SAYONARA FOR FISH & THE KNIFE? 
Eater Houston’s Jakeisha Wilmore is reporting that Fish & the Knife will close at the end of this month. Wilmore is basing her report on an interview with a Yelp reviewer who said that management at the Briarmeadow sushi house canceled her upcoming holiday event and told her that the restaurant was about to shut down. Wilmore could not reach management for confirmation, but should this really be the end for the 9-month-old restaurant, it would prove an abrupt final act to a bizarre and dramatic saga. The not-designed-by-Tony-Chi restaurant finally opened this February after a roller-coaster ride of a buildout that dragged on for 3 years. Wilmore’s Yelp source told her that the Fish & the Knife’s manager told her “financial challenges” were the cause of the possibly imminent shuttering. The restaurant’s demise might not be lamented in all quarters: On weekends Fish & the Knife transformed into a nightclub, and residents of nearby neighborhoods had become disgruntled with partiers parking along their streets and leaving trash behind. Update, 2:15 pm: Fish & the Knife management tells CultureMap’s Eric Sandler that the restaurant’s closing will be temporary and that the Fish & the Knife will reopen after a rebranding, while the weekend nightclub activities would continue in the meantime. Sandler also reports that opening chef, former Iron Chef America contestant Bob Iacovone, has returned to his hometown of New Orleans. [Eater Houston; Click2Houston; CultureMap; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Swamplot inbox
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Well, that explains all the half-price Groupons I’ve been getting…
and there it is….
Kudos to commonsense for correctly commenting of the post about the opening on February 13th that this would not make it 12 months. It seems to me that lately the restaurant business in Houston has become an over-hyped “scene” with way to many wanna-be celebrity chefs enticing investors to put up funds for their latest concept that they believe is sure to be a hit and become oh-so-popular. There’s only so much disposable income and people with adventurous palates to go around.
What a mess.
It’s a shame Bob Iacovone couldn’t get a gig better suited to him here. I have fond memories of an incredible meal he put together at the former Cuvee in New Orleans.
In other words, they’re scapping the restaurant idea and rebranding as a nightclub. That’s what it sounds like to me.
I for one am not sad to see this place take its place in the long line of failed restaurants in the Houston Metro area. As a resident of Briargrove this has been a constant source of frustrations for its residents who pay top dollar to live in our wonderful neighborhood. I had heard of the initial struggles and wanted them to succeed until the trash, noise and it patrons urinating and taking catastrophic bowel movements outside the business late hours of the evenings. it looked like a mine field on sunday mornings and the smell was like the bathroom at a college bar
Allow me to wallow a little bit in the “I told you so-ness”.
@j lo – you clearly missed the part where nightclub operations will continue to run lol.
This may be unfair, but everything about that place has screened “CHEESE BALL” since way before they opened. I won’t venture out of Montrose to go there (I have Uchi 5 min walk, along with other options), but I don’t think I’d go there even if I lived near by.
The back story to this place would seriously make a great soap opera plot.
the best sushi I had was in 1809 in the TÅtÅmi Province of Japan a samurai friend whom trained with me in Mongolia took me to a stand where they had best sushi I’ve ever eaten….while there I whoops I’ve said too much!
@John C.
LOL, I was going to comment the same thing about seeing the Fish & The Knife on Groupon. Better use them before they shutter… ;)
J Lo, if things really are as bad as you say, why are you messing about complaining on a message board, you do know that TABC is happy to take tips, if you’re afraid, make it anonymous.
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TABC does take this stuff seriously, and if you are not exaggerating, they’ll take steps to ensure this place doesn’t over serve their patrons. It’ll start with a “hey guys, we’re cool and the gang, but we’re going to be watching you” then it will move to violations and finally shutting them down assuming things don’t change.
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But, in order for this to happen, first, you have to be telling an accurate story, second, you have to call TABC, and third, the bar would have to not comply.
Yeah, send in the Beer Cops. Poop patrol would be a great thing to keep them busy instead of harassing bartenders and bar owners.