Former Pour House plowed under; what will go there next?

The Trinity River Tap House, known for most of its existence as The Pour House, closed its doors on a bittersweet Valentine’s Day this year after 20 years in two locations, first downtown and then West Seventh Street.

Last week, the final vestige of the sports bar was wiped away when the building, located at 2725 W. 7th St., was demolished, leaving a pile or twisted metal, rubble and fond memories.

Staffers at Backwoods, located next door, said bulldozers from Dallas Demolition moved in Tuesday. (The razing permit for the building was issued by the city April 8.) By Thursday, the building was leveled and a few former employees of the Pour House had already posted photos of mementos -- a brick or two -- on social media.

Chatter among the neighboring businesses is that a bank could likely be built on the prime West Seventh Street real estate.

Will Tolliver, a managing director with Leon Capital Group in Dallas, which bought the property a year ago, said they have a signed ground lease with a tenant, but he was not able to release the name. He was not sure when the new tenant would begin working on their building. Building permits for the project haven’t been issued, according to city records.

The Pour House originally opened on Halloween 1995 in downtown Fort Worth, when owner and TCU grad Eric Tschetter was in his 20s. It closed, after some protracted disputes with the landlord, following a 2008 New Year’s Eve bash.

Tschetter eventually moved his sports bar and hangout to the West 7th location, where it helped pioneer a resurgence in the area. The bar changed names in its final year to the Trinity River Tap House to reflect a focus on craft beer, but Tschetter said the former Pour House ultimately became a victim of West 7th’s success.

On Facebook, when he posted about the closing, he said: “Business has just gotten too damn competitive on 7th street and it is not showing signs of slowing down.”

Tschetter continues to run Pour House Dallas, or PhD, in Oak Cliff.

This story was originally published April 25, 2016 at 3:55 PM with the headline "Former Pour House plowed under; what will go there next?."