Turkey Leg Hut vs It's Neighbours

So I drive Almeda several times a week and have for approaching a decade. I live a couple of miles away.

There are some pretty easy themes about gentrification and race, but it is a touch more complicated.

First, actually isnt within the boundary of the 3rd Ward, which ends at 288. Alameda is the first major street west of 288. Is is "Museum District". All the homes in the neighborhood have been what they are for at least as long as I've been living in the area which is 15 years. There are condos 5 or 10 blocks to the West that are more recent, but everything "around" Turkey Leg Hut is really old.

However, Almeda has always been lined with African American focused businesses and most of the people come out of the third ward to frequent them.

However, Turkey Leg Hut has really exploded in the last year or two. Before that I wasnt sure it was even open. On weekends now it shuts down the whole street with people walking in the street, and drivers rolling slowly looking for nonexistant parking so that I try and avoid it.

I'm not sure what the answer here, but the "gentrificaton" angle and "whitey moving in and telling us to stop what we've always been doing" angle doesn't really float to me. It has always been an african american street adjacent

That having been said, my wife gets annoyed at my neighbors when they grill from the "fumes" so I'm guessing the "noxious fumes" angle is way overblown too. It basically seems like a super-heavy cookout every time I drive by. If you have a neighbor that grills regularly, imagine them increasing the volume by 15x, and doing it nearly every day. I get how that could be annoying, but that is just unzonned Houston, I think.

 

Honestly man, this just boils down to the lack of zoning laws as you mentioned above. Is great and it isn't great. I hope they get to remain, they were there before the people that are complaining (even if just got recently popular, I wouldn't know since I had never heard of this place before I saw the article on the chronicle.)

Zoning is great for our development, since it doesn't regulate developers, but this is the result of no zoning. You have to live with the good and the bad.

 

Minor correction, the article indicates they all lived there before the restaraunt opened.

 

I feel like an idiot for missing that. Thanks for pointing it out.

I guess I hope the owners win then. Regardless, this is the effects of zoning. I live in fifth ward and I'm worried about what eventually will be built across my house where an empty lot sits. It actually looks like a good spot for gas station, but I hope I'm wrong lol.

 

I bet they have great food but damn they need to hire a damn food photographer. They have some nasty and blurry photos on their website. Can't even see what the hell it is supposed to be.

 

if they were there first then im siding with the business.

here in austin, one of the blacks (EDIT: reading this looks bad - its family name, not racial identity!) from lockhart opened a bbq restaurant on barton springs drive, directly below a neighborhood. the smoke was coming up the hill right into everyones houses. in that case id side with the residents b/c they were there first.

https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/neighbors-of-south-austin-bbq-restaurant-sue-over-smoke

 

There are things they can do to eliminate the smoke and odor. It’s not cheap equipment but there are ways. The restaurant would have to be willing to invest an additional $100-200k.

(I sell commercial kitchen ventilation)

 

If they lived there before it opened they have a right to complain about the smoke etc. Something like this happened in Austin when Stiles Switch opened in Crestview -- thick BBQ smoke was blowing through the neighborhood just about 24/7 -- it was really ridiculous.

 

Neighbours?

 

Solid menu. Crab legs and gumbo look legit, not sure about their specialty shrimp alfredo topped turkey leg though.

 

Arent there ways to trap smoke?

 

There is a similar place called Lotus Seafood that hurts surrounding businesses because they attract a loud and aggressive urban crowd near Westchase. It's a life and death experience going there during non lunch hours because no one really wants to park and would rather just blast angry rap music in the parking lot. I know the nearby Peruvian restaurant does not like it all , it affects their bottom line, but cannot take any legal action.

 

Black on black lawsuits are racist?

This is the Jussie Smollet school of race card baiting when things don't go your way. I would look into exhaust equipment or a different location - it's not a place for locals it attracts people from out of town.

 

Smoke and smells are a real issues for residents, some of them black, who were there before the business opened. I invest my own time and money into third ward small biz promotion - but you cannot ignore regulations and hurt surrounding residents because you want to be a symbol for something. Perhaps SYl Turner should designate TLH a cultural landmark and give them a more secluded piece of land in Houston where smoke and smells will not be an issue. Also this is not a small mom and pops shop... they have a huge following and would not be hurt by moving to a location where they can billow all the smoke they want.

 

If these guys are shutting down the street due to traffic they’re probably losing customers and money due to being over capacity and it’s time to move anyway.

 

True but it's tricky. You over-expand to adjust to demand and the quality can suffer.