Leon’s Lounge established in 1947 has been a favorite of Houston drinkers for decades. As Houston’s oldest bar, it has years of history inside its walls.
“I’m thrilled that we are open!!” says Scarlett Yarborough, daughter of Leon Yarborough. The bar is just about a decade older than she is, making it almost like an older sibling .
“I want to take it back to the best version of Leon’s, the era
when Leon, my father, would have been operating it!”
The new-old Leon’s will be booking great live music entertainment and serving great cocktails for your listening entertainment and when you are just dropping in during happy hour.
“I build my bar around conversation,” She expects it to dovetail nicely with the rest of the bars in the Midtown bar scene.
“People want good drinks and attention to detail,” she says. She expects to lean heavily into the local craft beer scene and serve various whiskies from around the country. Yarboroughs favorite memories of the bar include her father, who died in 1990, performing bar tricks and making random bets with patrons. Yarboroughs father, Leon, originally bought the bar in 1947 soon after he returned home from World War II from Kun Ming China serving in Chenaults division, THE Flying Tigers as a bombadier and henceforth changed its name to Leon’s La Bomba. The name was later simplified to Leon’s Lounge.
“He was so lucky and good at gambling and playing cards that was able to raise money to buy the bar, his daughter says. At one point Leon was known locally as “The Mayor of McGowen” in fact, because of his generosity and community concerns . Poker was once played in the Lodge upstairs with the bar’s namesake and other Houston luminaries. At one point the front room of the bar was dominated by a large shuffle board. According to Yarborough the 1956 Texas state champion shuffleboard team practiced at the bar. RELATED: La Carafe is rich with Texas history
Leon's retains the distinction of being Houston's oldest bar that wasn't a restaurant or ice house at birth. West Alabama Ice House, on West Alabama of course, has been in operation since 1928, but it only serves beer and wine. La Carafe, meanwhile, has been open since the late 60’s in Market Square as its historical marker denotes but it happens to be housed in Houston's second-oldest building, previously a bakery among others things, which leads to some confusion.
