Midtown Nightlife

[Dream]

So I drove around Midtown tonight. Drove not walked. I like my car. It was nice to see a lot of people out walking from bar to bar. They seemed to be having a good time.

I noticed these new spots: Christians Tailgate, Deco, Bond, H-town Diner, some wine bar in Post, Wet Spot, Pub Fiction, Komoodos, Thirsty Cactus. If you add these to all of the older places you probably have 20 or more bars and restaurants in a square mile. How many bars have already come and gone. Why do people want to own bars so bad.

Is this good for the neighborhood? Is this the next Shepherd Square or Richmond Strip? When will the shootouts start? Has the ugly crown moved in to push the hip crowd out yet. Who's got the vision and the money to make it in this hyper-competitive zone? Is Midtown a future slum? I've heard it on the streets and read it on this board, that Midtown is the next Gulfton Ghetto.

What do you think? I don't care what Harvard thinks!

Dream

[Casual Observer]

What was the demographic of the crowds? That answer will serve as the answer to your question of shootings & stabbings.

[DJ V Lawrence]

What was the demographic of the crowds? That answer will serve as the answer to your question of shootings & stabbings.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Um, they're like, Houstonians.

Yo, but it's nice to have a third party district being started up :-)

[Subdude]

It makes sense to build bars in areas with a high concentration of apartments, since it generally implies a lot of relatively young potential customers. On the other hand, no "party district" stays fashionable forever, so there's definitely a risk of becoming another Richmond strip or Shepherd Square. If the neighborhood becomes dominated by bars I don't think you'll see a lot of new owner-occupied construction. Not many people are going to want to buy into a neighborhood dominated by nightclubs and apartment complexes.

[midtown_resident]

It makes sense to build bars in areas with a high concentration of apartments, since it generally implies a lot of relatively young potential customers.  On the other hand, no "party district" stays fashionable forever, so there's definitely a risk of becoming another Richmond strip or Shepherd Square.  If the neighborhood becomes dominated by bars I don't think you'll see a lot of new owner-occupied construction.  Not many people are going to want to buy into a neighborhood dominated by nightclubs and apartment complexes.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

A lot of the bars/clubs opening in the area are opening in the same general strip - up Smith/Bagby or along Gray. Much of the townhomes around Red Door/Casa Manhattan are certainly in the line of fire from a lot of noise. However, for the most part, there aren't a lot of townhomes near these places. The apartments area also generally a block or two away - with the exception of the Post props where they are directly upstairs.

West U / Rice is an area dominated by a lot of bars/clubs - however, much of the business base is weighted by restaurants and retail. As midtown diversifies, i'm sure we'll find that restaurants and retail will follow. It's a matter of time and patience.

Also, midtown will only support a certain number of bars! I'm sure after a while, the market will be saturated and the true survivors will emerge. Give it some time, i'm sure that over the next year or two, the market will start evolving in that direction. My speculation at least.

[RedScare]

It is true that Midtown can only support a certain number of bars. However, as Midtown grows, its capacity to support more bars grows with it. Midtown is also unique in that it can draw on downtown and Med Center workers for clientele, which together total about 250,000.

As to Midtown becoming a Shepherd Square, that depends almost entirely on the bar owners themselves. If it becomes saturated, and bar owners start going to "18 and up" to fill their establishments, 2 things happen. The well paying adults leave and the thugs take their place. At that point, things can spiral down fairly rapidly, as we've seen before. Let's hope they don't have short memories.

[CaptAWACS]

It is not becoming a new Richmond strip, as it is more transit and walking oriented..thank god. While not all the bars will survive, this is a trend that will continue, and I think it is a good one, plus I can stumble to them when I am home :-) Overall think more Rice Village than strip.

Ciao, and Hook 'em Horns,

Capt-AWACS, Seven Continents Down, None to Go

[RedScare]

"Overall think more Rice Village than strip."

True. Richmond has numerous parking lots next to a long straight cruising street, conducive to young cruisers. Shepherd had big parking lots next to the street as well. Both areas went downhill when the underage crowd arrived.

As long as the bars cater to a slightly older crowd, their shouldn't be a problem. Also, smaller lots will not provide a place to gather, which seems to be a crucial element. Rice has a garage, due to high land prices. Hopefully, the same happens to midtown.

[MidtownCoog]

Richmond also is closer to all the scuzballs. Those low rent apartments help lead to its demise.

Thankfully, Midtown is a bit "upscale" compared to that. Lots more dinks and yuppies, and that's a good thing for Midtown.

[JFC]

I think it all depends on the owners of the bars keeping a good environment and not selling out for the quick buck.

Has anyone been to Pub Fiction? If so, what do you think of the place?

[Subdude]

I think it all depends on the owners of the bars keeping a good environment and not selling out for the quick buck.

If you think about it, there are two kinds of bars. The first are popular for a year or so, pack the crowd in, and then the crowds find somewhere more trendy and move on. Anything from Shepherd Square or Richmond strip could be an example. The second type are the bars that are never really trendy, but they stay in business for years with a solid regular crowd. These are most often the plain old neighborhood bars. A good example is Kenneally's (because they know me there). In fact, Kenneally's has made a point of avoiding the trap of becoming too popular. Bars in Midtown like the second type should do fine and contribute to the neighborhood, but the too-popular clubs will just flame out at some point.

[ToolMan]

One place that will always be on the Richmond stip is Sam's Boat. I believe they have been open since the late 70's.

I went to Pub Fiction on a Friday night. I liked it but it wasn't a place where I could sit down and enjoy a drink because to was too busy. There we a lot of good looking girls, a live acoustic band (not too loud), a lot of TV screens, and a little pub in the back. Pub Fiction kind of has an identity crisis - it doesn't know what it wants to be. Am I a sports bar? Swanky lounge? Pub? However, it may be different during the week. Happy hours could be interesting because of the cheap drinks.

For Midtown, I can always rely on the good ole Dog House for a nice relaxing drink at the bar. It will last for a while along with Little Woodrows.

[HtownKid]

This is kind of of Subject but whatever happened to Pangea on Main an Club Go I think it was by MinuteMaid Park are they still open?

[JFC]

This is kind of of Subject but whatever happened to Pangea on Main an Club Go I think it was by MinuteMaid Park are they still open?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Pangea closed last Sept.....they opened Joia at the old Timberwolves on Bissonet.

[JFC]

One place that will always be on the Richmond stip is Sam's Boat.  I believe they have been open since the late 70's.

I went to Pub Fiction on a Friday night.  I liked it but it wasn't a place where I could sit down and enjoy a drink because to was too busy.  There we a lot of good looking girls, a live acoustic band (not too loud), a lot of TV screens, and a little pub in the back.  Pub Fiction kind of has an identity crisis - it doesn't know what it wants to be.  Am I a sports bar? Swanky lounge?  Pub?  However, it may be different during the week.  Happy hours could be interesting because of the cheap drinks.

For Midtown, I can always rely on the good ole Dog House for a nice relaxing drink at the bar.  It will last for a while along with Little Woodrows.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I went to Pub Fiction last night. They had a great crowd for Happy Hour and for the rest of the night. It was Flashback Thursdays (80's night). They had a band playing called The Lost Boys. We all had a blast!