The holdup on Houston Ave. this morning, reports a reader stuck in the resulting traffic, is the aftermath of a minor fire at the Avenue Grill on the corner with Center St. The 1940s structure (which the restaurant’s operations purportedly moved into in 1962 after 12 years of business across the street) appears unharmed by the flames, which HPD tells Dale Lezon started in the building’s electric sign. The restaurant’s property went stealthily onto the market back in August of 2014 before it was found out the following March; county records don’t appear to show a change of hands since then.

• Fire Breaks Out at Avenue Grill near Downtown Houston [Houston Chronicle]
• Previously on Swamplot:The Slow End of the Avenue Grill at the End of Center St.

Photos of fire response at Avenue Grill at 1017 Houston Ave.: Swamplot inbox