DISBARRED:CLOSING THE DOORS ON THE UNDER-21 CROWD

When the legal drinking age was lowered to 18 from 21 several years ago, it opened up a lot of new nightlife to local teen-agers. Recently though, they’ve been finding a lot of those entertainment doors slammed in their faces.

A few weeks ago, for example, four SMU students sat in a Greenville Avenue bar and waited to be served. They weren’t. They complained. “We have a 21 and over policy,”said management. “You’ll have to leave.” They refused and threatened to file a lawsuit against the club for discrimination. They would have been wasting their time.

A host of Dallas clubs have recently raised their age requirement to keep out the 18 to 20 set, and it’s a very simple process. A club owner must only comply with the city ordinance regarding “discrimination in places of public accommodation”; all this amounts to is a requirement that a sign be posted in a conspicuous place near the club entrance stating the age limitations (and dress code, if there is one), and it must be posted seven days before the rule becomes effective. That’s it. Legal.

Many of Dallas’ more prominent clubs have adopted the age policy; on Greenville Avenue alone the list includes places like Cowboy, Diamond Jim’s, T.G.I. Friday’s (after 8 p.m.), elan, Greenville Avenue Country Club, and Papagallo. The reasons aren’t too difficult to figure. “We weren’t the first to do it,” says Craig Stultz, general manager of Cowboy. “But when other places started doing it, it was forcing the younger kids in here. And we basically cater to an older crowd, 25 to 35. We did it to protect our clientele. Let’s face it, the majority of problems that clubs have are with young people. They don’t have the money; they nurse one drink and stand around; they become an irritant to the other customers.”

Another bar owner was less gracious. “They stiff your waitresses, they scare off your regulars, they walk their tabs, and they have no manners. Besides that, they park funny.”