Midtown nightclub accused of discriminatory practices (Houston, Richmond: bars, suburbia, offices)

[979Texan]

Houston has a terribly fickle club and bar scene. C'mon, this city is built to function, not preserve useless, obsolete things. The "out-with-the-old, in-with-the-new" mentality has filtered down to entertainment venues and eateries.

With that being said, there is most definitely an evolution of venue patrons. Believe it or not, the longevity of bar is closely correlated with the type of crowd it attracts.

It goes something like this in Houston, TX:
First patrons are the trendy white party crew of socialites and roided-up dooshbags...
Second, the white collar crowd starts to frequent a place, normally overwhelmingly white, but a handful of young professionals of other ethnicities will be there too, but nearly always whitewashed by the white folks and mostly not noticeable
Here is where it gets tricky: Word of mouth in the young Asian or Hispanic community will get around that there's a new spot in town to check out
And then for a little while, a club can sustain all races but not forever
Lastly, black folks will hear about the trendy "new" spot (which is by now 6 months old) and want to get in on the new action also.

At this point the club is likely to close once white no longer frequent it. Sometimes they can build a new identity as an ethnic place. Remember, Gaslamp is 1 mile away from a club where 6 people were shot in May. And lets be honest here, the shooters were not upper crust white folks.

In fact, I'd love to hear the last incident where groups of white people at a bar started shooting at each other in Houston.

In summary, it is bad for folks to discriminate, but it is not entirely wrong for a business owner to try to keep his/her bar from losing money because the clientele changes and becomes more violent.

[LocalPlanner]

So if I understand correctly, the main reason the Washington Avenue clubs died is because white folks refused to go anymore?

The CityCentre scene on the west side is pretty popular at this point with all ethnicities. Does this spell its doom?

I realize that decent shopping malls have a challenge when there's an ethnically diverse crowd (though Memorial City and The Galleria are still doing alright despite that). But what I'm wondering is if an entire "scene" of multiple bars / clubs is subject to this, or if it's solely the places that explicitly create an ethnically exclusive environment for the young pretty Anglo women, which seems to be a relatively small minority of venues.

[nervouslaughter]

Originally Posted by 979Texan

In fact, I'd love to hear the last incident where groups of white people at a bar started shooting at each other in Houston.

In summary, it is bad for folks to discriminate, but it is not entirely wrong for a business owner to try to keep his/her bar from losing money because the clientele changes and becomes more violent.

Not a shooting, but death with a knife that started at Gaslamp. And, he's about as white as they get. I mean c'mon, his first name is Huntley. Man charged in stabbing death during argument at Upper Kirby apartments | News - Home

[hendersj31]

Ok. But the stabing didn't happen at gaslamp.

[texas7]

Originally Posted by curbur

A uniform dress code is not really comparable to what we're describing in regards to Gaslamp. Rest assured that gaslamp wouldn't let anyone in in sandals either. They should have known how strict DaMarco's is about their dress code, but at least they do now .

You didn't read it all. The middle aged women with the senior citizen weren't allowed to have lunch in dress sandals. The younger and prettier group wears nice flip flops and they have no issues dining there. So yeah they were age discriminated. It happens.

[texas7]

Originally Posted by LocalPlanner

So if I understand correctly, the main reason the Washington Avenue clubs died is because white folks refused to go anymore?

The CityCentre scene on the west side is pretty popular at this point with all ethnicities. Does this spell its doom?

I realize that decent shopping malls have a challenge when there's an ethnically diverse crowd (though Memorial City and The Galleria are still doing alright despite that). But what I'm wondering is if an entire "scene" of multiple bars / clubs is subject to this, or if it's solely the places that explicitly create an ethnically exclusive environment for the young pretty Anglo women, which seems to be a relatively small minority of venues.

I don't know if that's true or not but many years ago the area of shepherd/greenbriar at 59 had a bunch of trendy clubs - when clientele diversified, all of the clubs failed and shuttered up.

[curbur]

Originally Posted by texas7

You didn't read it all. The middle aged women with the senior citizen weren't allowed to have lunch in dress sandals. The younger and prettier group wears nice flip flops and they have no issues dining there. So yeah they were age discriminated. It happens.

I did read it fully, but whether or not someone else got in, a dress code is still a dress code even if they happen to not enforce it or don't notice the casual attire when seating them. I get your point that these kinds of things happen, which is true, but I don't think it's the same as potential racial discrimination. There's no protected class for sandal wearers..

On a side note, I didn't mean any disrespect with my dismissal of your point, just how I feel.

[HookTheBrotherUp]

To those who oppose, or hate what is going on, just forget about it, because in a few years, they won't exist. Does anyone remember the 'Richmond Strip'? Woo-hoo! That was THE place to go in Houston.

I find it humorous when I go to lunch during the week, and I see those signs posted on the medians at all the turning points that forbid U-Turns between the hours of 2:00 AM - 6:00 AM. They need to take that shyt down, I bet younger people, or out-of-town people wonder what the heck that is all about. You just found out!

[curbur]

Originally Posted by HookTheBrotherUp

To those who oppose, or hate what is going on, just forget about it, because in a few years, they won't exist. Does anyone remember the 'Richmond Strip'? Woo-hoo! That was THE place to go in Houston.

I find it humorous when I go to lunch during the week, and I see those signs posted on the medians at all the turning points that forbid U-Turns between the hours of 2:00 AM - 6:00 AM. They need to take that shyt down, I bet younger people, or out-of-town people wonder what the heck that is all about. You just found out!

I wonder if the scene in Houston will take up permanent residence in midtown and parts of downtown or keep floating around like it has the past 20 years.

[HookTheBrotherUp]

Originally Posted by curbur

I wonder if the scene in Houston will take up permanent residence in midtown and parts of downtown or keep floating around like it has the past 20 years.

I think it looks like Midtown might be sticking. I remember how Downtown was up an coming, then Metro came in and ripped up Main street for two years, drove a lot of clubs out of business. But with the density that has been happening in and around Midtown, I can see that a lot of those new/future residents will want to be close to the action.

The area in and around Kirby had a spark, but that was put out quickly by the residents in the area. Washington is not going to work, not enough parking, and stretched out too long. It might be an area for restaurants though.

East Downtown Houston (can't stand the word EADO), could come in to play, but it has a long way to go, and I think during that time, Midtown will just continue to build up. Who knows, we'll see in a few years.