Houston neighborhood says Ojos Locos bar chain with troubled past is not welcome
HOUSTON - A northeast Houston neighborhood is saying, "No, thank you", to a proposed sports bar that's planned for their community.
Residents believe the proposed Ojos Locos Sports Cantina, planned for an old Luby's restaurant at the Eastex Freeway and Mt. Houston will bring nothing but trouble.
While the Plano-based company looks to expand on its six Houston locations and 28 across the southwest, the message from the working-class East Aldine neighborhood is that they're not interested.
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"I don't believe there is anything they could tell me, or any of our residents, that would put our minds at ease," says East Aldine Civic Association president Ruben Salazar.
The group says it first learned of the project on social media and quickly decided the neighborhood wasn't a good fit for the business and the attention an Ojos Locos might bring, with families, schools, and churches nearby. "They do have a history of being a breeding ground for crime," says Salazar, "We've seen shootings, drug activity, fights, and gang activity around the other Ojos Locos locations throughout the greater Houston area."
There is evidence to back up the concern. In 2020, two people were shot, one killed, in an Ojos Locos location on the North Freeway. There have, also, been stabbings, fights, and a shooting-death in a parking lot, over the years.
Residents do have the support of 'some' elected leaders. Houston state senator Carol Alvarado wrote to the Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission, urging an alcohol license be denied, saying in part, "The proximity of the establishment to schools and churches will compromise the welfare, quality of life, and safety of the community."
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Residents would rather focus on efforts to 'improve' the community, and think a potentially rowdy and dangerous bar is the wrong way to go. "We just don't feel comfortable having that in such close proximity to our neighborhoods," says Salazar.
Despite efforts to move forward with the project, the East Aldine Civic Association does not believe there's been an official application for an alcohol license. The TABC did not respond to a request for clarification.
Ojos Locos did not immediately respond to repeated requests, from FOX 26, to explain their intentions or how they might answer neighborhood concerns.