As McAllen rethinks its downtown entertainment district, businesses unite to protect their place

Some McAllen entertainment businesses worry that the city’s latest master plan for downtown won’t include space for them anymore, so they’ve created a new association to carve out a seat at the decision-making table.

The HeART of McAllen group includes restaurants, bars, nightclubs, property owners, an independent theater, and retailers who say they’ve been unfairly regulated in the past six months. 

The Heart of the City McAllen master plan, dating back to 2004, envisioned several new districts to revitalize downtown, including an entertainment strip on 17th Street. 

“The city of McAllen started this [downtown] project, but they abandoned it. Why did they give us permission to turn all of those old buildings into bars and allow the licenses to be issued?” asked Aziz Showery, a property owner on 17th Street and member of the HeART of McAllen group. “They used to have events there. They wanted to turn it into a cultural center.” 

On an average weekend night, it’s common to see several code enforcement officers in tan uniforms issuing citations to bar owners, walking alongside partiers in high heels or cowboy boots. 

The increase in regulation is a response to alleged criminal activity, and the city has often used civil administrative rules to effectively curb such activity. For example, when some bars refused to stop operating without permits, the city disconnected electricity to the buildings. 

Downtown nightlife issues

The city began increased enforcement measures in downtown McAllen after two police officers were attacked there in August 2025. At the time, city officials cited underage drinking, partygoers driving under the influence of alcohol, fights, and other public safety concerns.

Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission officials say the agency regularly conducts both open and undercover inspections to identify retailers who sell alcohol to minors, sell to intoxicated persons, or violate other safety and regulatory standards.

The agency, which often coordinates with local law enforcement and elected officials, is working with McAllen.

“We’re actively working with local officials in McAllen to develop a plan of action to address concerns in the entertainment district,” Chris Porter, TABC’s director of communications, said in an email.

Since Aug. 24, 2025 — the date the two officers were assaulted — TABC has conducted more than 600 investigations in the area, including undercover and open inspections, business visits, regulatory checks, long-term investigations, and complaint-based follow-ups.

During that same period, TABC recorded 36 administrative violations against bars in McAllen.

Separately, TABC says that since August 2023 it has received 28 complaints about licensed businesses in McAllen, resulting in 21 inspections and 18 investigations.

Depending on severity, violations can result in civil fines, suspension of a business’ alcoholic beverage permit, or, in extreme or repeat cases, cancellation of the permit.

Cost of compliance

In January,  a judge ordered Noxx Nightclub to permanently shut down after a fatal crash involving an underage driver who allegedly drank alcohol at the club. The city of McAllen later filed a lawsuit against Noxx Nightclub over an expired special-use permit, the lack of an occupancy certificate, and other issues related to its fire-suppression system. 

Showery said his own tenants, who run Vandu and the Penthouse Nightclub, were required to comply with all city regulations under their lease agreements. That includes special use permits and parking fees. 

In recent months, his tenants have spent all their available capital on building renovations to comply with city regulations and are behind on rent. 

“We want to work together with the city, but the city needs to work with us,” Showery said. “There’s [business owners] down there that are not going to be able to afford to continue paying all those fines and updating all those codes. They’re going to shut down.” 

A new vision for downtown

The city issued a request for proposals to hire a consultant to develop a new vision for the downtown district. The bid closed on Wednesday. Officials expect to hire a consultant by the end of February. 

“As I look at downtown, and I look at the streets, I see walkable, shoppable areas, I get really excited. If we can find ways to make that experience more enjoyable for visitors and residents of our city and something that the proprietors of the stores in the area would want to invest in, that’s important to me,” McAllen City Manager Isaac J. Tawil said.

For example, that could mean reimagining the downtown infrastructure, including widening sidewalks and expanding storefront canopies to provide more shade. The consultant’s goal is to convene stakeholders, such as businesses and the community at large, to discuss what’s possible downtown, he said. That includes businesses open during daylight hours, like retailers, not just nightclubs or bars. 

“Nobody wants to replace anybody. There is no agenda with respect to any establishments in the downtown area,” Tawil said. “Our role is to make sure that all operators and owners in the city are meeting minimum code requirements. We hope that will spur the interest of the landowners downtown to invest in their properties. Downtown lends itself as a great location for responsible cultural recreation, entertainment, and having a mix of all of it is important for the area to thrive.”

The city of McAllen is considering replacing City Hall with a much larger downtown city building. It was not immediately clear how the new city hall would be included in the new master plan. 

“We want input from all the stakeholder groups that have an interest in the area so we can develop the [downtown] area into what a modern community is looking for, not some plan that existed more than a decade ago,” Tawil said. 

In 2004, the Heart of the City McAllen Improvement Corporation was a nonprofit organization that received regular city funding to revitalize downtown. 

That year, the city allocated $87,000 to the group. 

The following year, that amount increased to $200,000. But the funding began to wane after that, to $175,000 in 2006, $150,000 in 2007, and $50,000 in 2010 and 2011. The nonprofit was dissolved the following year.  

Businesses feel abandoned

The Gremlin Beer Garden + Kitchen owner, Antonio Reyna, remembers opening his downtown spot in 2019. The bar and restaurant were open for just a year before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and a global health crisis ensued. 

Reyna wasn’t sure the business would survive and relied on takeout orders while the bar remained closed. Now, during the most recent flurry of regulation, he’s seen an uptick in enforcement checks. 

“They were all doing their due diligence, but it was a ridiculous amount, groups of like five officers. It was just a little too harsh,” he said. 

Instead, Reyna is hopeful that city officials will consider suggestions from business owners, such as a designated area for rideshare drop-offs and pickups, more streetlights, food trucks, and organized events. 

The HeART of McAllen business association presented the city with a list of suggestions that could improve the entertainment district, making it safer and more organized. 

For longtime business owners, a changing vision makes them feel as if their investment was based on a plan that no longer exists. 

“We have seen leadership come and go. And some care [about downtown] and some don’t,” said Bert Guerra, co-owner of Cine El Rey, a historic theater in downtown McAllen. “The HeART of McAllen formed to remind our city leaders, especially the residents, that promises made to us were not kept. We hope that the city can finish what it started. Any business plan with longevity is a 10 to 20-year investment, but when the city changes the rules, it leads to vacant properties.” 

For example, there were plans for three downtown parking garages, yet only one was built, Guerra said. Plus, creating a new entertainment district as part of the Boeye Reservoir Project was outlined in the original downtown plan as a later phase of its redevelopment. 

“Why pay enormous amounts of money for economic studies, then ignore them just to tell the public they need to pay for more studies?” Guerra asked.