HOUSTON — A staple in Houston’s nightlife back in the 1980s and 1990s is being brought back to life.
Plans are in place to reopen Magic Island 10 years after it shut down.
Work is already being done at building located at 2215 Southwest Freeway.
Crews plan to gut the whole thing just to build it back up to its glory days.
Scott Wells, a magician who performed countless magic acts at Magic Island, said the venue always felt like home. He said the building’s current state is depressing.
“It brings me great melancholy remembering it in its heyday what it used to be like. The sadness really that I feel know that it’s been a room for the homeless where we used to be entertaining the masses,” Wells said.
Dr. Mohammad Athari, Magic Island’s original owner, is on board with the reopening the club.
Sue Smith is the assistant to Manny Fahid, Magic Island’s general manager.
“Everybody either came here for a birthday, a prom, a wedding, holidays, many, many countless people got engaged here with the help of the magicians," Smith said.
She hopes to be able to tap into the magic the building held once again.
“We’ve got a lot of things to overcome. Parking. Getting it started again. We had problems with vagrants and all of that, but now everybody is determined to get it back up again,” Smith said.
“There have been some attempts in the past to reopen. There have been some false starts and stops in which there have been some rumors of it reopening. Nothing’s ever happened," Wells said.
He knows a lot needs to happen to get the project off the ground but remains optimistic this time around.
Smith called the plan ambitious. They hope to have renovations completed and Magic Island ready to open by Christmas.