Say it Ain't So: Kay's Lounge Closing on Sept. 3

HOUSTON, TX — One of the last honky-tonks inside the loop is closing down. Kay's Lounge will be holding the last ever, last call on Sept. 3.
The long-time — the bar first opened in 1962, but the building goes back to 1944 — Houston watering hole was many things to many generations of drinkers.

According to some of the old drunks, back in the 1970's and 1980's it was possible to catch sight of the Channel 13 crew grabbing a nightcap after wrapping the nightly news. Since the bar was beer and wine only back then, the place shut down at around midnight. However, Eldon — the owner — could always be counted on to sell a six pack out the back to a thirsty friend.

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For waves of Rice University Students, Kay's was a place to go to grab a cold one that wasn't "in The Village." For dive bar aficionados Kay's was a bit of an oddball, it was popular enough to stay open, but not popular enough to warrant a visit.

As John Nova Lomax described in his seminal guide to H-Town nightlife "Houston's Best Dive Bars," Kay's is an inner loop dive bar that "has no dedicated contingent of hipster fans."

That lack of coherent identity helped turn Kay's into something that Houston desperately needed, a place for up and coming country musicians to play. Kay's open mic nights were often the only times to hear local contemporary Texas country acts inside the loop.

For a city as Southern as Houston there aren't a lot of places to hear twangy, Red Dirt, Ray Wylie Hubbard-esque, Cody Canada-aping bands in inner loop Houston. The closest to the inner loop is the Firehouse Saloon and they only have music a few days a week. Kay's mid week open mic nights were a boon for people who wanted to hear the next Turnpike Troubadours.

So now the important question: who gets the Texas table?