THAT BAR ON THE RICE HOTEL BALCONY IS CLOSING 
Another change coming to the Rice Lofts, now that an entity connected to the Trammell Crow family has purchased the building from Post Properties, and apartment-management duties are being turned over to Greystar: The State Bar and Lounge, which spilled out onto the Travis St. side of the former Rice Hotel’s second-floor deck facing Texas Ave., is shutting down, sources tell Swamplot. Last call will be late Saturday night. Photo: The State Bar
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And the slaughter continues… Soon there won’t be anything left of the Houston I’m so proud to call home!
We are NOT Chicago, stop trying to reinvent yourself H-town. You were fine just the way you are!
That’s an unfortunate loss. As long as I’ve been around, going to the State Bar has been a fun right of passage for lawyers after passing the bar.
I’m not too surprised. Great location/view. Ok drinks. Mediocre service and food.
kineticd: i agree about unique places like this closing down. but, it’s not like there’s one governing body making all the “re-inventing” decisions and trying to remake Houston. trammell crow is a private (dallas) company whose motive is profit and indifferent to community preservation.
Looks like they’re in the running for the Jim Crane Award for New Owner Improvements.
Yeah, it’s a shame this place is closing and tho it’s true no governing body can control this, it does seem Houston more than any other city ice lived in, cares nothing about it’s traditions nor its history, this is a prefect example.
Sorry for typos, I really hate iPhone auto correct
Wow…I like(d) the place well enough but it’s not like it was around for decades. It certainly wasn’t around when I passed the Bar…and I’m not an old timer or anything…
If Houston had stuck to its traditions and avoided trying to re-invent itself, downtown would be empty after 5:30pm and on weekends. In the late 1980s I used to skate down there. The only other people I saw were other skaters, a few homeless people, and people going to or leaving Jones Hall or the Alley. The rest was a ghost town.
So maybe Houston is trying to stop re-inventing itself by closing down everything.
What’s ironic is that in the days of Phillip Johnson (PJ), Dominique and Francois de Menil, Eziekel Cullen, Judge Hoffienz, MacKee & Kamrath, Joseph Finger, etc… These people actually gave a sh*t about this City and its’ history. I’m very saddened, both as an Architect and a Houstonian, that our RICH cultural history is being butchered for progress (more like ‘profit’)…
Mark my words, non of these carpet-baggers will stick around when times get lean again and the damage is already done!
Hopefully the state bar can reopen along main st or mkt square park
For crying outloud, they aren’t tearing down the Rice. They are closing a bar in an area where many more arguably better and more interesting bars are popping up like mushrooms. Perhaps this space will be for exclusive use by residents.
This site will be reopening as another bar after Greystar completes it renovations to the Rice. Anyone that has been to State Bar in the past several years has to realize that it had seen better days.
State Bar was dependent on corporate-sponsored happy hours and as their service steadily deteriorated over the last 7 years, those events dried up. good riddance – I am sure a better concept will soon occupy one of the more interesting spaces downtown.
I love this place. Most downtown bars are depressing, theatre-crowdy, or really loud. This place is perfect for drinks after work.
Nooooooo!!!! I loved this place (and the fact that it was never packed). It will probably open as another bar full of people with shiny shirts and spiked up collars.
I’m sad to see it go. I had my wedding after party there this past March and we had an awesome time. It was a great old bar that has a very unique atmosphere.
In a small coincidence, some friends planned a happy hour there tomorrow earlier in the week to celebrate our first week of barbri before we figured out it’s shutting down for good. Kind of sad that it’s not going to be around for me to go to after I get (hopefully positive) bar results back.
The Rice needs better management. If you’ve ever been insid an apartment there, you would know they totally cheaped out…..(microwave/convection ovens…. or anything about the cheap kitchens….. or weird layouts). Management charged tenants for electricity for the building m(!!)….on top of their own electricity…how cheap is that!!! Just factor it into the rent….get a premium in winter…….so lazy. Building might be nice and historical, but there is a reason there is a hard time keeping tenants (even commercial ones). [and i love the historical stuff]
As for the State Bar, I only went there for work related events, so can not imagine they support the crowd they want in the long term…..new owners will revamp…probably for the better. Tenant’s lounge is right next door and gets plenty of use on the balcony.
About time… this place was a joke the past few years. My group of friends and I lived downtown for many years. About half the time there was someone in our party who wasn’t up to their standards of their dress code… When it is 113 degrees outside you are going to have to give some leeway on the dress code.. sorry… that goes for Cyclone Anaya too.
This place was empty ALL the time on the weekends as well. I think the most customers I have seen aside from my party was maybe 6 people.