Facing reality — two Port Arthur bars hope to continue legacy after Harvey
Published 8:45 pm Tuesday, September 26, 2017
- CUTLINE — The Boudain Hut in Port Arthur is struggling to recover and reopen after Tropical Storm Harvey. Courtesy Photos
By David Ball
A couple of popular watering holes in Port Arthur received a little too much water from Tropical Storm Harvey. Now they are trying to recover like so many others.
The Boudain Hut, a Port Arthur institution for 34 years on Gulfway Drive, is in the process of rebuilding after being gutted, according to owner Mark Trahan. He has owned the club for seven years.
“I don’t know when it will open again,” he said. “The carpet has been cleaned, the coolers cleaned out. We replaced some equipment. We got two feet of water and we lost everything.”
Unfortunately, Trahan thought the club had flood insurance, but it “got past us.” He’s hoping for a Small Business Administration loan from the government before he can do more with the club.
“We started gutting it. Putting up paneling,” Trahan said. “Ken Marvel (longtime local musician) said if we ever host a shindig he would be glad to pitch in and do a benefit.”
He added that he may wait and see about doing a benefit until the future is more certain.
On Aug. 29 the future was very much uncertain. Trahan said that as the rain kept falling, water kept getting closer to the front door of the club. He went next door to the Silver Spur when the water was almost to the door. When he returned, there was water inside.
Eventually there was two inches of water inside and rising at 9 p.m.
“It rose pretty fast. We got out when it was one-foot high an hour and a half later. My truck is pretty high,” Trahan said. “We measured the waterline at 23 inches the next day. We tried to salvage the food we could before it went to waste.
“The (Drainage District 7) pumps ran out of diesel. That’s what really hurt us.”
Across town, Good Times Bar & Grill on Highway 73 at the Baymont Motel shared a similar fate.
Owner Tony Nguyen said he is unsure if he will reopen.
The building received almost four feet of water and everything had to be gutted. He has no insurance and he’s been contacting the SBA.
“It’s been crazy,” he said. “We’ve been there since 2008. Everything is up in the air about reopening. It depends on what kind of compensation I get.”
On a brighter note, Nguyen is building a new restaurant at Highway 347 and Jimmy Johnson Boulevard named Reel Cajun. He said he will now focus only on restaurant concepts.
To add to the pain, his Crazy 8’s Family Pool Hall on FM 365 was invaded by floodwater and it had to be gutted, too. He doesn’t know the future of that business as well.
He said he will have to wait a month to see the adjuster and he has to get new equipment.
“We’ve been busting our behinds to get things going. We’re at the mercy of contractors, insurance and adjusters,” he said.
