A PREMATURE PHOTO OF PREVIEW, OPENING SOON IN SUGAR LAND 
This signless storefront, a reader reports, will be the home of Preview, the seafood restaurant opening this November just a few doors down from the forthcoming Welfresh Market on Hwy. 6 in Sugar Land. Chef Jason Liao explains to Eater Houston why he chose the ’burbs: “[B]ecause it fit into his budget, is a high-end area and he ‘saw what was happening with Underbelly, Uchi and Oxheart opening in uptown, midtown and [central] areas’ but wanted to take a different route. ‘I’m not trying to do volume or turn tables,’ Liao says. ‘I can afford that small space in that area, and can have people who appreciate what we do [want to] go out there and eat.'” [Swamplot inbox; Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Swamplot inbox
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Openings and Closings
Here’s a pic of the foliage and signage of the closed Wel-Farm Supermarket in Sugar Land — which, a reader reports, will soon have its hyphen removed and hyperbole reduced when it opens later this fall as the Welfresh Market. The grocery store, specializing in Asian produce, is located inside the shopping center near Dulles Ave. at 4635 Hwy. 6.
- Welfresh Market [Facebook]
Photo: Swamplot inbox
Looks like MAM’s House of Ice will be opening inside this 780-sq.-ft. former paint supply liquor store at 1040 W. Cavalcade — just in time for winter! This spot is a bit east of where the sky-blue dessert trailer usually parks at Rutland and 20th. Why here? The owners explain to Eater Houston that they “‘tried really hard not to go into a strip center because [they] wanted to have green space’ so that families could go out, extend blankets on the green and enjoy the outdoor picnic tables.” HCAD records show that this new lot comes in at 3,500 sq. ft.
- New Orleans Style Snoballs [MAM’s House of Ice]
- MAM’S House of Ice Snoballs to Open in November [Eater Houston]
- Previously on Swamplot: Snoballs at MAM’s: the Heights of Ice
Photo: Eater Houston
IZAKAYA-WA OPENING REAL SOON IN MEMORIAL 
Eater Houston’s Darla Guillen reports that that Japanese izakaya-style restaurant and bar that a Swamplot reader in August reported would be opening in the Memorial Bend Shopping Park will be opening this Wednesday. And Guillen suspects that the location just inside the Beltway at 12665 Memorial Dr. could very well prove to be very well chosen: “It seems that the restaurant’s proximity to some Japanese corporations will likely encourage a strong Japanese following.” [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Houston Sushi
THE HIGH-TECH BURGER JOINT IN THE WOODLANDS 
Wanting to try Fielding’s Wood Grill, now open in the strip center on Research Forest Dr. where Shenandoah meets The Woodlands, the Houston Press’s Molly Dunn discovers an amenity inside that could prove tricky for the finger-licking clientele: “There’s . . . an iPad bar . . . to surf the web, chat with friends or play some games. It’s as though they took a portion of the Apple Store and placed it smack dab in the middle of the restaurant.” [Eating Our Words; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Swamplot inbox
We hardly knew ye: The Sonic Drive-In at 7001 Harrisburg and 70th has quietly closed and covered its windows with solemn gray-painted plywood. The place had been situated among other chains and franchises and bus terminals near the recently installed big yellow bumper at the end of the forthcoming East End Line, catty-corner from the Magnolia Transit Center and a few blocks north of the Gus Wortham Golf Course (and perhaps the potential future Botanic Garden).
DOWNTOWN’S LITTLE DIPPER WILL BE VISIBLE THIS SATURDAY 
Now there’s an astrological sign on the window foretelling all the boozing to come: Eater Houston’s Darla Guillen reports that the owners and operators of hipster havens Antidote, Poison Girl, and Black Hole are preparing to open their latest venture, Little Dipper, at 304 Main St. Downtown “in the weeks to come.” And if you can’t wait that long, Guillen adds that the bar will be open for a few hours this Saturday for a preview party. [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot] Photo: @LittleDipperBar
HEIGHTS GOOD DOG HOLDING THE WHOLE-GRAIN MUSTARD A FEW MORE WEEKS 
Well, we had been told it would happen in September, but Eater Houston is now reporting that the non-mobile version of that purveyor of encased meat Good Dog won’t be opening at the former Big Mamou spot at 903 Studewood in the Heights for at least a few more weeks: “[T]hey’ve seen some delays and are waiting on ‘things that are out of our control,’ presumably permits and other city-related issues. . . . [Owner Daniel] Caballero says they’re hoping to be open ‘definitely in October.'” [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Eater Houston
THE NEW MONTROSE BAR SPORTING HOUSTON SPORTS WALLPAPER 
Looks like the name of the bar and restaurant that will be taking over the old Sophia and Café Artiste spot in Montrose just around the corner from the Menil Collection will be Lowbrow — and not, as the TABC sign that was hung in the window in April suggested, Faustian Bargain. Developed by Omar Afra, who heads up Fitzgerald’s and the Free Press Summer Fest, Lowbrow will be stocked with local craft beers and local insignia too, reports Culturemap: “[Artists] Blake Jones and Dual have partnered to create a wallpaper that incorporates iconic Houston images such as the Astrodome and the Houston Oilers derrick logo.” [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Allyn West
Maybe this mystery has been solved: That old building at 908 Henderson just a block south of Liberty Station on Washington Ave is being converted into a restaurant called Big Eyed Fish. The owners just started posting some pics of the renovations to a Facebook page, and a new website promises that the place — “think southern upscale cuisine,” the website explains — is opening soon.
- Big Eyed Fish [Facebook]
- We can’t wait to be your neighborhood restaurant [Big Eyed Fish Houston]
- Previously on Swamplot: Another New Restaurant in an Old Old Sixth Ward Building?
Photo: via Facebook
The waterfront pedestrian-friendly complex in The Woodlands named for the famous recluse has signed another place to eat some grub: Whiskey Cake. The rendering above shows the Restaurant Row, part of the 66-acre spread on Lake Woodlands, which is also planned to include office buildings, apartments, entertainment venues, a hotel, grocery store, and other retail. Community Impact News reports that this row could house as many as 6 restaurants; by 2015, Whiskey Cake will occupy about 8,000 sq. ft. here, joining Escalante’s Fine Tex-Mex and Tequila, which is slated to open first sometime next year.
- From-Scratch-Only Slow-Cooking [Whiskey Cake]
- Whiskey Cake to open restaurant in Hughes Landing [Community Impact News]
- Previously on Swamplot: The Woodlands Landing Huge New Pedestrian Complex
Rendering: via Facebook
The owner of Hughes Hangar is building another bar about 50 ft. away on Washington Ave. Culturemap reports that the De Gaulle, rendered here with old-timey airplane, will share the property at 2811 Washington that backs up against the Washington and Glenwood Cemeteries. Owner Bien Tran explains to Culturemap that the concept’s name, design, and accoutrements, all right across Rue Washington from that recently opened Sonic, “will create an old world Parisian atmosphere complete with a miniature Eiffel Tower.” Opening night will be Halloween, Tran hopes, following an Edgar Allan Poe theme party.
Wanna see a rendering of the interior?
The next Dunkin’ Donuts in Houston will be in Humble. Though this newest one, to open next Tuesday at 18315 West Lake Houston Pkwy., will have the all-important drive-thru window, it will also include some room for those who need to stay a bit longer: The standalone in Orleans Square will have 2 conference rooms geared up with projection equipment, each of which could hold about 20 people, give or take.
Additionally, Prime Property reports that there will be one more Dunkin’ Donuts to open in the area before the end of the year and as many as 60 in the next 5 years.
- Dunkin’ Donuts announces opening date for next Houston-area store [Prime Propery]
- Previously on Swamplot: Il Palazzo del Donuts in Humble, and Other Dunkin’ Domains, Dunkin’ Donuts Opening Next Month in Westchase Strip Center, The First Inside-the-Loop Dunkin’ Donuts?, Dunkin’ Donuts’ Big Texas Push, Dunkin’ Donuts Coming Back to Bellaire
Photo: Swamplot inbox
The fake graffiti has been removed, and the neon signage switched on: Torchy’s Tacos opened its 3rd Houston location earlier today inside the former Harold’s in the Heights store on the corner of Ashland and W. 19th. The others are in Rice Village and on S. Shepherd. Torchy’s is occupying about 3,400 sq. ft. in the mod men’s retailer, sharing the rest of it with the Heights General Store. (Which isn’t yet open.) There aren’t any restrictions on the tacos or guac at this new location, but because this area of the Heights is dry, if you want a beer to wash your tortillas down you’ll have to join Torchy’s private Firewater Club.
Here’s a look at some more neon:
A STRAIGHT-UP SAM’S CLUB SWAP IN WEST HOUSTON 
Tomorrow, one big old Sam’s Club will be closing and another new one opening, reports the Houston Business Journal: The store on Hwy. 6 and the Katy Fwy. near the Addicks Reservoir will turn out the lights after 20 years, and the new 136,000-sq.-ft. store will begin its run at 13331 Westheimer near Eldridge Pkwy. [Houston Business Journal] Photo: Ben Huynh
