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Cooter's Bar At 5164 Richmond Ave.


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I have just finished reading "The Bad Guys Won" by Jeff Pearlman about the 1986 New York Mets. There is a chapter devoted to the incident at Cooter's where 4 Met players were arrested. The Met players claim they were beaten and harassed by the Houston Police. They were celebrating due to 1 of the 4 becomming a new dad. Police say the 4 players were drunk, loud, and refused to leave. Cooter's let all athletes/celebrities drink for free and was known to be hangout for hootchies looking to snag a meal ticket. The Mets stayed at the Westin Galleria, so I am assuming Cooter's was near by. The book states the bar closed in 1991. Cooters began selling shirts stating (Houston Police 4, Mets 0) If this already has a tread, I apologize. I just wanted to know more about Cooters.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_v20/ai_4570990/

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It was not a kickerish place. It was a kind of cooler disco type. Dance music but not necessarily disco music. Popular top 40. Most dance clubs back then didn't allow athletic shoes. They weren't yet "cool". Cooters was kind of a casual, unpretentious dance club in a time of flashy/trashy dance clubs. The people that worked there were like family, the owners took care of their employees. I'm betting that if you find one long time bartender to contact, they are still in contact with alot of the other employees. Long time friendships were forged there. When Randy's opened in west HOuston, alot of the Cooters people jumped over there. I don't remember if Cooter's had had a change in management or not, but Randy had been I think a long time GM of Cooters and was much loved.

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Cooters had its 15 minutes of bar fame early- to mid 1980s, so it was post-disco era. It seems it was more toward the center of Windsor Plaza. I might be hallucinating on this one, but weren't there some pool tables there as well? I do remember the black vinyl faux leather wallpaper in the hallway with the phones that led to the restrooms. Classy touch that. B) The place always struck me as vaguely sleazy, not that that stopped me from going there on Friday nights. Ah yes, Cooters followed by early morning grub at Harlow's - how's that for 80s memories? ^_^

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Cooters had its 15 minutes of bar fame early- to mid 1980s, so it was post-disco era. It seems it was more toward the center of Windsor Plaza. I might be hallucinating on this one, but weren't there some pool tables there as well? I do remember the black vinyl faux leather wallpaper in the hallway with the phones that led to the restrooms. Classy touch that. B) The place always struck me as vaguely sleazy, not that that stopped me from going there on Friday nights. Ah yes, Cooters followed by early morning grub at Harlow's - how's that for 80s memories? ^_^

Cooters was located at the end of the Windsor Plaza strip mall just west of the late, great Agora Ballroom.

Though it wasn't my cup of tea, it definitely wasn't sleazy. Sleazy would be the old topless club just east of the Agora Ballroom.

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I have just finished reading "The Bad Guys Won" by Jeff Pearlman about the 1986 New York Mets. There is a chapter devoted to the incident at Cooter's where 4 Met players were arrested. The Met players claim they were beaten and harassed by the Houston Police. They were celebrating due to 1 of the 4 becomming a new dad. Police say the 4 players were drunk, loud, and refused to leave. Cooter's let all athletes/celebrities drink for free and was known to be hangout for hootchies looking to snag a meal ticket. The Mets stayed at the Westin Galleria, so I am assuming Cooter's was near by. The book states the bar closed in 1991. Cooters began selling shirts stating (Houston Police 4, Mets 0) If this already has a tread, I apologize. I just wanted to know more about Cooters.

http://findarticles....v20/ai_4570990/

Cooter's had way more than 15 minutes of fame. It lasted longer than almost every other club in the city of Houston. After it shut it's doors, there was another Cooter's still open at 45 and Edgebrook. They were never even remotely the same.

Cooter's at Windsor Plaza was a Butt Hutt - outside of the Ocean Club, Cooter's was about the best place to meet women in the 80s.

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It was not a kickerish place. It was a kind of cooler disco type. Dance music but not necessarily disco music. Popular top 40. Most dance clubs back then didn't allow athletic shoes. They weren't yet "cool". Cooters was kind of a casual, unpretentious dance club in a time of flashy/trashy dance clubs. The people that worked there were like family, the owners took care of their employees. I'm betting that if you find one long time bartender to contact, they are still in contact with alot of the other employees. Long time friendships were forged there. When Randy's opened in west HOuston, alot of the Cooters people jumped over there. I don't remember if Cooter's had had a change in management or not, but Randy had been I think a long time GM of Cooters and was much loved.

Maybe I was thinking of a club called Cowboy or something. If I remember correctly, that was across Sage from Cooters.

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Maybe I was thinking of a club called Cowboy or something. If I remember correctly, that was across Sage from Cooters.

Actually, Cowboy was at Sage and Alabama. Not across from Cooters, but down the street (sort of).

Cowboy in the 70s was followed by... in no particular order..... Confetti, Pirhana Room, Rockz, R&R Bar.... and at least another 4-5 names.

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  • 4 years later...

OK, just to set the record straight, Cooter's had 2 locations in Houston in the 80's - the original was in the Windsor Plaza (610 & Richmond) opened around 1979-80, the 2nd location was on Edgebrook at I-45, which opened summer of 1982. I know this because I worked for the company from 1982-1985, primarily at the Edgebrook location. The concept was expanded to other markets - St. Louis, and I believe Dallas as well however I was not with the company any more when that happened. The concept was pop dance music - when I worked there you heard a lot of Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, Madonna, The GoGo's, Prince, Lionel Richie, Duran Duran, Flock of Seagulls, Billy Idol, Stray Cats, Hall and Oates, B52's, Rod Stewart, etc. you get the picture. The Windsor Plaza location had a pretty decent Happy Hour crowd, it was on the far west end of the shopping center and Todd's was on the end closest to 610. Disco was dead and they never played Country music at these clubs. It was a fun club and the Galleria location stayed open until about 1989.

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  • 1 year later...

Hi There to All of You ,

I see there are some of you who are interested in my beloved Cooter's? I was the Manager of Cooters for 13 years and worked every single night of the week. I knew about 2,000 people by first names and was in every fight that took place including both times the Met's gave us a try. I see some call it a kickerish place , others call it a Disco place, it was both of those indeed. We played a wide genre of songs including disco and country , and did we ever have the fun. It was the best time of my life and the stories i could tell, would scandalize half of Houston's movers and shakers, but that won't ever happen. Know that even without all the scandalous goings on it was enough to fill my plate and talk about beautiful women? OMG Cooter's had movie stars, sports figures lined up along the sidewalk waiting to get in. It was the best 13 years of my life and should you have any questions I would be happy to answer them, I will not however, divulge private things about the wealthy that frequented Cooters, as they have a right to their privacy . Sincerely, Mr. Cooters, a name I earned

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I remember going to the "Back from the Beach" events on Sunday in the 1984-1986 time period. I was underage until 1986, so I'm thinking they may have allowed all ages on Suindays. KLOL publicized the event and one of the personalities (Dane Steele, I think) sometimes made an appearance. I seem to remember light attendance at the back from the beach events. Unfortunately I don't recall ever visiting during prime time. After reading these reflections, I wish I had!

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  • 2 years later...
On 2/22/2017 at 8:28 AM, Mr. Cooter's said:

Hi There to All of You ,

I see there are some of you who are interested in my beloved Cooter's? I was the Manager of Cooters for 13 years and worked every single night of the week. I knew about 2,000 people by first names and was in every fight that took place including both times the Met's gave us a try. I see some call it a kickerish place , others call it a Disco place, it was both of those indeed. We played a wide genre of songs including disco and country , and did we ever have the fun. It was the best time of my life and the stories i could tell, would scandalize half of Houston's movers and shakers, but that won't ever happen. Know that even without all the scandalous goings on it was enough to fill my plate and talk about beautiful women? OMG Cooter's had movie stars, sports figures lined up along the sidewalk waiting to get in. It was the best 13 years of my life and should you have any questions I would be happy to answer them, I will not however, divulge private things about the wealthy that frequented Cooters, as they have a right to their privacy . Sincerely, Mr. Cooters, a name I earned

Mr. Cooter's can you identify yourself as I was one of the Bartenders at the infamous Cooter's on Richmond Ave please! From 1986-1987 I was one of the Bartenders and had a nickname. I actually was hoping to find Michael Irwin on this page and another bartender named Glen, both which were like family and two work mates that I adored. I worked there during the fight that broke out. It was a fun place to work! 

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  • 1 year later...
  • 1 month later...
On 2/22/2017 at 8:28 AM, Mr. Cooter's said:

Hi There to All of You ,

I see there are some of you who are interested in my beloved Cooter's? I was the Manager of Cooters for 13 years and worked every single night of the week. I knew about 2,000 people by first names and was in every fight that took place including both times the Met's gave us a try. I see some call it a kickerish place , others call it a Disco place, it was both of those indeed. We played a wide genre of songs including disco and country , and did we ever have the fun. It was the best time of my life and the stories i could tell, would scandalize half of Houston's movers and shakers, but that won't ever happen. Know that even without all the scandalous goings on it was enough to fill my plate and talk about beautiful women? OMG Cooter's had movie stars, sports figures lined up along the sidewalk waiting to get in. It was the best 13 years of my life and should you have any questions I would be happy to answer them, I will not however, divulge private things about the wealthy that frequented Cooters, as they have a right to their privacy . Sincerely, Mr. Cooters, a name I earned

Best times in my life were at Cooter's.  My best friend Linda worked as a waitress and we had an awesome time there. (I was the strawberry-blonde redhead always dancing... or trying to get people up to dance!) I loved the staff, the music, playing pool and as a single girl, always felt safe hanging out there. One night, some guy tried to pimp me out at the bar, the bartender had him promptly escorted to the door by the off-duty PO's that worked security. I danced my butt off there and met so many awesome people! Astros, a dance troupe from a Broadway show, local celebrities... it was always a blast! I have especially fond memories of the 1989 Stevens and Pruitt Christmas party.  Ahhh memories - wish we could go back!

Cooters Xmas Party 89.jpg

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On 5/8/2019 at 2:10 PM, Cooterstender said:

Mr. Cooter's can you identify yourself as I was one of the Bartenders at the infamous Cooter's on Richmond Ave please! From 1986-1987 I was one of the Bartenders and had a nickname. I actually was hoping to find Michael Irwin on this page and another bartender named Glen, both which were like family and two work mates that I adored. I worked there during the fight that broke out. It was a fun place to work! 

Speaking of bartenders... Is that you Cadillac?

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  • 10 months later...
On 6/10/2010 at 12:27 PM, EMME said:

It was not a kickerish place. It was a kind of cooler disco type. Dance music but not necessarily disco music. Popular top 40. Most dance clubs back then didn't allow athletic shoes. They weren't yet "cool". Cooters was kind of a casual, unpretentious dance club in a time of flashy/trashy dance clubs. The people that worked there were like family, the owners took care of their employees. I'm betting that if you find one long time bartender to contact, they are still in contact with alot of the other employees. Long time friendships were forged there. When Randy's opened in west HOuston, alot of the Cooters people jumped over there. I don't remember if Cooter's had had a change in management or not, but Randy had been I think a long time GM of Cooters and was much loved.

Cooters played both kicker and disco music, that is why everyone loved the place. It had something for everyone. It was a great place, and I have some of my fondest memories there, with some of my best friends, whom I met there and we stayed friends or over 40 years.

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  • 5 months later...

I worked at a company whose offices were in one of the Lakes on Post Oak buildings behind Windsor Plaza through most of the eighties & spent quite a bit of time at Cooter's with friends and people I worked with.  At the time, I didn't think of it as "kicker" -- more like part-sports bar, part disco.  (Sam's, down Richmond a few blocks, seemed way more kicker to me.)  Played pool & foosball & sometimes watched a game, drank with a lot of people, danced, even met my ex-husband there.  It was kind of my local bar, but I think it must have been one of those places people visited when they came in from out of town--not just the Mets lol.  When the OTC was going on, it was always stacked to the rafters with guys in Oxford shirts, blazers, boots, & Rolexes, buying champagne for any girl who would look at them.  (Maybe that's where some of the "kicker" vibe came from!)  When I think of Houston in the 80s, Cooters is always a part of it.  

(Unfortunately, I missed the Mets brouhaha! -- out of town that week...)

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  • The title was changed to Cooter's Bar At 5164 Richmond Ave.
  • 6 months later...

MY AWESOME COOTERS EVENING!

 Cooters was an inviting, non pretentious, and professionally run night club. I've always enjoyed my time there......That being said, Gold's Gym was sponsoring a bench press contest...Although the night in question was unforgettable, I think the year I think was '89.......The premise being the most repetitions of your body weight, under vocal prompts of lift ....I, a male, was 5'7 165lbs,  along with 3 or 4 other guys who qualified during weekly preliminaries....The first round me and another guy tied at 25 reps. During the break, a buddy of mine (Thanks Paul!)  strongly encouraged me to drink a glass of white wine....Round 2, the other guy 25, me 27...Year at Golds, 500$, 12 speed bike and a once in a life time experience!            And a shout out to the amazing female Champ (1/3 body weight) who kept on and on that sponsors made her stop..

 

 

 

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