WEBSTER, Texas The Johnson Space Center bar that became a local legend for serving NASA s astronauts and employees tasty hamburgers and cold beer was destroyed by an overnight fire Saturday.
Fire officials said The Outpost Tavern, near the intersection of NASA Parkway and FM 270, caught fire early Saturday morning. The cause of the fire at the bar, which had been closed since January, was under investigation.
The Outpost started off as an Army barracks at Ellington Field before it was moved in 1965 to its spot near NASA Parkway, where it was a barbecue shack called the U-Joint.
In 1980, Gene Ross purchased the business and renamed it the Outpost.
It featured two bikini-clad figures on its swinging doors entryway and NASA memorabilia, including autographed photos of astronauts on the walls and ceilings.
Used to be that when shuttle astronauts returned from a mission, they would bet on who could get through the debriefing first and get their butts on a stool at the bar, Ross daughter Vicki Ralowiez said.
She arrived at the site Saturday afternoon and surveyed the burned remains of the building.
My dad loved having the astronauts come in. It made him feel like he was a part of the space program, she said. It was just a good place to come and have a good time.
Ralowiez said her father was highly protective of the astronauts who frequented the Outpost and made it a point to keep away people who were bugging the astronauts in their free time.
When Ross died in 1998, bar employees Sharon and Stan Aden bought the business from Ross estate.
The Outpost had been at risk of closing several times through the years, especially after a fire in 2005.
Sharon Aden s daughter, Stephanie Foster, later would run the bar, but last year the owner of the land where the business was located decided to sell.
The Outpost closed its doors for good in January.
A survey of the debris Saturday appears to show all of the unique memorabilia had been removed.
Ralowiez, who has some of those photos, including an autographed photo of every member of the Space Shuttle Challenger crew, said she hopes the memorabilia eventually will find its way to Space Center Houston to be preserved.
This story was brought to you thanks to khou.com s partnership with the Galveston County Daily News.
