amsterdam128

I would fly to Houston and join you WestGray Guy. I would be so pissed off if the River Oaks Theater closed shop.

Isn't the BookStop on Alabama/Sheperd technically a Barnes & Noble as well? Wouldn't a new Barnes & Noble cut into the business at Bookstop? What would happen with the existing retailers at that location where the B&N is going to go? Last time I was in town I noticed quite a few vacancies in the River Oaks Shopping Center. Maybe some of those retailers can relocate further up the street. The former Birraporetti's space under Sherlock's has been vacant for such a long time, anything new coming into the area?

My list:

Trader Joe's

H&M

Virgin Megastore

ESPN Zone

In N Out

Baja Fresh

Islands (CA Burger Restaurant)

Nobu Sushi

Mr. Chow

Jetblue announced that they will begin service to Hobby airport from JFK Airport in New York on September 7 three times a day using Airbus 320 aircraft. This is great news for the Houston area. For those of you who have not had a chance to fly Jetblue, give them a try. They are really great! Lets hope they do well and begin service to other cities from HOU as well.

I would frequent the places downtown HTown Girl but I have a pretty good excuse considering the fact that I live 1,500 miles away. When I am in Houston I am at the mercy of my friends and that means going out in Midtown, Montrose, etc. They talk like downtown is a thing of the past.

And Holy S**t! I am surprised that the Mercury Room and Opus closed down. I thought that they were doing pretty well. Sad to hear that. It's too bad that DT is seen as thuggish nowadays. Hopefully things will change.

I am not sure if this is already known on here but it looks like a new Starbucks is coming to Dallas and Main downtown. I belive this will be street level. Although I am not a huge fan of the corporate coffee giant, it is always nice to see more street level retail in DT Houston.

Nirvana and The Breeders, 1993 at the Astro Arena

1st Annual Buzzfest-1995 I belive

Do they still host concerts at Rice Stadium? I would love to see a concert there.

From my visits to Houston, I think there are several things Downtown can do to improve the nightlife on Main. It seems to me like almost all the nightlife options are clubs that are open a few nights a week from about 8pm to 2am. I think that the scene down there would get a lot better if you can add more casual bars. I think more people would hang out downtown if it wasn't associated with dressing up, going to a club, paying a cover, spending a lot of money on drinks, etc. I think there should be bars like Sherlocks with a live cover band or a Rock Bottom Brewery. In Long Beach, CA where I live, a lot of the bars downtown are actually restaurants during the day. They make money off of the daytime crowds eating out and then come 10 or 11 pm, all the tables/chairs vanish, the lights get turned down, DJ or band starts, and it is a bar/club. I think this would work well for DT. Club owners wouldn't have to depend only on alcohol sales/cover charges a few nights a week in order to survive. I really think casual bars with live music would be a big help. Look at Austin. It is very exciting to see the changes in DT Houston and I am hoping for more positive growth.

Hello

Living in California, there are not a lot of great Cuban restaurants (with the exception of Felix Cafe in Orange!) What are some of the best Cuban Restaurants in Houston? I like some of the dishes at El Meson in the Village. Also, this last weekend I was in Houston and I tried the Latina Cuban Cafe on Fairview in The Montrose area and thought it was absolutely fantastic. Incredible Ropa Vieja! Any other suggestions on good Cuban food?

p.s. I also went to Spanish Village on Almeda for Mexican. I used to eat there years ago but it seems this time the food has gone downhill. Anyone else notice this or did I just go on a bad day?

I wouldn't say that this is exactly a pipe dream thread. There is vacant space in Bayou Place, right? It will probably just be leased by none of the above. I just listed a few ideas that I thought would inject some new life into Bayou Place. Someone a while back said something about a Pancho's Mexican Buffet was going to open a location in Bayou Place. Is that just a rumor or is something actually going to happen there?

I was just wondering if anybody knows anything about any new possible tenants to take up the vacated space left by BAR Houston and Have a Nice Day Cafe? Is there anything in the works? I have a few ideas of the types of places I think might be successful in that location.

*Wine Bar/Cigar Shop (catering to the theater crowd)

*Jazz Club

*Comedy Club

*How about a dueling piano bar? DT doesn't have one of those yet.

*A popular restaurant like Pappasitos or Chili's/Bennigans

Any thoughts?

P.S. I noticed that the last few times I was at the Angelika that their cafe/bar appears to be shut down.

Hello

I'm new to the board but have been reading posts for the past several weeks. I am from California but lived in Houston for many years as I was growing up. I am now in CA again as an Urban Design consultant but still visit Houston several times a year. This is my first post. What is going on with this project? I am a little confused so far. Have they broken ground yet? This is just a rumor and please don't take it any other way but I hear that California Pizza Kitchen is interested. Is this project really going to go forward? It is hard to find reliable information on this project.