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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 28, 1989)
4, Monday, August 28,1989 The Battalion Page 9D ys thoLg C° n 'l*U ' u ple ofTl 'lists, K 0l is onpapf,- (le PhiL . ,rk Pmjufc ;ed. i aW| ngsto hold, lication ■ a junioi is never ior to dj his strip ?r carton; | The Texas Star Tavern, with its enclosed “beer garden” deck mom, ~ ' Photo by Kathy Haveman ion wii l here* said. B-CS nightlife changes over summer to have ~ Is : place it 1 By Chuck Lovejoy >n, and of local i the satir 01 The Battalion Staff of strantr-l te fun rl ? will eel ttle." is succeidj d on tmn he stnp J ist kno»1 •acters, ition ■The summer of 1989 proved once 'ag.iin that the Bryan-College Station ■ghtclub scene is no stranger to change. ■ Two of the area’s major clubs un derwent transformation, while a ■wcomer made a big splash with A&M students. ■ Perhaps the most shocking Range happened to the popular hear pc i P ro g ress ' ve dance hangout The vVg e ' J The club, located at the intersec- Bm of Southwest Parkway and ractenEffi exas Avenue in College Station, n (jed^Hiderwent surgery in May and merged as Coty’s, a combination the charJl )untr y‘ western an< ^ rock dance ^ancfdub similar (in idea, at least) to Gra- ar eCentral Station in Bryan. ie tabes ® Gary Seaback, owner of Coty’s, d putsih« as quoted in a June Battalion story v the club’s restyling as saying that 1^ , he doesn’t think progressive music is j as popular as it once was, even ■lough it may still be around. B On a more personal note, Seaback described progressive dancing as funny looking.” ■ In the same article, he also ex- pit ssed a desire to attract students ■ho were frequenting Bryan bars, j|ying he was concerned that the Students were drinking and having to drive that far to get to the clubs aid back. 1 Hence, The Edge, with its indoor pn and progressive ambiance, be- ame Coty’s, an establishment with •Mexican tile over the bars and mir- tbrs and cedar trim designed to cre- ■ethe atmosphere of a log cabin. Seaback is also the owner of the Mercury Bar, a newcomer to College Itation nightlife which quickly be came popular this summer among Tollege students. John Whittington, manager of the Mercury Bar, said the reason for the club’s success is that it caters clearly to students at A&M and Blinn Col- |ge. “We do what the students want,” he said. “If it’s 2 a.m., and people are dancing, we’ll stay and keep playing music until they get ready to leave.” Whittington said another reason lor the Mercury’s success is its vari- ty of activities, which includes Mon- lay night pool tournaments, live Bands on Wednesdays and Thurs days and a live disc jockey on Friday and Saturday nights. “We try to create the atmosphere that something’s always going on,” he said. He also said the club’s speciality, pitchers of mixed drinks, were very popular with patrons. Despite its present success, Whit tington said several improvements to the club have already been made, while others are in the planning stages. A third bar was added over the summer, and two big-screen tele visions and a satellite dish will be added in the fall for the viewing of sports events in the club. Also, he said the club will try to at tract some big-name bands in the fu ture. “We’ve had a good summer,” Whittington said. “We’re just trying to be the best club we can be.” The Mercury Bar is located at 313 South College (in the Skaggs shop ping center). The third major change in Col lege Station nightlife happened to Brazos Landing, one of the area’s fa vorite live band spots, although in the Landing’s case, the results weren’t favorable. In July, the Landing moved from Northgate to 44 10 College Main, site of the old Morgenstern’s club, and was renamed the Texas Star Tavern. But the Tavern soon ran into problems with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, had its re quest for transfer of its liquor license denied and closed three weeks after opening. Hugh Stearns, part owner of the Tavern, said the decision to change the club was made to please patrons of Brazos Landing, which was also a restaurant. ok Photos by Phelan M. Ebenhack The Edge was transformed into Coty’s in May. “There wasn’t enough parking in Northgate,” he said. “Because we were a restaurant, we were bringing in more than students, and they didn’t like the location.” Stearns said he and co-owner Patsy Fry also decided to relocate in order to add a “beer garden” patio to the building. Other expansion plans included the addition of the Landing’s menu, which was not carried over to the new location at the beginning. But all plans are temporarily off, as the Texas Star Tavern closed af ter its owners lost their case against the TABC. Stearns said that the commission moved to revoke their liquor license due to what it called a “conflict of in terest.” Stearns and Fry had applied to transfer the Landing’s license to the Tavern’s location. Stearns explained the “conflict of interest” as being the fact that Fry had married an employee of Bryan’s Messina Hof w inery. Another problem Stearns de scribed was with an owner of rent property near the Tavern who was afraid the establishment would lower his property’s value. The decision to close the Tavern altogether came after the TABC denied the owners’ request that the license be transferred, in essence re voking the license. Up until the de nial of the request, the nightclub had been operating on a B.Y.O.B. basis. “If we had kept on letting every one bring their own alcohol, we could have had problems getting our license later (on appeal),” Stearns said. “Also, we were losing money be- . cause we weren’t selling alcohol.” But despite these setbacks, Stearns said he and Fry aren’t going to give up trying to have their liquor license reissued. He said an appeal is possible, although because that proc ess is so expensive, they will probably try another route, such as compro mise, first. “In any case, I am definitely work ing on something to provide live mu sic in College Station,” he said. BUILD YOUR OWN 11X7 LOFT Complete with plans and assembly instructions. Some cutting and drilling required. 'tg REDI TO ASSEMBLE Ny DESK 54'' X 30 n $ 22 88 REDI TO ASSEMBLE SHELVES 48" - 4 SMEt F 99 $19 60" • 5 SHELF 99 $22 NEED SPARE KEYS? WE CUT 'EM 88 EACH FLIPOVER DOOR ^ LOCK 66 0 E ac„ ^ FOR EXTREME J/ll SECURITY CONCRETE BLOCKS $1.09 8" x 8" x16" BRASS SHELVING CLIPS 590 EACH CREATE A SHELF DESIGN WITH CLIPS W WtefcM 693-1300 STORE OPEN Monday-Friday 8-6 Saturday 8-5 JUST SOUTH OF A&M ON WELLBORN ROAD ^ Wickes Lumber The CiMAT Is When? October 21 S STANLEY H. KAPLAN JB Take Kaplan Or Take Your Chances Classes begin Aug. 30 Call 696-Prep ‘ *4! It happens when you Advertise In The Battalion Call 845-2697 Welcome Back Aggies! Bill’* Barber & Style Shop Shampoo, Cut, Style $10 Guys $12 Gals (reg. $12) (reg. $14) Perm $34.95 (reg. $39) Offer Expires 12/31/89 215 University Dr. 846-2228 SAVE $150. Reg. $798. 00 Sale $648. 00 + tt&l Honda-Come Ride With Us Go your own way with the new Honda Elite 50 and Elite 50 LX. The Elite 50 is the most affordable scooter that offers Elite styling. With push-button starting and no shifting, it's easy to ride. And the Elite 50 meets state moped requirements. If you're looking for even more performance, the Elite 50 LX is also available Twin City Honda 903 S. Main Bryan Ph: 823-0545 Operator use only. Always wear a helmet and eye protection. Hours: M-F 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. CoDDie-Shop. LUXURY, Kid Skin pump with grosgrain bow and matching trim. Black patent and winfr. $59.00 LUXURY CREW, leather skimmer with metallic leaf design on the vamp. Khaki and Black patent. $55.00 CREW $5.00 Off Regular Priced Shoes! Bring this Coupon to Cobbie Shop for Your Discount Valid 8/28-9-17-89 Post Oak Mall 696-7671 THINGS TO DO 1. Go by tbe bookstore 2. Go by English. Annex and pick up ’88 Aggieland Did you forget to pick up your 1988 (Fall ’87/Spring ’88) Aggie land? You can still pick your copy up. Come by tbe English Annex, Monday thru Friday, 8:30-4:30, and bring your I.D. Tlie 1989 Aggieland (Fall ’88/Spring 89) will be available in October. Look for further announcements in the Battalion.