Sherman council grants zoning permit for downtown card room and bar

By GvilleTX Newsroom

The Sherman City Council on July 20 approved the zoning permit needed to open a card room and bar at 112 West Lamar Street in downtown Sherman, adopting Ordinance 6952 by voice vote. The city's official recording of the meeting shows ayes from council members, no votes in opposition, and the motion carrying.

The ordinance grants a specific use permit for an indoor commercial amusement center at the address. That step was required. Sherman's zoning code does not allow the use in the C-1 district by right, so a business in that category cannot open there without a permit approved by the council. Indoor commercial amusement center is the category the city's code applies to the planned operation, and the permit covers that one address without changing what other properties in the district may do.

The application filed with the city describes the planned business as a full-service bar and lounge, characterized by the applicant as upscale, with an attached gaming and card room for legal card games. According to the filing, the card room would hold 16 tables with capacity for 144 players, and the plans cover staffing, a check-in area and private tables reserved for VIP play.

Showdown Social Club says on its website that it is coming to downtown Sherman in fall 2026. The club is already selling memberships through the site, which it says provide access to a poker room and a bar. An opening on the advertised schedule would come within months of the council's vote.

The request was not a new one for the council, members indicated at the meeting. In discussion captured on the official recording, council members described the proposal as the same operator and the same business the council had approved before, this time at a different location.

The permit also carries a condition tied to a single name. Under the terms written into Ordinance 6952, the specific use permit expires automatically if anyone other than Roger Hollomon owns or leases the property. If the site changes hands or takes on a different tenant, the permission ends rather than transferring.

The July vote was the second favorable action the project drew at city hall this summer. The Sherman Planning and Zoning Commission voted 7-0 on June 16 to recommend approval of the specific use permit, according to the council's meeting packet, a little more than a month before the full council acted.