[tigereye]

Get ready for this........last night, got to see many of my peeps who used to work at MBar. It did officially close on Saturday (1/13) BTW. Most of them landed gigs in midtown. Well, last night, I saw the former GM of the place, Carlos. He told me why the club went down.

It had nothing to do with business.

It had everything to do with who was gonna replace MBar at the old Citizens Bank site.

MBar is gonna be replaced by a WAL-GREENS

For those who dont know, the Site is at the corner of Main and Preston

Alot of us have campaigned for a grocery store downtown. Now while Wal-Greens is a CVS-Clone, in reality, its also the closest thing downtown has ever had to a full fledge grocery store. I guess the transformation of Downtown into a more friendlier residential component has begun. So how do you feel about this? You against the CVS-Close raiding the Downtown nightlife scene. Or are you for this mini grocery store helping downtowns residential aspirations?

Discuss.

[musicman]

tigereye, on Saturday, January 20th, 2007 @ 1:20pm, said:

MBar is gonna be replaced by a WAL-GREENS

For those who dont know, the Site is at the corner of Main and Preston

Alot of us have campaigned for a grocery store downtown. Now while Wal-Greens is a CVS-Clone, in reality, its also the closest thing downtown has ever had to a full fledge grocery store. I guess the transformation of Downtown into a more friendlier residential component has begun. So how do you feel about this? You against the CVS-Close raiding the Downtown nightlife scene. Or are you for this mini grocery store helping downtowns residential aspirations?

Discuss.

I guess it must be a small Walgreens because i didn't think MBar was big. And if it's small, I don't think they'd have a grocery section but one never knows. For years, there used to be a small "neighborhood" grocery store on Fannin/San Jacinto (kind of near Christ Church Cathedral) but they closed sometime during rail construction if i'm not mistaken.

[ricco67]

I think it will be a good thing and it's sorely needed in that immediate area. while the CVS is only a few blocks away, it's a good distance from quite a few of the residents.

How this affects what mainstreet should be like will be interesting. I wonder if there will be fewer people wandering the street and more going into the clubs?

[feufoma]

While I think that we have more than enough pharmacies in Houston (is the population really aging that much...or are we just a bunch of wussies that depend on a panacea for every ache?), this is certainly better than just another club moving into the space. I know the location and I agree that it doesn't look very large. But at least something is going to be there. I guess the CVS just a few blocks down the street isn't sufficient??? I'd much prefer a small grocery moving there. You know, fresh produce, flowers, sundries. Like other cities have...

[DJ V Lawrence]

I think that's sucks seeing MBar turn into a Walgreens/CVS. I remember seeing a couple vacant spots right there on the Main Street Square. Why would they want to close down a club when they could have gotten the same size space in vacant spaces across the street? Now we still have vacant spots on the supposedly hottest clubbing area in Houston, a popular club is closed, and we have a drugstore to show for it. It's not even a grocery store. That's not the answer to a Flagship or Signature store downtown, if needed.

[ricco67]

I think they wanted a prime "corner" location and it seemed to fit the bill.


I'm sure that if you lived downtown and you felt crappy, getting out of your loft to go a block as opposed to several blocks, would be more appealing. now the question is, will it be 24hrs? If only another residential tower/loft would open up! that would certainly provide more people for the area.

[N Judah]

Pffft. They can always put up another bar somewhere else. In the meantime, I hope that that CVS loses business and shuts down.

[dalparadise]

Yeah... they were making plenty of money, but because Walgreen's wanted the space, they closed.

[ricco67]

or more accurately, "Bought out."


That means that wallgreens is very optimistic to be in downtown if they're willing to ask for a prime spot like that.

[tigereye]

musicman, on Saturday, January 20th, 2007 @ 2:46pm, said:

I guess it must be a small Walgreens because i didn't think MBar was big.

Not actually. MBar had 3 floors, as well as an unknown 4th floor.

1. You had the main floor ground level.

2. You had the basement, complete with a bar and restrooms. The was also a secret lounge behind the bar, this was where the old vault used to be for Houston Citizen's Bank. The boilers were also back here as well, but they were to the left and down the hall. The vault is still intact. Some very wild things happened back there ...hehe, I'd rather not elaborate. But if you open both areas up to eachother, you have a very large area.

3. You had the upstairs balcony level overlooking the main floor. Now if you get rid of the balconies for one complete floor level, you have an area exactly as large as the main floor, which is very large.

4. The level no one ever saw. Offices and another lounge. Its above the balconies. Only accesible via the back right corner staircase thats on the way to the basement. Most took this staircase to get to the balcony level. The stairs continue form there....but most were too drunk to realize it and go up further.

I feel this area is large enough for a full scale Wal-Greens including grocery section - mius the drive through of course. Sadly enough, the only way this happens is with the grand ornate architecture of the interior of this building being gutted for the bland cookie-cutter acrchitecture you would expect to find from a grocery store. That would be the real loss. Everyone associated with Mbar, myself including, have pretty much vowed never to go in there when it makes its transformation to Wal-Greens...its just goona be sad. If anything, I would have prefered MBar to be bought out by someone who would have preserved the all aspects of the architecture of this building, interior included. Tillman Fertita would have been great. Imagine a Vic & Anthony's with seating in that grand lobby... An excellent opportunity to creat something grand, will instead go by the wayside.

And then there's the block itself, which, has taken a hit. Gone are Mbar and Opus. Infact, IIRC, that whole block is shuttered, except for tha one small club in between MBar and Opus that's still in operation.

This post has been edited by tigereye: Saturday, January 20, 2007 at 8:13 PM

[Double L]

ricco67 said:

or more accurately, "Bought out."


That means that wallgreens is very optimistic to be in downtown if they're willing to ask for a prime spot like that.

^^^^

That is incedible.

This post has been edited by Double L: Saturday, January 20, 2007 at 8:02 PM

[musicman]

tigereye, on Saturday, January 20th, 2007 @ 7:00pm, said:

Not actually. MBar had 3 floors, as well as an unknown 4th floor.

I know about the various floors but i sincerely doubt Walgreens would build a multi-level store. I liked the interior of the building, i just hope it isn't gutted to build some sterile store with cheap shelving.

[jdbaker]

ricco67, on Saturday, January 20th, 2007 @ 6:01pm, said:

I think they wanted a prime "corner" location and it seemed to fit the bill.
I'm sure that if you lived downtown and you felt crappy, getting out of your loft to go a block as opposed to several blocks, would be more appealing. now the question is, will it be 24hrs? If only another residential tower/loft would open up! that would certainly provide more people for the area.

Ding. Ding. Ding. We have winner. ^^

As a downtown resident, I couldn't be happier to hear this. Several people mentioned that there is already a CVS a few blocks south of MBar, which is true, but it's not that simple. This type of redundancy is essential for a bona fide pedestrian neighborhood. Case in point, I live seven blocks north of the Main St. CVS, but I rarely walk there. It's a 15-20 minute walk, which translates into a 30-40 minute round trip, making it walkable (if barely) but less efficient than driving to the CVS on West Gray. The Mbar/Walgreen location is only three blocks away. This translates into translates into a 10-15 minute round trip, which is quicker than driving to W.Gray. It does sound like a big deal, but it is. The tipping point is somewhere within those extra 4 blocks.

Why does this matter? First, I would pay 5-10% more in rent for this conveinece, and I suspect I'm not alone. Not using your car can become very addicitive. Second, this means one more person (that isn't homeless or club hopping) is on Main St after business hours, which in turn makes all those other Main St. store fronts a little more valuable. While bars and resteraunts are great, it is impossible to understate the value of having everyday necessities within 5 minutes of your front door.

[houstonfella]

jdbaker, on Sunday, January 21st, 2007 @ 12:59am, said:

Ding. Ding. Ding. We have winner. ^^

As a downtown resident, I couldn't be happier to hear this. Several people mentioned that there is already a CVS a few blocks south of MBar, which is true, but it's not that simple. This type of redundancy is essential for a bona fide pedestrian neighborhood. Case in point, I live seven blocks north of the Main St. CVS, but I rarely walk there. It's a 15-20 minute walk, which translates into a 30-40 minute round trip, making it walkable (if barely) but less efficient than driving to the CVS on West Gray. The Mbar/Walgreen location is only three blocks away. This translates into translates into a 10-15 minute round trip, which is quicker than driving to W.Gray. It does sound like a big deal, but it is. The tipping point is somewhere within those extra 4 blocks.

Why does this matter? First, I would pay 5-10% more in rent for this conveinece, and I suspect I'm not alone. Not using your car can become very addicitive. Second, this means one more person (that isn't homeless or club hopping) is on Main St after business hours, which in turn makes all those other Main St. store fronts a little more valuable. While bars and resteraunts are great, it is impossible to understate the value of having everyday necessities within 5 minutes of your front door.

Whoa... not using your car in Houston? Can't even get the concept. But you guys have fun with walking and the train.

[Subdude]

It's good news when downtown can start attracting retail business that isn't strictly aimed at the tunnel crowd. It's the little conveniences like this that may help attact more residents over time. They do more to improve downtown as a neighborhood than a lot of clubs.

[Double L]

MBar was really nice. I'm surprised it was bought out. If Walgreen's is that willing to buy out a successful establishment for a central location, then that bodes well for downtown's outlook.

[DJ V Lawrence]

Isn't the Houston Pavillions project somewhere around that spot? Why couldn't that project include a 24-hour grocery or drug store?

[ricco67]

no, HP will be located at Bell Station.

[musicman]

ricco67, on Sunday, January 21st, 2007 @ 7:55pm, said:

no, HP will be located at Bell Station.

Isn't it at Dallas and Main, cateycorner from Foley's?

[ricco67]

musicman, on Sunday, January 21st, 2007 @ 9:10pm, said:

Isn't it at Dallas and Main, cateycorner from Foley's?

If you look at the Map on the HP thread, you might be able to glean the information from there.

[musicman]

ricco67, on Sunday, January 21st, 2007 @ 9:53pm, said:

If you look at the Map on the HP thread, you might be able to glean the information from there.

Yep at Dallas. I guess the Bell reference threw me off.

[ricco67]

musicman, on Sunday, January 21st, 2007 @ 10:05pm, said:

Yep at Dallas. I guess the Bell reference threw me off.

Not a problem. Glad to help clarify.

[WesternGulf]

Quote

It's good news when downtown can start attracting retail business that isn't strictly aimed at the tunnel crowd. It's the little conveniences like this that may help attact more residents over time. They do more to improve downtown as a neighborhood than a lot of clubs.

Ditto. There's nothing like it in the area. These are the type of businesses that will have you seeing actual residents walking around on a Sunday night.

[The Great Hizzy!]

Just a thought, but if M Bar was doing well enough and the owners felt passionate enough about it, wouldn't they consider finding another location DT? There are a couple of available parcels, I'm sure.

[Native Montrosian]

Does anyone remember a Walgreens on Elgin at Main, I think? My doctor was in the red brick house on Caroline @ Elgin, and I remember going to a Walgreens a few blocks away.

When my sister & I were cleaning out after my father passed away in 1997, I looked in a box of ancient electric blankets and found a bottle of paragoric prescribed for me in 1967!! This was when some strength of it was available over the counter, so I must have been really sick. I remember that it was from that Walgreens - wish I had saved it just for the bottle. I'm sure I hid it there so I wouldn't have to take it.

[pwright1]

That's a perfect spot for a Walgreens. I like Walgreens over CVS. They seem to have more of a variety than CVS.

[Montrose1100]

I think this is great, a good step towards rebuilding the Downtown Houston -should- have.

[Javi]

I know a few remember, but there was a Walgreen's on main and rusk (or walker). I'm glad they are coming back.

[tierwestah]

Not sure why they had to wipe out the MBAR when there's so much Vacant space. I still thinkWalgreens will be cool for downtown. Now let's hope a few urban style HEBs or Krogers will follow suit.

[what]

Montrose1100, on Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007 @ 8:49am, said:

I think this is great, a good step towards rebuilding the Downtown Houston -should- have.

Amen !

[Double L]

Does anybody know why they would choose that part of downtown? Why wouldn't they choose vacant space down by Main Street Square?

[dalparadise]

tierwestah, on Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007 @ 6:00pm, said:

Not sure why they had to wipe out the MBAR when there's so much Vacant space. I still thinkWalgreens will be cool for downtown. Now let's hope a few urban style HEBs or Krogers will follow suit.

I'm hoping for Raising Cane's.

[WesternGulf]

Quote

Does anybody know why they would choose that part of downtown? Why wouldn't they choose vacant space down by Main Street Square?

There's already a CVS at Main Street Square. This area of downtown has ZERO retail outside of restaurants and bars. Plus, Preston station has a hell of a lot more residential population surrounding it than Main Street Square.

[dbigtex56]

tigereye, on Saturday, January 20th, 2007 @ 7:00pm, said:

I feel this area is large enough for a full scale Wal-Greens including grocery section - mius the drive through of course. Sadly enough, the only way this happens is with the grand ornate architecture of the interior of this building being gutted for the bland cookie-cutter acrchitecture you would expect to find from a grocery store. That would be the real loss. Everyone associated with Mbar, myself including, have pretty much vowed never to go in there when it makes its transformation to Wal-Greens...its just goona be sad.

Walgreens may not be as insensitive as you fear. In at least one instance, they decided to put support for local historic architecture ahead of mindless development.
Preservation Success Story

[tigereye]

The Great Hizzy!, on Monday, January 22nd, 2007 @ 9:17am, said:

Just a thought, but if M Bar was doing well enough and the owners felt passionate enough about it, wouldn't they consider finding another location DT? There are a couple of available parcels, I'm sure.

This was considered and MBar's owner actaully had a target....it was on the same block, just further south. It used to be Opus. But the rent was apparently too high for that space, especially given the fact that the scene is shifting further south to mid-town.

On a side note - after the raid at Suede this weekend, expect that place will close its doors as well.

[ToolMan]

Raid at Suede???

[largeTEXAS]

There won't be a Walgreens in the M Bar space; at least not anytime soon. It was a good excuse of why they closed M Bar though...

[ricco67]

largeTEXAS, on Monday, January 29th, 2007 @ 11:08am, said:

There won't be a Walgreens in the M Bar space; at least not anytime soon. It was a good excuse of why they closed M Bar though...

So has this been verified?

As far as the raide on suede, yes, I mentioned it in the "problems with downtown nightlife" or something like that.

[skwatra]

ToolMan, on Monday, January 29th, 2007 @ 10:09am, said:

Raid at Suede???

chron article

[sevfiv]

skwatra, on Monday, January 29th, 2007 @ 12:27pm, said:

chron article

Although the nightclub reopened Friday night immediately after the vice squad left, Tafesse said he will probably shut down or move.
"Everybody's leaving downtown and going to Midtown," he said. "I don't plan on staying here long."

geez - i have never even heard of this place, other than the bad press of course.

looks like a classy place though, at least from the motto

This post has been edited by sevfiv: Monday, January 29, 2007 at 2:08 PM

[Sebastian De La Ghetto!]

My sister in law (only 18) went to the bar named O2 a couple weeks ago and was offered a 'wristband' by a club staffer so that she could purchase alcohol, despite the black X on her hand courtesy of the bouncer.

Man, that's a dirty joint. I for one will not miss these places once they do shut down.

This post has been edited by Sebastian De La Ghetto!: Monday, January 29, 2007 at 2:37 PM

[skwatra]

sevfiv, on Monday, January 29th, 2007 @ 1:07pm, said:

Although the nightclub reopened Friday night immediately after the vice squad left, Tafesse said he will probably shut down or move.
"Everybody's leaving downtown and going to Midtown," he said. "I don't plan on staying here long."

geez - i have never even heard of this place, other than the bad press of course.

looks like a classy place though, at least from the motto

it used to be a nice place, several years ago. went downhill, as did a lot of other places in the area. other then the Flying Saucer i stay away from downtown nowadays

[icanluv2]

Downtown will be the next big 'suburb' in years to come.

[Montrose1100]

Sebastian De La Ghetto!, on Monday, January 29th, 2007 @ 1:36pm, said:

My sister in law (only 18) went to the bar named O2 a couple weeks ago and was offered a 'wristband' by a club staffer so that she could purchase alcohol, despite the black X on her hand courtesy of the bouncer.

Man, that's a dirty joint. I for one will not miss these places once they do shut down.

Tell me about it. The people with the flyers outside offer free drinks and tell you "You can slip weed under the foil, if its not there already". So much for being a hookah bar. Oh well, it is nice when there is hookah, and not weed.

[C2H]

largeTEXAS, on Monday, January 29th, 2007 @ 1:08pm, said:

There won't be a Walgreens in the M Bar space; at least not anytime soon. It was a good excuse of why they closed M Bar though...

I trust you know what you're talking about seeing you ususally have an inside scoop. But is there any way to confirm this?

But, I guess, there was no official article or announcement saying that the former MBar was slated to become a Walgreens

[HeightsGuy]

"Bouncer fired on the spot"

What a crock. Bouncers aren't allowed to make decisions whether to allow underaged patrons in or not, they are told whether to let them in or not.

"We have been watching this club and have witnessed violations and offenses every time we have been here," Allen said. "Underage drinking is a very common problem with these bars downtown."

Well, I thought downtown "scene" had reached a zenith, but by the looks of that statement it reached it's zenith farther back than I thought. Here comes the death spiral. Just in time for Houston Pavilions to come in and reshape the entertainment scene downtown from a trendy frat party to an upward mobile oasis.

[what]

C2H, on Tuesday, January 30th, 2007 @ 9:11pm, said:

I trust you know what you're talking about seeing you ususally have an inside scoop. But is there any way to confirm this?

But, I guess, there was no official article or announcement saying that the former MBar was slated to become a Walgreens

It might become a restaurant group that takes the space that has an x-nfl investor.

[largeTEXAS]

There's a new committee of stakeholders, brokers, and city officials to reinvigorate the area. This should be a pretty exciting time for the Historic District. It's a beautiful area, one of may favorites in Houston, but it's been decimated by cheesy clubs. So much so that now it's pretty much a blank slate. Hopefully the new efforts are successful in attracting great new businesses to the area. To me it's exciting because everyone seems to finally be on the same page - no cheesy night clubs! Rather the committee is interested in creating a district full of great chef-driven restaurants, shops, and distinctive entertainment venues. Any input is welcome. One thing for sure right now though is that Walgreens isn't taking the MBar space. Maybe in the future, but not right now.

[dalparadise]

largeTEXAS, on Friday, February 2nd, 2007 @ 11:29pm, said:

There's a new committee of stakeholders, brokers, and city officials to reinvigorate the area. This should be a pretty exciting time for the Historic District. It's a beautiful area, one of may favorites in Houston, but it's been decimated by cheesy clubs. So much so that now it's pretty much a blank slate. Hopefully the new efforts are successful in attracting great new businesses to the area. To me it's exciting because everyone seems to finally be on the same page - no cheesy night clubs! Rather the committee is interested in creating a district full of great chef-driven restaurants, shops, and distinctive entertainment venues. Any input is welcome. One thing for sure right now though is that Walgreens isn't taking the MBar space. Maybe in the future, but not right now.

You asked for input --

Downtown needs residents. Clubs have scared potential residents off. Stupid prices of "chic" empty buildings whose list of amenities includes urine-stained doorways, throngs of "parking lot pimps," weekend hooptie parades and lack of basic goods and services have also scared people off. Entertainment is not the answer -- no matter how low the cheese factor. Dining will help, but it won't really bring in the permanent residents. And you can't have shops or even grocery and basic services stores until you have residents to support them. So the key is to get 30,000 or so urban pioneers to rough it until Downtown is recognized as a viable neighborhood. Then the stores will start opening up and it will feed on itself.

To do this, Downtown must abandon this silly, misconceived TriBeCa fascination it has, with expensive lofts for people who want to pretend they live somewhere else. Listen to me Houston -- urban living has very little to do with exposed brick and ductwork and everything to do with the fabric of the neighborhood around your loft conversion. That charming bum taking a crap on the sidewalk that you wear as evidence of your gritty, Manhattan sensibility is an anachronism. Manhattan is cleaned up and user-friendly.

If you want real big-city living, make neighborhoods. Make regular apartments and make them close to small markets and places for a quick bite to eat. Make sidewalk cafes and bakeries. Make a decent newspaper, or two, to replace the piece of ____ that's printed on Texas Ave. Make our performing arts scene more accessible to the public and more open to up-and-coming artists. While you're at it, make the scene before every ballgame a 2-3 hour party, with street vendors, ticket scalpers, performers and more that closes off, if not Texas Ave., then one of those side streets that can't be driven on anyway. Make our train actually go somewhere. Make all the tunnel businesses relocate to street level, where they'll stay open past 4pm. Make it shameful for large companies to locate their headquarters outside this district. Make different kinds of companies want to come here. Make a signature style of barbeque sandwich or fajita -- something that can walk -- and make it available on street corners. Then, make it famous, by talking about it like it's larger than life and better than it really is. Make an advertising community and legalize the practice of their craft. Business begets business. Oh, and throw in a couple more newspapers. Ours is ____.

This post has been edited by dalparadise: Saturday, February 3, 2007 at 4:57 AM

[TxDave]

dalparadise, on Saturday, February 3rd, 2007 @ 3:51am, said:

You asked for input --

Downtown needs residents. Clubs have scared potential residents off. Stupid prices of "chic" empty buildings whose list of amenities includes urine-stained doorways, throngs of "parking lot pimps," weekend hooptie parades and lack of basic goods and services have also scared people off. Entertainment is not the answer -- no matter how low the cheese factor. Dining will help, but it won't really bring in the permanent residents. And you can't have shops or even grocery and basic services stores until you have residents to support them. So the key is to get 30,000 or so urban pioneers to rough it until Downtown is recognized as a viable neighborhood. Then the stores will start opening up and it will feed on itself.

To do this, Downtown must abandon this silly, misconceived TriBeCa fascination it has, with expensive lofts for people who want to pretend they live somewhere else. Listen to me Houston -- urban living has very little to do with exposed brick and ductwork and everything to do with the fabric of the neighborhood around your loft conversion. That charming bum taking a crap on the sidewalk that you wear as evidence of your gritty, Manhattan sensibility is an anachronism. Manhattan is cleaned up and user-friendly.

If you want real big-city living, make neighborhoods. Make regular apartments and make them close to small markets and places for a quick bite to eat. Make sidewalk cafes and bakeries. Make a decent newspaper, or two, to replace the piece of ____ that's printed on Texas Ave. Make our performing arts scene more accessible to the public and more open to up-and-coming artists. While you're at it, make the scene before every ballgame a 2-3 hour party, with street vendors, ticket scalpers, performers and more that closes off, if not Texas Ave., then one of those side streets that can't be driven on anyway. Make our train actually go somewhere. Make all the tunnel businesses relocate to street level, where they'll stay open past 4pm. Make it shameful for large companies to locate their headquarters outside this district. Make different kinds of companies want to come here. Make a signature style of barbeque sandwich or fajita -- something that can walk -- and make it available on street corners. Then, make it famous, by talking about it like it's larger than life and better than it really is. Make an advertising community and legalize the practice of their craft. Business begets business. Oh, and throw in a couple more newspapers. Ours is ____.

This is a very impassioned post, but I agree that downtown needs to be a real 'residential' neighborhood to fully achieve its potential. There are already a lot of great things going on downtown, but it seems there are not enough residents to keep the activity consistent. More bodies will help establish more activity - making downtown even more appealing. With more residential life, downtown will be even more vibrant and desirable.