A proposed new Little Woodrow’s location — the seventh Houston patio bar in the growing chain — is drawing opposition from neighborhood residents on an eclectic Upper Kirby street that includes a mosque, farmers market, office buildings and expensive town homes.
Over the weekend, customers at the Urban Harvest Farmers Market noticed a sign that the chain has made a request to the Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission for a a permit for a Little Woodrow's Kirby Ice House posted on a vacant lot on Eastside street, between the farmers market site and the Bammel Park townhome subdivision and across the street from the headquarters for Dress for Success and the Islamic Society of Greater Houston.
Dress for Success, a non-profit organization that serves over 50,000 disadvantaged women in Houston by providing them with professional attire and career development tools, holds weekly meetings on Thursday and Saturday evenings where their clients usually bring their children. Having a bar right across the street with little kids around is not the safest or smartest decision, says the organization's vice president Lauren Levicki Courville.
"We are protesting due to the location and for the safety and security of our clients, staff members and volunteers,” she said.
The Islamic Society of Greater Houston, which has been located on Eastside street for over 30 years, is concerned that the bar will threaten the spiritual nature of the oldest and most centrally-located mosque in Houston. "The bar threatens our ability to have our sacredness,” said community members leader Kareem Abdul Rahman.
Officials are also concerned about parking and security issues as worshipers come to the mosque at night for meals (the mosque serves over 200 meals a night to families this month during Ramadan) and other social services. They are worried that worshipers could potentially be verbally harassed from as they walk past the bar from the bus stop on Richmond Avenue to the mosque.
Mosque officials believe the new bar is violating the spirit if not the letter of the law as TABC regulations prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages within 300 feet of a public or private school, church and/or public hospital." They believe that Little Woodrow's moved their front door around to the side so they would meet the requirement. Little Woodrow's owner Evans said no such changes were made. "This was never an issue and the entrance was always more than 300 feet away," he said.
The mosque did not hear about the plans of the bar to open until Steve Bolton, president of the Bammel Park Homeowners Association, sent out an email to the entire neighborhood. Bolton believes the bar will drive down property values and increase the noise level. The upscale townhome complex is only a few feet away from the proposed Little Woodrow's property line.
Parking is also a major issue, Bolton said. "If the bar were to open, students from Lamar High School (who park in the area) will be parking right across the street from a bar," he said.
Evans said the bar will have more than 300 parking spaces and the big live oak tree in the backyard will remain, creating a park-like feel with a lot of outdoor space. He said that a fence will be raised to eight feet at neighbors' suggestions and other landscaping accommodations will be made.
The bar also plans to feature over 60 beers on tap with state of the art televisions and audio system. Evans said this location will have high-end furnishings with the same rustic Texas ranch decor from all of the other locations.
"We are aware of our surroundings and we are taking that into consideration with our design. Little Woodrow's is not a loud place," he said.
TABC spokesperson said the 60-day comment period will commence once Little Woodrow's submits a formal application.
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