one last hurrah
Staple downtown Houston bar announces imminent closure
Dean's is closing this Sunday, April 26.
One of downtown Houston’s favorite casual bars will serve its last drink this weekend. Dean’s will close after service on Sunday, April 26.
First opened in 1999 as Dean’s Credit Clothing, the bar rebranded as Dean’s when current owner Bobby Stark took over in 2013. He tells CultureMap that Notsuoh owner Jim Pirtle, who also owns the bar’s building at 316 Main Street, offered to buy out the last two years of Dean’s lease so that he could open a new concept in the space.
“[The buyout] allows me, my partners, and my employees to do something else,” Stark writes in a text. “Some staff want to get out of the business. Some want to start their own bars and restaurants. Some just want to continue, and Jim’s new bar will be mostly the same vibe — maybe just a little bit more low-key.”
Dean’s opened at the same time as other game-changing bars and restaurants such as Goro & Gun, the Original OKRA Charity Saloon, and Captain’s Foxheart’s Bad News Bar & Spirit Lodge. Stark says he’s watched the area evolve from an area that people viewed skeptically into one of Houston’s most popular nightlife spots.
“Back then, downtown still had the perception that it was dangerous somehow. I don’t know why,” he says. “Now, it’s more mainstream. In a way, I think Houston is becoming more metropolitan as opposed to just a car city.”
Dean’s will celebrate its last night with “Party Like Its 2013.” Expect a soundtrack powered by songs from the era from artists such as The Weeknd, Rihana, Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Taylor Swift, and more. The party runs from 8-11 pm.
