Off-Campus Hot Spots

“The daylight had been whittled away to naught by the flat blue of night. What came out at night? The stars, bats, transients and the students of Trinity University. After class, they came back home to stacks of books and messy rooms. But what did one do when it got too dark to play volleyball and Mabee closed for the night?

Did they dare venture away from the groomed greens of TU? They did. After all, the beacon of unctuous Mexican food shone, and Taco Cabana lay just over the river and through Brackenridge Park. Pictured above, (clockwise) Trinity students at Taco Cabana, Mi Tierra, Tycoon Flats, and Bombay Bicycle Club.

Near campus were the two prime concentrations of clubs and hoity-toity eateries around town, namely St. Mary’s strip and the Riverwalk. The Riverwalk was a scenic escape … St. Mary’s was less touristy, with lots of rockin’ clubs and “did it myself” businesses.

Whether they stayed home or went out, Trinity students knew how to make the most of their free time, no matter how little of that free time they had to spare.”

Trinity Mirage, 1996

For generations, Trinity students have spilled off-campus to eat, drink, and de-stress. In the evenings, Tigers make runs to the original Taco Cabana on Hildebrand and San Pedro, grab burgers at Tycoon Flats, and pack clubs such as Bombay Bicycle Club and others along the St. Mary’s strip. And if a night gets too raucous, students spend the following morning recovering at breakfast joints such as El Milagrito Cafe.

At many of these locations, Trinity paraphernalia adorns the walls: football coach Jerheme Urban’s NFL jerseys hang at Bombay Bicycle Club, while greek jerseys pop up at restaurants up and down St. Mary’s.

And as area bars, restaurants and clubs open and close, one constant will remain: you’ll almost never see a restaurant in the 78212 zip code without a wall chock full of pictures of smiling Trinity students