Night Life
A funeral bar of horror? Place with its own pool accused of fostering violencein multiple lawsuits
Roak on Kirby is under the fire after two aggravated assaults in May leftpatrons with serious injuries.Photo via Roak on Kirby/Facebook
The pool scene at Roak
In spite of the refreshing pool it provides for its upscale clientele, popular Upper Kirby "funeral bar" Roak finds itself in hot water as two springtime scuffles have led to serious bodily harm, civil lawsuits and restraining orders.
The evening of May 2 saw a rather gruesome incident that left one party-goer unconscious in a puddle of his own blood (an incident first reported by the Houston Press.)
According to court documents obtained by CultureMap, patron Shaun Eckhardt claims that after Roak's valet told him his car keys had been misplaced, an unnamed bouncer stepped in with a physical threat and sent him away keyless. Realizing he had no way to get into his home either since those keys were with his car keys, Eckhardt turned around and . . . woke up in an ambulance.
After suffering a head wound he believes will leave "a scar on his head where hair will not grow," the victim has filed a lawsuit against Roak parent company GWV Kirby.
"It turns out that the club's bouncer charged [him] by surprise, moving him several feet backward toward the building, against which the bouncer slammed Mr. Eckhardt's head," reads a Harris County petition. After suffering a head wound he believes will leave "a scar on his head where hair will not grow," the victim has filed a lawsuit against Roak parent company GWV Kirby, which also owns the nearby hot spot Hendricks Pub.
As detailed in an amended document filed Thursday, Roak had itself another brawl in mid-May after Fabian Castaneda, 38, allegedly spend the better part of his night consuming full bottles of alcohol with several other patrons. With his "slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, uneasy gait, and very agitated behavior," Castaneda suddenly allegedly assaulted an unsuspecting Trae Mindiola, who was waiting for his car outside the bar.
Mindiola is suing both the bar and his attacker for damages after suffering what sounds like a serious blow to the jaw. The victim filed a temporary restraining order against Roak as a means to prevent surveillance footage from getting destroyed or altered.
Putting on our detective caps, however, both cases are missing some notable details . . .
For example, what exactly happened between Eckhardt and the valet who misplaced his keys? Can't imagine they were singing "Don't Stop Believin'" when the bouncer came over to intervene. Also, what brought about Castaneda's drunken sneak attack? Court documents account for Castaneda's festive evening, but say little of Mindiola's night.
Unfortunately, CultureMap has not received return calls from either Roak or the legal teams involved in either case.
