Wabash Feed & Garden’s Growth Spurt Sets the Scene for Nightlife

Here’s what the former Wabash Feed & Garden Store on Washington looks like with a second level stacked on top of its original storefront. Workers are now climbing around the outdoor portions of the new upstairs, setting the scene for what’s coming next.

What exactly they’re planning hasn’t shown up in the form of any physical signage yet, but some digital breadcrumbs dug up by a HAIF poster hint at what they’ve got in mind. Two active Facebook pages — one for something called Warsaw Houston, the other for “Axis & Alibi” currently sport similar branding and claim Wabash’s address as their own. Late last year, another page with the title Van Nuys made its internet debut with a 5701 Washington address, too — but it’s since been taken offline.

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The dead page’s name however, still shows up on paperwork the venue’s operators filed for permission to sell alcohol (not yet approved) and to collect sales tax at the site. Traced back to its source, that paperwork reveals the name of one guy involved in the venture: Edward Hua, now a co-owner of AURA, the nearby nightclub off Shepherd.

Photos: Swamplox inbox (renovations); CBRE (Wabash)

5701 Washington

5 Comment

  • The name is Axis & Alibi.

  • So the people who bought giant townhouses overlooking Wabash then complained about the “nuisance” of crowing roosters, now will get to complain about the worse nuisance from the bar their own purchases ultimately brought to the neighborhood. Cock-a-doodle-doo.

  • Glad to see they’re keeping the historic chain tree (I think it was called) intact! Have to give credit for that sort of preservation in Houston, the rare times it happens.

  • Opening an Axis-themed bar is a pretty brave move, but apparently there’s a big demand for that kind of nostalgia these days.

  • Are we talking ‘Pact of Steel’ type Axis, or ‘Evil Axis’?