Gone But Not Forgotten San Antonio Night Clubs Update

For all you 80's clubbers.

Midnight Rodeo: 12260 Nacogdoches, just north of Thousand Oaks Dr. It has been closed for a while. Just visited the old stomping ground. Still has facade and club name. The front entrance actually faced Thousand Oaks Dr. with a huge parking lot. Took pictures through the front door window. Creepy to see tables, chairs, bar with glasses and the lonely wooden dance floor.

Razzle Dazzle: 2376 Austin Hwy. @ Perrin Beitel. Building still there. Same front entrance door. Now an adult toy shop. Took pics but were unable to post.

Abracadabra/Broadstreet/Country Down Under: Central Park Mall. Central Park Mall gone for a long time. A mega strip shopping center now occupies the spot. Hard to determine where clubs were actually located, other than they faced Loop 410. Flashback: Abracadabra was the absolute best. Located on street level, Abracadabra had two levels within the club. A large dance floor on the first (ground) level with smaller dance floors on upper level. Confetti falling from the ceiling randomly. Heard Romeo Void's "A Girl in Trouble is a Temporary Thing" for first time in 1984. Underneath Abracadabra was the C&W club, hence "Country Down Under". Abracadabra changed to Broadstreet shorthy after 1984.


Next excursion: Zig Zag, The Fizz, Fifth Avenue, The Edge of Town (Ingram/Culebra area).

More to come.

Update:

The Fizz nightclub was at 9631 San Pedro. Actually, the original building is still there. The club was located in the south east corner of the building facing San Pedro. Where the large parking lot was there is now a new North Park Subaru Dealership (9635 San Pedro) directly in front of the old building. You can still see the rear of the old building where Fizz was located from the street (Lorene St.) directly behind it.

Fifth Ave. nightclub was nestled in a cozy corner of a shop center (which included a "Black Eyed Pea" restaurant) at 7959 Fredericksburg Rd. Suite 131.
Currently it is "Slackers Sports Bar". Prior to that it was "The Leakey Barrel".
The original canopy is still located over the entrance door. Update: The original canopy is gone.

Zig Zag club was located at 2805 N.E.Loop 410 which is currently the home of BLT Furniture. The front of the club faced Loop 410. There is an Academy Sporting Goods to its immediate west.

Update:

Cowboy Nightclub was at 5607 Kenwick Dr. on the corner of Kenwick and Joiner. Very early 80's hangout (80-82). This is not to be confused with Cowboys Dance Hall at IH 35 and Fratt Interchange. Cowboys was very small as clubs go. If you look on street view of Google Maps you will see just how small the club was. The building now houses Las Marcas, duty free shopping. It also shares a very small cleaning service called Carrillo's.

Denim and Diamonds/Dallas. This club once located at 2335 N.W. Military Highway @ Lockhill-Selma started out as Denim and Diamonds and then switched to Dallas. C&W venue. It has changed name several times since the 80's and 90's. It changed to a "Fast Eddies" and is now named "Thirsty Horse Saloon". The facade of the building has not changed all that much other than name and color.

Daddy's Night Club. Located in a strip center at 3600 Fredericksburg Rd. @ Gardina. There was a Poncho's Mexican Buffet in the same center.
Saw Kim Carnes sing "Bette Davis Eyes" in '81.
Had a lot of live performances come through there in addition to DJ's. The entire strip center is gone. Has been for quite some time. It is now an Old Spanish Walking Trails park.

Doc Holidays. 3780 N.W. Loop 410. Once located in a strip center on the Loop 410 access Rd. east bound side just west of Fredericksburg Rd. Entrance faced the access rd. It was a long and narrow night club that has been divided into two separate spaces. The original entrance was a Stop SA Clinic. Now unoccupied. The other portion of the old club is now a Futon Store.

Update:

The Edge of Town. Once located on the N.W. corner of Culebra and Ingram intersection. Early 80's. Like the name indicates, it really was at the edge of town back in 1980. Very little development then. The club occupied the spot where a strip center now rests that includes a Metro by T-Mobile, a dental group and a Fast Eddies. Not to mention a residential development as well. Fond memories of the place. There was another Edge of Town in San Antonio back then but I don't recall the location. Its not on my radar because I never went to the other location. Just went to the one at Culebra and Ingram as it was very close to home.

Update:

S.K. Stampede. This C&W club was once located in Wonderland of the Americas Mall, previously Crossroads Mall, previously Wonderland Mall. The club entrance was on the back side of the mall facing east (IH 10W). The general area of the club is now the offices of Wonderland Medical Center. The entire facade of the mall has totally changed.

Graffiti's. Colonies North Mall was a modest mall located on the grounds surrounded by IH 10 W, Wurzbach Rd., Ironside Dr. and Colony Dr. Graffiti's was inside the mall. The mall's footprint is completely gone, now covered by an HEB and The Colonies North Shopping Center.

Update:

Hallelujah Hollywood. A rather "hoity toity" disco club in the late 70's early 80's. Located at 10127 Coachlight at the corner of Desert Sands. The Old San Francisco Steakhouse is on the next block just S/W. It is now SOGO Insurance Brokers. Prior to that is was SA Country Saloon. The basic structure is still there but it is currently receiving a face lift.

Burgundy Woods. 2379 N.E. Loop 410 just east of Starcrest. It was located on the 410 W/B access Rd. A cozy, posh club that played disco and contemporary dance favorites. The club footprint is completely gone. You wouldn't even know that a club existed. The location is a small business cluster (Starcrest Village) housing tax services and insurance agents.

Cooter Brown's. 7022 Seco Creek. Just north of UTSA in rolling hills. Back in the day (80's) there was nothing out there, nothing. UTSA and houses in Hills and Dales. Oh, and the Elks Lodge. That was it. Definitely a "blue collar" club. No "fancy pants" there. No footprint of the old club. The address shows an empty lot surrounded by Mega Apartments and a new elementary school. Cooter's relocated to 11881 Bandera Rd. and anchored a strip center next to Silverado Theaters. COVID killed Cooter's and a new club (Stetson's Dance Hall) now occupies the spot. Update: Stetson's Dance Hall is now bye-bye as well. Building is now vacant. No name or signage. Update: Stetson's Dance Hall signage now BACK up. looks like they are working on the inside. I still miss the "Cooter Brown's" moniker. Update 7/8: Stetson's Dance Hall is open, finally. Looks pretty clean with outdoor seating, although I have not been in the place as of yet.

Texas Dance Hall. Once located in a massive structure at 26995 Hwy. 281 North well past 1604 in open country. Very early 80's C&W venue. Hugh club that featured George Strait '81 and other big stars. There is a very large commercial structure being built on the spot. Anyone remembering the drive out 281 back in the 80's will not recognize the urban sprawl that now exists.

Update:

Maggie's Restaurant. This long gone but not forgotten establishment does not qualify for a "club" but it certainly was an "after clubbing" hot spot. Especially since Fizz was next door. Therefore, having fond memories of the place, I honor it by including it here. This two story restaurant at 9715 San Pedro was open 24/7 and after the clubs closed we always had our customary "steak and eggs" breakfast. Many times we ate and shot the bull until 4 or 5 in the morning. Now the home of Rosario's Mexican Restaurant the facade is totally different. No hint of the old Maggie's look. Here's to you Maggie's.

Update:

Town Crier Bar. Once located in a tiny strip center at 4121 Gardendale just north of Datapoint Dr. Now the home of Smitty's Pub.
Back in the very early 80's it was a nice cozy spot to enjoy margaritas on the rocks and Arctic Lights. If you remember Arctic Lights you were definitely an early 80's person.

Update:

The Farmers Daughter. Once located at 542 North W.W.White Rd. in the far Southeast side of town. A very well known C&W hot spot since (oh my) the early 60's. Many immortal Country and Western names played at the venue. Huge dance floor and parking lot. Catered to both young and old throughout the years. Went through a few name changes but always retained "Farmers Daughter" in the title. Now the home of Ed's Smok-N-Q. The building has received a facelift and the large parking lot has been fenced in half. Slim Whitman, I can hear you yodeling now.

The Bluebonnet Palace. A Journey Fellowship Church now occupies the structure at 16847 IH 35 N that was the original Bluebonnet Palace. It was located right off the IH 35 southbound access rd. just west of what is now Schertz Pkwy. In operation from the 70's to late 90's. It was another staple of San Antonio's C&W scene. It was one of the "big three" along with The Farmers Daughter and Golden Stallion. Can't put my finger on it but it was my favorite of the three. The "new" Bluebonnet Palace is located at 17630 Lookout Rd. at Enterprise Ave./Schertz Pkwy. Very nice building. Glad to know the name lives on.

Next stop: The Golden Stallion.

Update:

The Golden Stallion. 1500 Ackerman Rd. just north of IH 10 E. The original structure is located on a massive lot that is now (and has been for quite some time) the home of Manheim Auto Auction. The structure is located between Bicentennial Rd. and Dietrich Rd. and now houses a shop and office area. If you look closely at the current structure and compare them to old photos of the "Stallion" you can still see the shape of the original facade with its sharp lines. It still has a similar front entrance overhang although a different color, obviously. Where the stallion was once displayed, there is now a big "M" in a circle. As with the Farmers Daughter and Bluebonnet Palace, The Golden Stallion hosted many a big name country artist. I remember visiting the place once back in the day but details are missing in the fog of time. Or was it the alcohol????????

Next stop: Randy's Rodeo.

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