Montrose Restaurant And Bar Scene - More Coming

[trymahjong]

guess the bohemes and gentrifications and whoever else makes avondale their homes are satisfied that deans won't be too negative an impact on neighborhood or parking etcetc------------dean's has asked for a "late night permit" what ever that is-------- everything seems set to move forward---TNT will lease out their parking to dean's after they have closed---never heard of that before--how will you know those cars are going to dean's? i know plenty who park there and go to ziggy's---and "jewels" has closed---sad since that little strip could have been a funky little magnet for other retail--maybe? but guess everyone will pounce on that parking space also---i was told that "boheme" the wine bar/cafe (althought it doesn't serve food and is mainly full bar not just wine) got a $$$ fine for setting up tables in their limited parking spaces---now those tables on side and in back and new parking next door in front of scuplture house---

and now there is interest in the older building across the street---fairview and morgan---used to be a post office? the talk is that is was tied up in divorce thing--now divorce thing settled (?)--maybe another bar in the future?

there used to be a railroad that lead to the fairgrounds on fairview--one of the bars on crocket and fairview still has a loading dock--- the folks at the avondale historic architecture tour --have come up with pictures of the trolley car that made a left turn at taft and ran rail towards first montrose commons--

i love finding out all these little details---

[Domelover]

Thanks for the info, that's pretty interesting. I'd been meaning to check out Dean's for some time now, and I guess pretty soon they'll come to me! The truck shop (the cotton exchange, it's called?) often leaves huge flatbeds, buses, and other vehicles in their lot overnight, as there's really no other place to put them. On weekends the TNT strip's parking is packed, and in fact people parallel park all up and down Taft. There are about 6 bars and restaurants on the Fairview/Hyde Park drag and none of them have much parking to speak of, yet they seem to be doing well. I went in Boheme briefly on Saturday and it was stupid-packed, couldn't get any service from the amateur bartenders. Dean's ought to fit in nicely, and hey, you won't have to go far for your drugs or bj needs.

[infinite_jim]

It's likely to attract my crowd, and "we are the music makers, we are the dreamers of dreams"

This is more a consolidation of bohemians opposed to what you fear, but parking will be an issue I'm sure of it.

[plumber2]

Are they closing their current location, or will this be Dean's II?

Parking seems to be a limiting factor. A few years ago, Montrose had a younger, poorer, more adventurous population. Many people didn't have cars, and bars could do a decent business with a (literal) walk-in trade. Things have changed - just look at the area surrounding the Pacific Street strip. Several buildings have been razed to provide parking for out-of-neighborhood patrons. People who want The Montrose Experience are more likely to commute these days, and the bars have had to provide parking to accomodate them.

Parking at the Cotton Exchange? The Cotton Exchange I'm familiar with is at least a couple miles from Fairview and Morgan, in downtown Houston.

The proximity of other bars shouldn't be a problem. They're not in direct competition. You won't find many Ripcord people at Meteor, or vice-versa.

I imagine the neighborhood associations will be taking a long, hard look. There has been an influx of people who want the glamour of 'the bohemian neighborhood', but without, you know, those darn bohemians.

"The Cotton Exchange" is just a play on words for a second hand clothing store I presume, not the downtown former commodities trade building.

[sevfiv]

There are some banners on the fence now advertising restaurant equipment liquidation

[cwrm4]

Heard from a reliable source that the Bistro Vino building has be released by the new owner. 3 year lease, possibly for restaurant. But, no renewal option on the lease.

I suspect the existing kitchen equipment in there is quite old and worn-out.

Edited September 5, 2008 by cwrm4

[lockmat]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/hei...ws/6046997.html

The salmon-hued building and former residence at 819 W. Alabama, home to the Bistro Vino restaurant for 24 years, is expected to be the site in about two years of a nine- to 11-story condominium.

The facility will include more than 80 condominiums priced from $190,000 to $400,000.

[sevfiv]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/hei...ws/6046997.html

Just what we need. Gross.

[OkieEric]

Just what we need. Gross.

maybe it will be another riparian

Bistro Vino must have lost some trees from Ike, since it is now very visible from W Alabama. Still disappointed that I never tried it

[LTAWACS]

Hrm...

[dbigtex56]

From the article:

"The short questionnaire that has appeared on the company

[therepguy]

Looks like there will be more townhomes/apartments coming.. I always enjoyed a fine evening at Vino Bistro.. I'm very sad to see it close.

http://swamplot.com/bistro-vino-the-honeym...ver/2008-07-17/

http://www.bistrovino.net/

Your quote hit the nail right on ...based on recent events... its a keeper!

[dbigtex56]

"The Cotton Exchange" is just a play on words for a second hand clothing store I presume, not the downtown former commodities trade building.

Cotton Brothers Inc. (400 Fairview) is a blue corrugated metal building near the northwest corner of Fairview and Morgan.

It has nothing to do with the Cotton Exchange or clothing. They fix brakes on big trucks.

Any further word on Dean's II? I'm not clear as to which building is (was) under consideration. Is it the brick one, on the northeast corner? Or the formerly brick one on the southeast corner, which has been remuddled beyond recognition?

[trymahjong]

Cotton Brothers Inc. (400 Fairview) is a blue corrugated metal building near the northwest corner of Fairview and Morgan.

It has nothing to do with the Cotton Exchange or clothing. They fix brakes on big trucks.

Any further word on Dean's II? I'm not clear as to which building is (was) under consideration. Is it the brick one, on the northeast corner? Or the formerly brick one on the southeast corner, which has been remuddled beyond recognition?

Dean's is a green and cream buiding that is having the interior second story torn out for a high ceiling main floor and building a

roof top bar--with a pretty good view of downtown--

they've gotten their liquor permits and signed "good neighbor" papers with the residents assoc-- how soon will they open? hmmmmmmm haven't heard--but a lot of the gossip at the green market was about BABY BARNABY'S moving into the vacated market on taft and fairview---any info on that?

[trymahjong]

there might be a another bar at morgan and fairview-- have you seen the renovations of the old post office building? i hear that the owner of boheme is renovating upstairs for apartments and down stairs for cafe/bar/? space ------the parking nightmare will only get worse

[dachmation]

Interesting--

when you live in the neighborhood-- you hear things-- I've heard Boheme's liquor license is up for renewal and the local neighborhood civic isn't happy with the parking, traffic and noise issues-- apparently the owner of Boheme charmed the assoc with promises of back yard parking --full front parking and off site parking-so no protest would be lodged in 2007-

-the parking problems has only gotten worse since Dean's apparently "lost" the agreement to park off hours at the Cotton Brothers lot across the street- and ziggy's is still tied up in court with the lot owners (next to reeves antiques) -and the lot across the street will be "tenant only" or the "new " cafe? -a nightmare-- if you live in the apartments there and depend on "on" street parking----you really get fed up -- fast-- plus the lack of parking makes the amount of circling cars searching for available parking--another nightmare--

i'm thinking the civic club will be wondering if Boheme makes good on the parking promises or a mass mailing to TABC + COH permits might be in the future-- will that be beneficial? who knows-- but probably will be replayed later as Ziggy's and Dean's come up for renewal-- what ever happens traffic will still be a nightmare

Edited July 15, 2009 by dachmation

[htownproud]

this is truly upsetting. i live a few blocks away and love that this area is finally becoming a truly walkable area. having previously lived in chicago and new york, i can tell you (although I'm surprised that I need to) that parking is an issue when you live in true city. if your apartment doesn't provide parking, and you don't want to pay for it otherwise, then you are often stuck driving around looking for places or walking a distance. this why people pay premiums for apartments with parking.

im shaking my head at this unfortunate development.

[names]

Having been a patron to both bars mentioned in the thread, I did not find any difficulty finding parking within a couple blocks of the establishments on busy weekend nights. There is plenty of on street parking north and south of Fairview along Morgan in the neighborhood.

Why does the code call for commercial use properties to have so much on site parking? It seems like prescriptive coding for suburbanization, which is good only if the area was to undergo a Haussmann type of recapitalization but I seriously don't think this area is a supertall candidate in any regard as is.

The on street parking is a positive development for the pedestrian environment, and I find accounts of the parking problem disingenuous & more so a perceived problem by the neighborhood in order for them to stymie and control their neighbor's property.

[musicman]

The on street parking is a positive development for the pedestrian environment, and I find accounts of the parking problem disingenuous

the few times i've been to boheme, some of the patrons do park without regard to the neighborhood. this puts new meaning to the phrase on street parking.

[dachmation]

i live close to these bars and somedays are better than others when it comes to parking hassles --but the "other" days can be horrible--blocking sidewalks. parking up to the stop sign so you can't see oncoming traffic, or bumpers sticking way into your driveway--mainly tho-- it's coming home each day to the hassle of searching for on street parking by your apartment--when you attended a civic meeting and the owner of the bar aknowledged the parking "nightmare situation" and made promises --not to complicate it further

here is the COH code-- you can do the math as you gauge the square footage of Boheme, Dean's and Ziggy's-- now of course there's Pinot and Picasso on taft--it's funny but if you talk to any of thse owners they all refer/allude to TNT's parking as a resource--that might add up to 7 spaces total--still not enough to cover the requirements of each as set down by COH

http://www.municode....id=10123&sid=43

chap 26--art vIII division 2 class 7 =>10.0 spaces for every 1,000 square feet of GFA and outdoor decks, patio and/or seating areas

could it get worse? another rumor has the owner of "hungry's" buying the former market at taft anf fairview and wanting to put in a chinese restaurant---

Edited July 16, 2009 by dachmation

[capnmcbarnacle]

i live close to these bars and somedays are better than others when it comes to parking hassles --but the "other" days can be horrible--blocking sidewalks. parking up to the stop sign so you can't see oncoming traffic, or bumpers sticking way into your driveway--mainly tho-- it's coming home each day to the hassle of searching for on street parking by your apartment--when you attended a civic meeting and the owner of the bar aknowledged the parking "nightmare situation" and made promises --not to complicate it further

I get irritated when people park in front of my house to walk to commerical businesses near my house. Mostly it's beacause they park in the middle of the curb cut and take up 2 spaces with 1 car. But I don't own the street and anyone can park there. It's an interesting phenomenon that we feel a sense of entitlement to the public parking in front of our homes. That being said, when faced with the option of people parking in front of my house to walk to restaurants and bars that I also walk to, or having no cars on the street to impede my drive to Fudruckers, I'll take the former.

Parking will always be an issue in our neighborhood. Not everyone who wants to go to the places here lives withing walking distance. The way I see it there are the following options:

1. Require the business to adhere to the code, forcing them to acquire and scrape away a few bungalows for surface parking ala The Tavern.

2. Complain about on street parking until the businesses leave, and then moan about how "non-walkable" Houston is.

3. Use eminent domain to increase the width of the right of ways. You know, so you can park on both sides and still get two lanes of traffic down the middle. It'll only take part of you front yard anyway.

4. Accept that part of living in a desirable urban neighborhood is that other people want to drive to your house and walk around where you live.

I have a place in the French Quarter and no parking place. It's not unusual for me to walk a number of blocks from my car to the apartment because other people park on the street. Imagine the quarter if we required every restaurant or hole in the wall bar to have 10 spaces for each 1000 feet. It would cease to exist.

If you want businesses you can walk to, along with some neighborhood character, I think on street parking is the trade off.

Edited July 16, 2009 by capnmcbarnacle

[trymahjong]

you're right about the trade off-- walkability is what i moved to avondale for-- still -- i have to admit to more than my share of frustration at Boheme--I was at the meeting where he assured everyone that all of the available spaces front and back would be made into parking--in addtion to the places he'd provide by pulling his frontyard fence back--that's the prickly part--that lingering feeling of resentment at being lied to-- but sure----walkability is worth it --doesn't mean i aint cranky about the parking stuff--and it's soothing to have a venue like this to vent--- and really makes me wonder why COH didn't think about a reliable bus/train/rail system back when the monorail dreams were floating around--

[dachmation]

Interesting--

when you live in the neighborhood-- you hear things-- I've heard Boheme's liquor license is up for renewal and the local neighborhood civic isn't happy with the parking, traffic and noise issues-- apparently the owner of Boheme charmed the assoc with promises of back yard parking --full front parking and off site parking-so no protest would be lodged in 2007-

-the parking problems has only gotten worse since Dean's apparently "lost" the agreement to park off hours at the Cotton Brothers lot across the street- and ziggy's is still tied up in court with the lot owners (next to reeves antiques) -and the lot across the street will be "tenant only" or the "new " cafe? -a nightmare-- if you live in the apartments there and depend on "on" street parking----you really get fed up -- fast-- plus the lack of parking makes the amount of circling cars searching for available parking--another nightmare--

i'm thinking the civic club will be wondering if Boheme makes good on the parking promises or a mass mailing to TABC + COH permits might be in the future-- will that be beneficial? who knows-- but probably will be replayed later as Ziggy's and Dean's come up for renewal-- what ever happens traffic will still be a nightmare

I had been watching to see if any posts delt with the traffic deaths of the men on their motorcycle on fairview-- this happened last week between Barnaby's and Dean's--- The traffic has gotten so much worse. Speeding problems in this area are as bad as the parking problems. Coincidentally, Dean's and Boheme seem to be taking the parking problem more seriously as both are now offering valet parking (the lots leased are on Westheimer). Now if the City would address the Speeding problem. A stop sign between Montrose and Taft would be a good start. Tow trucks in this area are the worse speeders. I'm hoping HPD takes a closer look at this problem before another tragedy happens.

[lovett19]

Last Sunday I noticed that Prive Lounge is all boarded up. I think the businesses next door (to the east) were also boarded up all the way down to (and including) Felix Mexican restaurant. I searched HAIF for any threads related to this, but couldn't find any. If you can direct me to an existing thread, please let me know. I would really like to know what plans are being made for the space that was occupied by those businesses. I get the feeling that someone may be quietly buying up properties in the Westheimer/Montrose buckle. On the southwest corner, the Blockbuster has been vacant for over a year. Southeast corner, seems like the businesses between the old Taco Cabana and Interfaith Ministries are shuttering. Also seems like the new tenants are dragging their heels on moving into the old Taco Cabana location. And now the northeast corner, you've got a whole strip of businesses boarded up. What's going on?

[AtticaFlinch]

Last Sunday I noticed that Prive Lounge is all boarded up. I think the businesses next door (to the east) were also boarded up all the way down to (and including) Felix Mexican restaurant. I searched HAIF for any threads related to this, but couldn't find any. If you can direct me to an existing thread, please let me know. I would really like to know what plans are being made for the space that was occupied by those businesses. I get the feeling that someone may be quietly buying up properties in the Westheimer/Montrose buckle. On the southwest corner, the Blockbuster has been vacant for over a year. Southeast corner, seems like the businesses between the old Taco Cabana and Interfaith Ministries are shuttering. Also seems like the new tenants are dragging their heels on moving into the old Taco Cabana location. And now the northeast corner, you've got a whole strip of businesses boarded up. What's going on?

I've wondered the same thing about this intersection. Some businesses that have recently closed had survived for decades there. It's sad to see, in such a vibrant neighborhood, that the intersection that's essentially ground zero Montrose would have so many shuttered buildings. The Blockbuster strip is at only half capacity, with the Half Price, the Spec's outlet, Quizno's, 369 and a Papa John's on the back side. I wonder if the intersection is in for a mid-rise reimagining a la Kirby and Westheimer.

[kylejack]

Don't forget the poor condom shop

[barracuda]

Maybe this is all part of the charrette master plan.

[AtticaFlinch]

As long as Disco Kroger and Aladdin are allowed to survive, I'm cool with whatever they do to the intersection. Frankly, I'd love to see that unsightly strip mall disappear, so long as Half Priced Books is moved somewhere that's still convenient. The Spec's is sorta redundant considering the big Spec's is only about a mile away. I've yet to be impressed by 369, and Quizno's and Papa John's could easily and cheaply move to a different location. I just hope that if a midrise complex is built there it's allowed to complement the neighborhood instead of being an out-of-place cookie-cutter yuppie complex.

[kylejack]

Move Half Price to the old theater (now Hollywood Video) and Hollywood Video can just go to hell or something.

[rsb320]

I preferred when Prince's drive-in was where the Stop 'n Go is now.

There are pics on here somewhere of the strip center before it was brutalized. It was art deco and was ruined much like the Sears on Main. The block of the strip center would be a good location for mid-rise with a parking garage beneath and street level retail all the way around.

At any rate, they cannot reduce the number of lanes. There is too much TMC to Heights traffic every day.

Edit: Sorry I thought I was on the Charrette thread.

Prive's site is still up - http://www.privelounge.com/

Edited September 23, 2009 by rsb320