatch Empty Body of Invasion Ice House

Quicklink, Second Ward

1 Comment

BRAD MOORE AND FRIENDS SNATCH EMPTY BODY OF INVASION ICE HOUSE Invasion Ice House, 823 Dumble St., Eastwood, Houston, 77023 Â Formerly apostrophe-averseÂ Grand Prize co-owner Brad MooreÂ and his business partners have a new barÂ now up and running in theÂ work-out-the-kinks, wait-for-the-liquor-license phase. The business, operating under the syllable-rich nameÂ Lil’ Danny Speedo’s Go Fly a Kite Lounge, has taken overÂ the space in the 1950s building at 823 Dumble St. (shown here as seen early last year in its then-newÂ alien mural skin).Â Danny Speedo’s is the latest link in a long chainÂ ofÂ bars onÂ the property — most recently includingÂ Invasion Ice House, which theÂ Ramos familyÂ opened last spring before shutting it downÂ at the end of October. Phaedra Cook reports that Lil’ Danny SpeedosÂ is limiting the alcohol menu toÂ beer, wine, and frozen shandiesÂ until the liquorÂ permit comes through.Â [Houston Foodfinder; previously on Swamplot] Photo of former Invasion Ice House at 823 Dumble St.: Swamplot inbox

77023, Bars, East End, Ice Houses, Openings and Closings, Second Ward

02/16/17 3:00pm

Saint Arnold’s Expansion Plans Plant Art Cars, Beer Garden, Restaurant Next Door to Brewery

Fifth Ward, Near Northside

1 Comment

Saint Arnold Brewing Company Expansion renderings, 2104 Lyons Ave., Near Northside, Houston, 77020

A fresh batch of renderings from the Office of James Burnett have been filed with the city planning commission this month as part of Saint Arnold Brewing Company’s request for a setback variance for thatÂ previously mentioned beer garden next door. Early permits have been trickling in since last fall for the ex-tow lot at 2104 Lyons Ave., across Semmes St. from the brewery’s new-ish downtown headquarters in the former HISD Food Service building (even more formerly the home of the Bemis Bag Company).

The new designs show what might be the site’s intended layout, including aÂ restaurant structure which dissolves into an outdoor patio andÂ garden space, a set of bocce courts, and more parking, including an area set aside forÂ display ofÂ art cars (as shownÂ up top featuring the company’s own tie-dye vehicles). Here’s the full tentative layout: