Koe Wetzel is having a busy year, and he added to his list of personal and professional accomplishments with the opening of his Koe Wetzel’s Riot Room Houston on June 20. This isn’t the first Riot Room to open in Wetzel’s home state of Texas — he debuted the Fort Worth iteration in 2023.
Koe Wetzel’s Riot Room Houston is an 8,000 square-foot, two-story venue in Houston’s Midtown with capacity for nearly 700 guests. The bar, restaurant and live music space combines country and the club, with elements like a DJ booth set in a full-size Ford pickup engine bay and a neon sign that declares “Texas AF.” There’s also a full-sized pontoon boat to bring that “on the lake” vibe to the club, deer heads on the walls and a vintage pickup truck suspended on the building’s exterior.
There are also plenty of photo-friendly spots, including a custom-built jail cell and bucking bull and Wetzel’s lyrics in neon. Naturally, there’s also plenty of memorabilia spotlighting the man whose name is on the sign, including a large hand-painted portrait of Wetzel.
Don’t forget about the food — the Riot Room is a place to eat as well as drink, with an upgraded kitchen and a brand-new menu for the Houston location, including exclusive items. Snaps from inside the bar show-off plates piled high with Bruch items like pancakes and home fries, and there’s also a lunch and dinner menu to get your food fix at any time of day.
Speaking to Theo Von on his This Past Weekend Podcast last year, Wetzel described his Riot Room in Fort Worth as “a honky-tonk during the day, with food. Then, about 9 o’clock, it turns into a club, man. It’s like a Texas club, I guess, a cowboy club, I don’t know. We got bottle service. It’s a riot. It’s a good time.”
Wetzel happened to be in town to help celebrate the grand opening of the Houston location on Friday, as he was serving as direct support for Morgan Wallen on Wallen’s I’m The Problem Tour, which kicked off with two shows at NRG Stadium in Houston over the weekend.
There are rumors the new dad will be taking his venue to Nashville with a Music City spot in Midtown, but Wetzel seemed to shut that down (at least the Riot Room concept specifically) during a recent appearance on the Whiskey Riff Raff podcast.
“Yes, and they are wanting us to turn it into a Riot Room,” he said when asked about a potential Nashville bar. “Like I’ve said, I feel like it’s a… I love Nashville so much, right? And I’ve got a lot of respect for it. But I don’t feel like (the Riot Room would work). I’m from Texas, I’m a Texas boy. That’s why we started the Riot Rooms in Texas, because it’s my roots and that’s where I’m from.”
The singer continued, “(It’s a) bury me in Texas type deal. I didn’t feel like it was right for me to open up my Nashville bar. I’ll let everyone else have at it, and we’ll just stay to our own in Texas. I don’t know what it is. I can’t really say too much about it.”
For more information, visit KoeWetzelsRiotRoom.com and KoeWetzelMusic.com. Koe Wetzel’s Riot Room in Houston is now open at 2416 Brazos St suite A, Houston, TX 77006.
