March 1989 in Houston: Gilley’s closes and a new McDonald’s caters to yuppies

Spring Break in Galveston, March 17, 1989. Spring Break in Galveston, March 17, 1989. Photo: Richard Carson, Houston Chronicle Photo: Richard Carson, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 57 Caption Close March 1989 in Houston: Gilley’s closes and a new McDonald’s caters to yuppies 1 / 57 Back to Gallery

Restaurants open and a honky-tonk landmark closes. Then there are the photos that could be from any year in March: Spring Break and St. Patrick's Day.

Here's a look at some of what happened in Houston in March 1989.

* There actually is such a thing as a free lunch and it was at the McDonald's at 1405 N. Post Oak.

At the time the two-story restaurant was the largest McDonald's in Texas. Ahead of its grand opening on March 6, invitations offering a free Big Mac, fries and a drink were handed out to 8,000 people. A major traffic jam ensued that day, as you can imagine.

Here's how Thom Marshall described the opening in his March 8 article:

If the fast food isn't enough at the huge new hamburger joint in the chichi Galleria neighborhood, customers can study quotes on the New York Stock Exchange ticker upstairs.

If some big businesses deal can't wait for a person to gulp down a Big Mac and the soup of the day, there are telephones at the tables.

[...]

You can fax your food order to this place. Providing, of course, such use of the facsimile machine is not against your company's company.

A WEEKLY ARCHIVE DIVE: Throwback Thursday to Houston's past

* A falling out between Gilley's co-owner and operator Sherwood Cryer and Mickey Gilley resulted in a judge shutting down the famed honky-tonk for good on March 31.

Feelings were mixed at the time, as Melissa Aguilar reported in the Chronicle's April 1 editions:

Hank Thompson, known as the king of western swing, said he has watched the club deterioriate. "It's a good idea to close it down; it looked like it was going to fall down," he said. "It was just a dump." Thompson said it has been two or three years since he performed there.

"Good music -- that was about the only thing. And it had a tradition," he said. Thompson first played at Cryer's club in the '50s. "At that time, it was a pretty nice place."

Pasadena Mayor John Ray Harrison said, "I don't think it's an end to Gilley's. It was pretty run-down, and maybe now it'll be fixed up, so I see it as a beginning -- not an end."

Harrison, a political enemy of Cryer, said the closing would have a limited impact on the local economy because Gilley's business and popularity had wanted along with the oil bust in recent years.

[...]

The surprise shutdown about 5 p.m. Thursday followed a break-in and theft of electronic equipment Monday at Gilley's Recording Studio adjacent to the club on Spencer Highway.

Suggesting the burglary was an "inside job," Gilley's attorneys and a court-appointed received obtained court permission to close the bar to protect assets. State District Judge David West agreed Thursday in an emergency hearing to order the club closed.

Gilley said he's out of the club business for now, but "I never close the door shut." If the right investor came along, Gilley said he might lend his name to another nightclub.

J.R. Gonzales, a third-generation Houstonian, covers local history with an eye toward the people and events that have mostly been forgotten to time. Follow him through Bayou City History on Facebook and Twitter. He can be reached at 713-362-6163 or john.gonzales@chron.com.