The Velvet E. Closes

The Houston tradition known as the Velvet E., formerly the Velvet Elvis, will come to an end next week. Owner Barry Capece has decided to call it quits in Houston on December 30.

Suzy Melson, a longtime bartender at the Velvet E., said Capece has "been trying to wean himself from that whole thing, the bar business."

No doubt the pressures of the expensive lawsuit against the bar, filed successfully by Elvis Presley Enterprises several years ago, and the loss of business to a newly established downtown nightlife have taken their toll.

"This past year has been pretty rough ... it has been a combination of things. The Rockets haven't been playing, so we lost that crowd, and a lot of people have been going downtown after work. We've also been in this building for four and a half years, and it's ready for some serious renovation ... I think he's just ready to wash his hands of it," Melson said.

The hardest thing for Melson to face about leaving the smoky, sticky-carpeted bar is "there's really not a place like us," she says. "I mean, there are other dive bars, but not with the character of the Velvet E. We're a family, the regulars and the staff, more family than anything."

-- Brandon Cullum