Last Call: Turtle Club to Close on Last Day of 2016

CLEAR LAKE, TX -- One of the most iconic places in Clear Lake will serve their last round to patrons on the final day of 2016.

For more than 30 years, the Turtle Club -- likely the only floating bar in Texas -- served beer, steaks, and good times for all.

"There's no place like it," Kathy Morales, a Baytown resident who has been coming to the Seabrook/Clear Lake area floating institution for more than 20 years told the Houston Chronicle.

Morales, 56, remembers a Labor Day weekend at the bar in the late 90s that "sealed the deal" for her and her husband after they had known each other since junior high school.

"It holds a lot of personal memories for me," she said.

Owner Lance Stephens recently announced the selling of the property to a land speculation and investment company.

"It's been wonderful, but it's time for me to leave," Stephens said.

Although it's always been known as a local watering hole for boaters in the Kemah, Seabrook and Clear Lake area, it's those personal connections that made a place like the Turtle Club something truly unique.

"There is no other place like it around here," Morales said. "Where are we going to dock our boats?"

Stephens, who has owned and operated the Turtle Club since purchasing it in 1995, was there in the beginning, and remembers when Hurricane Alicia arrived.

The first floor of the original structure, which had been built on an old, out-of-commission Brown & Root deck station , sank underwater.

That structure was rebuilt and it has since weathered several storms

"I came to work for him (original owner Rick Knapp) after Hurricane Alicia, and helped him rebuild and get it reopened," said Stephens, originally from

The Turtle Club became the place to be for both those guests simply curious about the local "floating
tavern" and people in the area who appreciated the unconventional surroundings and didn't mind the subtle rocking from the water currents, Stephens said.

"Part of what draws everybody to it is the fact that it actually floats," he said. "I can always tell by looking across the room at somebody by the look on their face that they're not sure what's wrong.
They'll be sitting there and I'll walk up to them and say, 'You're okay'– but it moves so subtly that most of the time you're not aware of it and forget."

Stephens, who said it's just time to move on, said he will spend he next several months typing up loose ends, and is hopeful that whomever buys the Turtle will carry on the tradition, or possibly rebrand it

"I've been here a long time, and I'm going to miss a lot of the people," he said. "Overall, we're going to be remembered absolutely fantastically for many, many years to come. That means a lot to me."

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