It’s taken awhile for the usual spotters of this sort of thing to notice, but Heights French bistro and créperie Salé-Sucré has been locked out of its storefront at 2916 White Oak Dr., between Tacos a Go Go and the Lucky Food Store, since last Tuesday. Philippe and Beline Harel opened the restaurant in the former White Oak Bakery 2 years ago. A letter posted on the door by the landlord, DC Heights LP, claims the restaurant’s operators have failed to pay rent. A lock box now attached to the front door is one sign that no one’s expecting them to return.
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Poor marketing. I love crepes and try every crepe place I find out about, but I never heard about this one.
If business is so bad that no one notices that the doors are locked for a week and a half, maybe going out of business is the right thing to do.
I am sad that this place could not figure out how to get it right and did not make it. The owners were trailblazers on White Oak and came to the Heights when restaurant choices were significantly less than today. There were many nice things about the food and the atmosphere, but service was at best awkward (at worst atrocious) and the food never went the distance (cheap salad/side items; not consistent quality). Add to the challenge of White Oak parking and the extremely high standards for restaurants in Houston and it is not surprising that they did not make it or are having serious problems. But I really wish they could turn it around.
I went there a good six or seven times. I thought it was quite good, but it was never very busy.
Sad. They had some good food, and the prices were reasonable. But French food has historically been a hard sell in the Houston market.
They were never too busy, but we went there often. It was a little gem in the midst of all the bars. We will miss it a lot.
Zelko hopefully will set a precedence on this unjustly trend…..mediation/trial next week. Good Luck SaleSuCre! Businesses are not respected for the money/time that’s invested and we (the heights community/property owners) must maintain & support our unique leverage. Plus it makes our beautiful neighborhood appear restless and trendy, not traditional.
Went there once and we were the only people there. Contrary to some here, I found the prices ridiculous, the food average and the service distracted. No surprises here.
“Unjustly trend?” What about all the risk and investment the landlord makes/takes to create this environment? Is paying rent too much to ask? Most people think landlords are sitting around collecting rent and getting rich, but they have investors and banks to pay every month too… I am not the landlord or do I have any interest in the property…
Good, this place is garbage french food. The people working there were way more interested in chatting up regulars at the bar than actually running a good eatery.
Zelko: good luck with what? It’s called pay your rent. I’m sure they wouldn’t be happy with customers not paying for food. Can I rake up a few thousands in food orders and not pay? And then try to get the courts or mediation to force the restaurant to give me a few thousand more in food?
i always had a pleasant time there. prices were not outrageous, service was adequate, but, best of all, one could walk to it from most points in the heights.
this is a debate i and my more demanding friends have all the time: does a walkable place get forgiven for not always being superlative? in my opinion, yes! sorry to see Salé-Sucré (just as I was sorry to see D’Amico) go.
My neighbors can continue to be picky, but eventually we’ll lapse back to being picky through a car window…
Decent food, but the 3 times we went we were 1 of maybe 2-3 other couples (including during peak hours). We were more drawn to eat there bc we knew there would never be a wait vs other nearby restaurants. Honestly not surprised they couldn’t cover rent. As other readers have noted, French is a hard genre of food to sell, esp in as tough a market as HTX.
Zelko, I am a landlord and had this happen many times. It does cost time and money to invest in a mom/pop concept. Pay your rent – simple as that.
This could be the perfect spot for Gelazzi – the gelato shop a few blocks away on White Oak in the dry part of the Heights that now wants to become a bar over the protests of its neighbors because there is no parking.