Audio By Carbonatix
First the terrible news as reported by the Morning News: Club Schmitz may very well be bowled over by the neighboring RaceTrac. The giant gas station/condom dispenser is conducting a feasibility study with an eye toward expansion of their location on the corner of Harry Hines and Webb Chapel. If they do expand, they’ll buy Club Schmitz, and they won’t be purchasing the famous dive bar for its greasy burgers.
The feasibility study should be completed in June, and if Race Trac decides that an expansion of the location makes sense business wise, they’ll likely make Club Schmitz an offer. And if owners Bob and Leonard Schmitz like it, then 68 years of cheap burgers and beers come to a conclusion.
This isn’t the first time Schmitz has dealt with infringing property issues. When DART’s green line expanded, practically cutting across the bar’s front yard, both the owners and their customers wondered how the elevated rail would affect business. Dive bars are supposed to be on the other side of the tracks, not under them.
According to some die hard regulars, business was heavily impacted by those train tracks, at least at first. Things picked up again, but it was never as busy as it was before. That may be more reflective of slowly declining business over the last few decades. The regulars say that 20 years ago it was hard to get a stool at Club Schmitz. Now there’s always one free, and you should grab it while you still can.
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