The building that once housed Bill’s Hideaway has been sitting empty since the iconic gay bar closed in 2009.
Eighteen months after they first leased the property, the owners of Marty’s Hideaway face one last hurdle before they can open the gay bar on Buena Vista Street.
After Bill’s Hideaway ended a 26-year run at the location in 2009, Lonzie Hershner announced his family had leased the property and planned to reopen it as Marty’s Hideaway, in honor of his gay brother who died in 2010. The Hershner family owns both the Tin Room and the Drama Room.
But as you can see from the flyer at right (click to enlarge), which was sent to Dallas Voice on Twitter, a group of nearby residents is trying to stop Marty’s Hideaway from opening, and they plan a meeting tonight to organize for an upcoming court hearing.
Reached by telephone today, Hershner said the residents have filed a legal challenge to the bar’s application for a license from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. A hearing is set for Sept. 7, and the Hershners were forced to take down a sign for the bar from the fence outside.
“We’re pretty confident that things will go our way,” Hershner said. “They have to prove we’re doing something that’s going to be dangerous to the community or that we’re going to be doing something illegal. Considering we’re zoned to be a bar, and there was a bar there before … it doesn’t seem like they will be able to do a whole lot to be able to stop us.”
Hershner said his family has invested a lot of money to fix up the building and property, but he declined to say how much. The improvements include construction of a new parking lot.
Hershner said the neighbors’ main concern, at least initially, was that they didn’t want another bar with dancers in the area that’s already home to BJ’s NXS and Zipper’s. Ironically, Hershner said, most of the residents who are fighting the bar are gay.
Although both the Tin Room and the Drama Room have dancers, Hershner said he signed an affidavit saying he won’t put dancers in Marty’s Hideaway in an effort to satisfy the residents.
Instead, he said, the bar will be similar to what it was as Bill’s Hideaway, with live piano and jazz music in the front. The back bar, which is separated from the front bar by a spacious patio, could be used to host drag shows or karaoke.
“We’ve given our word to that community, even once the court date is said and done, we will not bring dancers into that bar,” Hershner said. “We’re going to honor our word.”
If he wins in court on Sept. 7, the bar could receive its TABC license within two to three weeks after that.
“I’m ready to move forward with this,” Hershner said. “This is the last leg to open the doors.”
