Popular Bourbon Street night spot closes in New Port Richey

Legendary pro wrestler Dusty Rhodes scouted talent there the same night his buddy, popular wrestler Jim "The Anvil" Niedhart, watched daughter Nattie Niedhart learn the family trade under Bourbon Street's lights.

But, the popular nightclub on U.S. 19 wasn't just a wrestling venue, where matches were held every Tuesday for years - or a bar, or a pool hall, or an attractive spot for local radio stations to broadcast from.

With a concert-quality stage and sound system, Bourbon Street attracted national music acts like blues icons such as Bo Diddley and Hubert Sumlin, guitarist for Howlin' Wolf, and classic rockers such as Rick Derringer, Edgar Winter, Vanilla Fudge, Rare Earth, Leon Russell and Dave Mason.

Even Juice Newton, singer of such pop-country hits as "Angel Of The Morning," "Queen Of Hearts" and "Love's Been a Little Bit Hard on Me" performed at Bourbon Street, just north of State Road 54. National act Smile Empty Soul played the last show there Sunday.

When longtime owner Greg Serio closed the doors that night, he said he closed them for good.

"Just can't do it no more, man," he said Friday.

Serio bought the business in June 1998, when it was still known as Pockets Billiards. He later named it Rockets Café before major renovations and the addition of a stage transformed the building into the neon-lit Bourbon Street.

"Roughhouse" Ralph Mosca, who heads American Championship Wrestling, which staged shows at Bourbon Street every Tuesday, said regulars understood the end was coming.

"I'm gonna miss the place," he said. "It gave local wrestlers a place to shine in front of fans. We were getting 150 to 300 people a week. The fans became part of our family. There was a lot of magic in there; a lot of great storylines and characters were built there."

For years, the business thrived, but Serio said a slow economy coupled with new fire codes that effectively chopped his capacity by two-thirds left him struggling.

"I was going to have to put in a new sprinkler system, and I was going around and around with the landlord over it," said Serio, who said he probably will not re-emerge in the bar or music business. "It was going to be $30,000 to $40,000, and I was having a tough time as it was. I was down about $120,000 last year from the previous year.

"I kept thinking I could get somewhere with shows on the calendar, but the fire marshal kept his eye on me. I couldn't book any big shows without that (sprinkler system) and you can't pay for that big overhead without those big shows."