The former Hooligan’s Bar and Grill on Interstate 10 will be the home of the Booby Rock strip club. Photo by Sarah Snyder

The 150th District Court on Tuesday ordered that business partners in Boobie Rock men’s club must halt all plans to open the business at the former Hooligan’s Bar and Grill near Interstate 10 and Huebner Road until a court hearing can be held.

District 8 Councilwoman Diane Cibrian announced on Tuesday at City Hall that the court ruled an amendment to the original covenants drafted in 1995 prohibits using the property “for any prurient context, meaning sexual in nature.”

Earlier, Cibrian called for the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission to withhold liquor licensing and asked San Antonio residents to follow her lead.

“The Boobie Rock will include erotic dancing and pole dancing of women who are almost nude,” Cibrian said at an Oct. 11 news conference that drew 20 to 25 protesters that waved signs along the highway.
Boobie Rock’s partners must appear in court for an Oct. 30 hearing “to determine whether the Temporary Restraining Order…should be made a Temporary Injunction pending final hearing.”

Opponents of the establishment fear that the area, which already has a couple of strip clubs miles from the proposed Boobie Rock, is turning into Stripper Row.

“We want to send a very strong message to this owner/operator that this will not be tolerated,” Cibrian said.

Boobie Rock general manager Bob Furey has been in the business for more than 30 years. He contends that the opposition is the loud cries of a few and that the majority of the neighborhood probably doesn’t care. He calls the maneuver “politically motivated” and the result of too many misconceptions about his industry.

“I am probably the only one in the city that I know of that actually does a background check of everybody,” Furey says of his employees, betting that many of the protesters have never set foot into a strip club and have been watching too many “Sopranos” episodes.

“It’s a legal business; that’s what people keep forgetting,” Furey said.

The Boobie Rock was set to open in mid-November.

The property, at 10855 Interstate 10 West, is currently zoned C3, which allows for strip clubs, said Cibrian aide Michael Shackelford. However, the property is deed-restricted to only allow certain specified retail establishments, including a restaurant with take-out and alcohol. The 1996 covenant specifies that other proposed retail uses of the property be “approved in writing by Declarant.”

Those opposing the strip club include the Northside Neighborhoods for Organized Development, Vance Jackson Neighborhoods, Inc., Shenondoah, St. Matthews Church, Whispering Oaks, Ancira Nissan, Summer Field Association, The Village of Hampton Cove, Strand Shopping Center, Colonies Village and Treus Del Spa, which has circulated a petition that secured more than 50 signatures.

For Ted Trakas, president of Vance Jackson Neighborhoods, Inc., the reason for not having the club are simple:

“A ‘strip club’ can only be viewed as a magnet for nondesirable elements. It is not something I would think any sane, responsible person would want in their backyard,” Trakas said.