Drew's BBQ At 819 Richmond Ave.

[j_cuevas713]

http://swamplot.com/your-chance-to-own-half-of-chapultepec-lupita-and-all-of-its-richmond-ave-next-door-neighbors/2018-12-04/

[dbigtex56]

So many fond memories of Chapultepec! I wonder how many friends' pictures are on the walls and ceilings. Sorry to see yet another unpretentious, affordable restaurant go.

[wilcal]

Well, is it really going to go? Sounds like only half of it is in the listing.

 

Will be interesting to see if this gets redeveloped and how quickly. 

[corbs315]

#savethepec

[j_cuevas713]

I used to live in the neighborhood behind this place. Honestly the restaurant has really gone down hill. I’m excited to see this side of Richmond get redeveloped. I hope to see BRT in the next 5 years.  

[Evil Developer]

that parcel is pretty small, so it makes re-development challenging, plus it's not contiguous - which makes it a no-go for most.  plus the amateurish approach by a residential broker isn't helping anything.  killer google earth work here: https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/portfolio/13704092/

[clutchcity94]

Anyone knows what the future of this lot is? The old Drew’s BBQ spot has been vacant for over a year and a half.

Edited November 13, 2019 by clutchcity94

[clutchcity94]

Anyone know what’s happening here? As of this week, all of the windows are blown out (on the first and second floor) and the building looks like it could collapse at any second.

According to HCAD, this property traded hands last year and the current owner is delinquent on property taxes.

**UPDATE: I see that a demolition permit was issued on 2/9, so this is coming down soon. Looks like the same owner that bought in 2021 also owns the property next door at 817 Richmond. I did some digging on the owner of the entity that owns the property and it looks like he is the owner of a printing service company. I hope this doesn’t turn into a Kinko’s..

Edited February 27, 2022 by clutchcity94

[hindesky]

Chaputelpec address is 813 Richmond and so is the little white building next to it. Drew BBQ is 819, I went there a couple times before The Pit put them out of business. I used to go to Chapultepec after the bars closed and sometimes for breakfast, a fight broke out once when I took my nephew after a show at Continental Club. I miss Ruchi's on Shepherd when they had the late night one man band on a keyboard playing all the popular Mexican songs and the whole crowd would be singing along.

Edited February 27, 2022 by hindesky

[j_cuevas713]

Had food there many times after a night out drinking. But I'm happy this entire block is changing, it's needed. 

[dbigtex56]

As of this morning, 819 Richmond is gone, departed, razed, taken down, history. 

R.I.P., former home of Wilde 'n Stein books.

[Avossos]

12 hours ago, dbigtex56 said:

As of this morning, 819 Richmond is gone, departed, razed, taken down, history. 

R.I.P., former home of Wilde 'n Stein books.

Hope they salvaged as much material as possible, including the door!

[clutchcity94]

Bets on how long this land will sit vacant before they start building on it?

[dbigtex56]

On 3/6/2022 at 8:17 AM, Avossos said:

Hope they salvaged as much material as possible, including the door!

Doubtful. When I saw it, the backhoe was completing demolition on the back of the building, and the front didn't look like anything had been removed.
Seems unlikely that they would stop halfway through demolition to do any salvaging. 

[clutchcity94]

22 minutes ago, dbigtex56 said:

Doubtful. When I saw it, the backhoe was completing demolition on the back of the building, and the front didn't look like anything had been removed.
Seems unlikely that they would stop halfway through demolition to do any salvaging. 

It looks like part of the roof line of the building next door was damaged as well.

[hindesky]

[hindesky]

817 Richmond is now gone. Loading out the debris.

[dbigtex56]

On 3/8/2022 at 2:03 PM, hindesky said:

817 Richmond is now gone. Loading out the debris.

 

Although the facade was only an addition to the house behind it, I always liked its Moderne/Streamline style. 
Is there a term for that type of C-shaped cove overhanging roof edged with aluminum or stainless steel?
Many buildings built in the 30's and 40's in Houston had that feature.

[dbigtex56]

On 3/6/2022 at 10:38 AM, clutchcity94 said:

Bets on how long this land will sit vacant before they start building on it?

This is Houston. Could be three weeks, could be three decades.

[clutchcity94]

Would be really great to see the stretch of Richmond from Wheeler station to Montrose Blvd become walkable and developed.

Are there any examples anywhere in the world where an extremely walkable pocket includes a highway overpass? Just thinking through whether folks from the Ion (future state; once it’s more developed) would even walk to developments at, say, Richmond & Roseland?

[Texasota]

Luckily there will soon(ish) be a BRT line running down Richmond making a quick and easy connection possible.

 

 

[editor]

2 hours ago, clutchcity94 said:

Would be really great to see the stretch of Richmond from Wheeler station to Montrose Blvd become walkable and developed.

Are there any examples anywhere in the world where an extremely walkable pocket includes a highway overpass? Just thinking through whether folks from the Ion (future state; once it’s more developed) would even walk to developments at, say, Richmond & Roseland?

I can't think of any involving a highway, but I have seen several places where there have been overhead trains and still a thriving, walkable neighborhood below.

The keys seem to be to make sure the overpass is elevated as much as possible, and to have plenty of street-level distractions (bars, restaurants, etc...) so that people don't notice what's happening overhead.

[Amlaham]

Is it safe to assume the rest of the buildings up to Stanford will also be demolished?   

[hindesky]

From yesterday.

[dbigtex56]

On 3/10/2022 at 10:50 AM, clutchcity94 said:

Are there any examples anywhere in the world where an extremely walkable pocket includes a highway overpass?

Good question.
Many walkable places in older cities have overpasses but they're usually for rail, not automotive traffic. Does that make them more acceptable?
Personally I'd rather walk through an underpass than on a bridge over a highway. Anyone with even a mild case of acrophobia can understand what an uncomfortable experience that can be.
Of course, if Mayor Turner hadn't been hell-bent on rebuilding the obnoxious Spur 527 we wouldn't have this problem. 
 

[clutchcity94]

44 minutes ago, dbigtex56 said:

Good question.
Many walkable places in older cities have overpasses but they're usually for rail, not automotive traffic. Does that make them more acceptable?
Personally I'd rather walk through an underpass than on a bridge over a highway. Anyone with even a mild case of acrophobia can understand what an uncomfortable experience that can be.
Of course, if Mayor Turner hadn't been hell-bent on rebuilding the obnoxious Spur 527 we wouldn't have this problem. 
 

Good point. The overpass near the Air Canada Centre in Toronto comes to mind. Tons of pedestrians walk underneath.

Edited March 12, 2022 by clutchcity94

[hindesky]

Lot is cleared and smoothed. I wonder what will end up here?

 

[clutchcity94]

19 minutes ago, hindesky said:

Lot is cleared and smoothed. I wonder what will end up here?

 

I just searched for 819 Richmond on the permitting website and it lists the “Owner/Occupant” that pulled the permit for demolition as Drews BBQ, but when I search the permitting website for the address next door that was also demolished (817 Richmond), it lists the Owner/Occupant as The Toning Zone, which appears to be a gym in the Montrose area (http://www.thetoningzone.com).

What’s the deal with small gyms being constructed from the ground up in this pocket of Montrose? First it was Timberline Fitness a few years ago and now apparently The Toning Zone.

Edited March 13, 2022 by clutchcity94

[BEES?!]

On 3/10/2022 at 10:50 AM, clutchcity94 said:

Would be really great to see the stretch of Richmond from Wheeler station to Montrose Blvd become walkable and developed.

Are there any examples anywhere in the world where an extremely walkable pocket includes a highway overpass? Just thinking through whether folks from the Ion (future state; once it’s more developed) would even walk to developments at, say, Richmond & Roseland?

I know there’s a couple in Japan. I think Roppongi, Tokyo, maybe?

[clutchcity94]

I didn’t get a chance to snap a pic, but it looks like they’re getting ready to turn this site into a parking lot. Looks like it was ready for a concrete pour with rebar set up and it definitely wasn’t deep enough for slab.