Mainor, 83, passed away July 2022. He was born in Houston and spent time in New Orleans, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas before settling in Galveston. Robert’s Lafitte opened in 1965 and Mainor bought the club in 1970. After a fire destroyed the original location, it moved to 22nd between the Strand and the Post Office before landing on Avenue Q, its current location, a few blocks from the Seawall.

In fact, Robert’s Lafitte welcomed everyone from sequined drag queens to tourists in shorts looking for a drink and a stool. Houston pop group Wild Moccasins filmed a video for the 2014 single “Eye Makeup” there with regular artists and performers.

Mainor became something of a celebrity when he appeared in Austin’s PJ Raval’s 2013 documentary “Before You Know It” about three gay men navigating life as seniors. Mainor is about death, illness, and legal issues, but it turns out to be the most entertaining theme in the film.

Robert will be dearly missed, but his spirit will live on forever in Robert’s Lafitte