Cinnamon Cinder Club At 3249 Dixie Dr.

[jwphillips2]

If you grew up young in Houston in the 60s, you had two choices. You could either wait until you graduated college and got married before you could have a drink in public, or you could join a club and have a mixed drink, even if you were under-age. Thanks, City Fathers, for saving me from a fate worse than death - including the inability to drink while I was in the Army. But, that's not why I started this thread. I'll leave the politics to others.

About 25 or 30 of us Memorial seniors got tired of Brown Bag Houston and joined a club. Ray Barnett had a night club in Houston called The Cinnamon Cinder. You could dance but couldn't drink in there because it was BYOB and we were under-age. Great music! Really neat, friendly patrons. In his wisdom, Ray opened a private club inside The Cinnamon Cinder called The XKE Club and it was strictly private membership only, and therefor avoided the liquor-by-the-drink restrictions. We had more fun and met more people than The Catacombs.

Ray had also opened The EVE Club, near Sage and Westheimer, later in the early 70s and I think was a partner in Bacaccio's 2000 near the KILT Studios on Lovett. By the time Pistaccios and After Dark came along the whole club scene changed as Disco was taking over.

Thanks,Ray wherever you are!

[northbeaumont]

If you grew up young in Houston in the 60s, you had two choices. You could either wait until you graduated college and got married before you could have a drink in public, or you could join a club and have a mixed drink, even if you were under-age. Thanks, City Fathers, for saving me from a fate worse than death - including the inability to drink while I was in the Army. But, that's not why I started this thread. I'll leave the politics to others.

About 25 or 30 of us Memorial seniors got tired of Brown Bag Houston and joined a club. Ray Barnett had a night club in Houston called The Cinnamon Cinder. You could dance but couldn't drink in there because it was BYOB and we were under-age. Great music! Really neat, friendly patrons. In his wisdom, Ray opened a private club inside The Cinnamon Cinder called The XKE Club and it was strictly private membership only, and therefor avoided the liquor-by-the-drink restrictions. We had more fun and met more people than The Catacombs.

Ray had also opened The EVE Club, near Sage and Westheimer, later in the early 70s and I think was a partner in Bacaccio's 2000 near the KILT Studios on Lovett. By the time Pistaccios and After Dark came along the whole club scene changed as Disco was taking over.

Thanks,Ray wherever you are!

What? Was Brown Bag Houston the name of a nightclub?

[devonhart]

What? Was Brown Bag Houston the name of a nightclub?

I know as a kid, the adults would buy a beer from a convience store which came in a paper bag that fit suggly around the can. They would drink from the can with the bag still on it to hide the fact that they were drinking in public, a crime at the time, I believe.

[Jax]

Is drinking in public a crime now? I would think that it still is...

[Guest Marty]

The brown bag keeps the beer bottle from slipping out of your hands when it starts to sweat and to hide that cheap beer you are drinking.

[nm5k]

>I know as a kid, the adults would buy a beer from a convience store which came in a paper bag that fit suggly around the can. They would drink from the can with the bag still on it to hide the >fact that they were drinking in public, a crime at the time, I believe.

I think it's also a law that the beverage has to be wrapped to take out of the store.

I once had a TABC license in a past life, this is why I seem to remember this..

If I remember right, all booze must be in a bag to be taken out of the place it was

sold at. I think this even applies to buying a six pack at a stop n rob, to be

technical, but I'm not sure all follow it these days.

But I'm fairly sure about the single can beers, etc.. They had to be wrapped

in a bag to be taken out. It was more for that law, than to make it easy for

the drinkers to hide I think.

MK

[MidtownCoog]

Today we call those "ghetto-koosies". If you are not from Houston, you may not even know what a koosie is.

Some wrap the beers, some don't. The guy at the beer store on South Main (next to OTC) has the wrapping down to an art form. He should be in Houston Press Best of Houston!

My brother got Clyde Drexler's autograph on one, about 45 mintues before he was supposed to be playing in a NBA Championship game.

[Guest Marty]

When I lived in Porter a neighbor called them cup coolers..... and I was like what the hell is he talking about? he never herd of Koozy.

Edited September 27, 2007 by Marty

[Croberts]

I think it's also a law that the beverage has to be wrapped to take out of the store.

I once had a TABC license in a past life, this is why I seem to remember this..

If I remember right, all booze must be in a bag to be taken out of the place it was

sold at. I think this even applies to buying a six pack at a stop n rob, to be

technical, but I'm not sure all follow it these days.

But I'm fairly sure about the single can beers, etc.. They had to be wrapped

in a bag to be taken out. It was more for that law, than to make it easy for

the drinkers to hide I think.

MK

Yes, thats what I remember. It had to be covered up to take it out of the store. There were also laws limiting how you could advertise stores taht sold liquor. In the carolinas, there is a chain called ABC, and ABC became a generic way of saying we sell beer, wine and liquor.

I did a survey of koozies in Pennsylvania in the late 1980s, and I discovered that over half of them were made in Belton Texas. Here in south Florida, they are uncommon, but the convention is really to drink at outdoor tiki bars, by the pitcher, with small bags of ice in the pitcher. Beer always seems to be served warmer than in Texas. I always tell people if it does not hurt the hand to reach into the ice chest, its not cold enough.

[Vertigo58]

If memory serves well, that goofy name Koozie became widespread (at least here early 80's?) when mostly rock n roll stations like KLOL and 97Rock would do radio or concert promotions at clubs or hotels (like where Carla Harris ran down her hubby yrs later). DJ's would shout over sound systems, "You could win a free koozie or 97 Rock T-shirt if you are the 10th caller, etc.

Sometimes they would announce a special appearance of a band like at a local Sound Warehouse Records and have koozie give-aways. They were cheaply made and people that were loaded thought it was such an honor to get one free.

The brown bag came in handy in our hot humid steamy weather. It is good as far as soaking up the drippiness or preventing the can or bottle from slipping out of your handy when you already copping a buzz. >

Edited September 28, 2007 by Vertigo58

[brucesw]

The name of the company is Koza's and it's located in Pearland. I don't think they invented them but they were a widely used supplier in the area and that's probably where the nickname came from.

Once KILT sponsored a jaunt to Mexico, sending a horde of listeners, advertisers and station personnel. The promotions department sent along boxes and boxes of promotional items to give away as prizes for the games they were going to play, some specially printed. Mexican customs officials asked a promotions department guy what was in the boxes and he said 'Oh, just caps, cups, t-shirts and koozies.' He was detained for hours while Mexican authorities searched all the boxes and luggage to satisfy themselves no Uzis were being smuggled into the country. He did not know that 'koozies' is not an internationally recognized nickname for 'drink holder.'

[gnu]

The name of the company is Koza's and it's located in Pearland. I don't think they invented them but they were a widely used supplier in the area and that's probably where the nickname came from.

Living in Baytown in the mid 70's, we always called them Huggers. They were made and distributed in the area by the company that created Tiddies sandals in Pasadena. I don't think I ever heard them called Koozies until the early 90's. (What about you Tjones?)

http://mytiddies.com/product.php?productid=16229

Edited September 28, 2007 by gnu

[sevfiv]

...a can or bottle of beverages like coke, tea, or PBR, and can be inserted to retain its cold temperature.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koozie

i had always thought the term came from "cozy," (like a tea or toaster cozy...lol)

[Vertigo58]

Living in Baytown in the mid 70's, we always called them Huggers. They were made and distributed in the area by the company that created Tiddies sandals in Pasadena. I don't think I ever heard them called Koozies until the early 90's. (What about you Tjones?)

http://mytiddies.com/product.php?productid=16229

There was that Surf store in Pasadena that sold that stuff. I used to see it advertised in major Surf fanzines in early 80's! I was shocked that they would list crappy old Pasadena along side other stores in Newport Beach, Ca or Maui, Hawaii! Bizarro.

I would drive there just to buy summer surf threads (convertible days) and they had all kinds of cool surf items, boards, bumper stickers.

Just the other day I was sorting through my archives and found a Tiddies sew on patch I never used, its like new. Who wants it?

On subject I recall some people using their koozies until they were disgustingly filthy with grime and hand prints. I used to throw them away all the time because they were so easy to lose anyway, especially when the kegs were floating.

Edited September 28, 2007 by Vertigo58

[jwphillips2]

What's so amazing about these forums is that you never know where the discussion will go. I remember "tiddies" for grownups (footwear) and sandals for kids, "kiddies tiddies", but I'm not sure these pre-dated "koozies".

I started the thread to see if anyone remembers having to bring your brown bag (you couldn't buy a mixed drink!) with you to your favorite bar. Remember "setups"? Brown bag (liquor by the drink) was the main reason Houston didn't get a Playboy Club. This was a really big deal in its day and the issue was finally voted in a state election. Texas wanted to get a fee for every member of your club if you were going to claim immunity from brown bag. How many millions of members did Playboy have? Hey, it was for our own good, right?

I still want to know about the koozie. I still have and use my Taz koozie.

[MidtownCoog]

I remember the Telephone Road beer joints with "Setups" when I was a kid.

I always thought that meant they would find you a date. Seriously.

[jwphillips2]

I remember the Telephone Road beer joints with "Setups" when I was a kid.

I always thought that meant they would find you a date. Seriously.

Well, they never found one for me. That is funny.

I think those "setups" were considerably more expensive than the $1.00 they charged for Cokes.

[Vertigo58]

I thought the idea of a koozie-like wrap-around was genius. Instead of inserting your beer can or bottle into the koozie, you wrapped it around and it closed with velcro (another 80's wonder).

These wrap-arounds were to conceal any booze or brew you were holding. The outside had Dr. Pepper, Coca-Cola, Fanta, Mr Pibb, etc. If cops passed by it appeared everyone was having wholesome family fun.

Surprised no one has placed any pics, here are a select few. Bottom's up!

[jwphillips2]

Surprised no one has placed any pics, here are a select few. Bottom's up!

Thanks for the pics! I forgot how many there were...

[silverartfox]

I started the thread to see if anyone remembers having to bring your brown bag (you couldn't buy a mixed drink!) with you to your favorite bar. Remember "setups"? Brown bag (liquor by the drink) was the main reason Houston didn't get a Playboy Club. This was a really big deal in its day and the issue was finally voted in a state election. Texas wanted to get a fee for every member of your club if you were going to claim immunity from brown bag. How many millions of members did Playboy have? Hey, it was for our own good, right?

Yes, I remember when a brown paper bag containing a bottle of bourbon was the usual personal accessory when going out to dinner or a dance. Restaurants and night spots advertised "beer and set-ups" - the "set-ups" being a bucket of ice and bottles of mixers, Coca-Cola, etc. Scotch, Canadian, and other spirits were considered an acquired taste. Tequila?...only in Mexico! At that point in our history, Americans had not yet started enjoying wine, and the California wine industry virtually non-existent. Champagne was drunk only at weddings, and it was usually from New York State. When my relatives from Chicago visited Houston, they were amazed that they couldn't get mixed drinks in a restaurant unless they brown-bagged it or were members of "the club".

They were also amazed that a city with so many busy railroad tracks had so few grade separations at crossings, but that's a whole 'nother thread...

[icepickphil]

I was a kid in 60s Houston and I remember the "Beer and Set-ups" sign very well. Anyone with a picture of that?

I believe the liquor by the drink law was passed about '71 right?