12/29/15 10:15am

Rendering of Tacodeli, 1902 Washington Avenue, Sawyer Heights,

Yet another fast-casual semi-gourmet upstate taco chain appears to be spreading saucy tendrils into the 610 Loop — Austin-based Tacodeli, which announced intent to expand to Houston and Dallas last year, is now appearing in renderings and marketing plans of Lovett Commercial’s site at 1902 Washington Ave, across the street from upscale cocktail bar Julep and just west of cow-to-table butcher shop and steakhouse B&B Butchers. Tacodeli will be jostling against other taco invaders such as Torchy’s Tacos (also an Austin export), Fuzzy’s Taco’s (a Dallas chain currently working its way down through the north Houston ‘burbs to West Gray and Post Oak), and Velvet Taco (another Dallas chain) in the rush to claim territory in the local tacoscape, already thick with native Hous-Tex-Mex options.

A Lovett site plan for the property also shows a few other developments nestling in around Tacodeli, including a ramen shop, a brewpub, and a high-end barber:

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Washington Ave Taco Strategery
12/23/15 12:30pm

Te House of Tea Grand Opening, 1927  Fairview, Montrose, Houston, 77006

Te House of Tea Grand Opening, 1927 Fairview, Montrose, Houston, 77006

Vegan-friendly dance landmark Te House of Tea, at the corner of Fairview and Woodhead, will officially close its doors tomorrow at 7 PM — then briefly reopen them for an after-Christmas sale of equipment and interior furnishings the following Saturday. According to the restaurant’s December 1st closing announcement, owner Connie Lacobie attempted to sell the nearly 10-year-old business citing health issues, but a buyer couldn’t be found before the landlord made other plans for the space. Te opened in March 2006 with a lion dance for good luck (above); the final weekly swing-blues-fusion dance was held this past Saturday, and Monday was the last Open Mic. Photos: Te House of Tea

Down to the Dregs
12/18/15 9:45am

dgn Factory, 1001 Fannin St., Downtown, Houston, 77002

Deep beneath First City Tower, something is lightly frying — Indian fast-casual joint DGN Factory, previously known by its less-coy former moniker The Dosa Factory, is now serving the no-longer-titular stuffed crepes and other South Indian vegetarian staples at its newly opened counter in the tunnel below 1001 Fannin St., 4 blocks west of Discovery Green.

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12/17/15 9:45am

2015 W. Gray St., River Oaks Shopping Center, Houston, 77019

The landscape of adorably-named taco shops grows ever denser — Baja fast-casual restaurant Fuzzy’s Tacos will continue its spread south from Cypress, creeping into the space at 2015 W. Gray St., in the parking lot behind the River Oaks Theater. The Fort Worth export will move into the freestanding building on Peden St. at the back of the shopping center, following the 8-month tapas act of Pesca World Seafood (which  shuttered in 2013 after replacing Tinto’s that same year).

The space itself is not quite taco-ready:

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Very, Very Soft Tacos
12/04/15 2:30pm

SIMON SAYS: SHAKE SHACK IS DEFINITELY COMING TO THE GALLERIA Hypothetical Shake Shack, Galleria, Uptown, Houston, 77056 It’s confirmed: A Shake Shack will be coming to the Galleria’s west end (currently undergoing extensive cosmetic procedures that will relocate Saks 5th Avenue and open up new retail space). A description of the project included in a marketing document from mall owner Simon Property Group mentions Shake Shack as one of 35 “luxury retailers and feature restaurants” coming to the reconfigured space. Speculation that the burger chain would make its Houston debut at the Galleria intensified last month following Simon’s publication of a rendering showing the restaurant in place among the mall’s updates. [Simon Property Group] Image: Simon Property Group

What’s Cooking in Uptown?
07/08/15 4:45pm

Construction Trailer for Freddy's Frozen Custard and Steakburgers, 1111 N. Dairy Ashford St., Memorial, Houston

From the street, a Swamplot reader notes, the roll-on vehicle pictured here looks just like your typical construction trailer. But come around the side you can see the banner pinned to it, announcing a new Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steakburgers. The latest link in the growing fast-food chain is about to arrive on the former site of the Lucky Village Chinese Buffet that was torn down at 1111 N. Dairy Ashford last year. The new Freddy’s between St. Mary’s Ln. and Barryknoll will join a parade of beef purveyors (Sam’s Burgers, Lynn’s Steakhouse, Hebert’s Specialty Meats) and fast-food joints (Jack-in-the-Box, Sonic, and the Raising Cane’s right next door) lining the west side of Dairy Ashford, roughly opposite Spring Branch ISD’s AstroTurf-lined Darrell Tully Stadium.

Photo: Brian Walz

Steakburgers
07/07/15 2:30pm

MONEY, GUNS, AND WHATABURGER Whataburger, 5436 Hwy. 6 North, HoustonWe’ve had many customers and employees tell us they’re uncomfortable being around someone with a visible firearm who is not a member of law enforcement, and as a business, we have to listen and value that feedback in the same way we value yours. We have a responsibility to make sure everyone who walks into our restaurants feels comfortable. For that reason, we don’t restrict licensed concealed carry but do ask customers not to open carry in our restaurants.” [Whataburger, via Houston Chronicle] Photo of Whataburger at 5436 Hwy. 6 North: Jessica T.

07/07/15 1:00pm

Former Chili's Restaurant, 1040 W. Sam Houston Tollway, Spring Branch, Houston

Not a whole lot has been going on at the former Chili’s at 1040 West Sam Houston Tollway next to the HCC Spring Branch campus, a reader notes. Last September, Montrose-born Greek restaurant Niko Niko’s announced it would be opening its fourth Houston-area location there, near the overpasses connecting I-10 to Beltway 8.

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Not There Yet
07/06/15 5:00pm

Churrasca Brazilian Steakhouse, 7801 Westheimer Rd., Houston

New signage is up already at the former home of the Fish & the Knife restaurant at 7801 Westheimer. The 13,000-sq.-ft. sushi nightclub at the corner of Stoney Brook opened last February after 4 years of preparation, then closed after only 9 months of operations — with promises of a reopening after a “rebranding.” But it appears that a restaurant touting itself as “Lubbock’s Finest Dining Experience” is now preparing to open a Houston branch in the space instead. “The restaurant is already hiring a full retinue of staff,” notes Houstonia‘s Katharine Shillcut of the new Churrasca Brazilian Steakhouse, “but construction and cleaning appears to be underway and could take a while.

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Churrasca Brazilian Steakhouse
06/30/15 12:45pm

The Dunlavy, Lost Lake, Buffalo Bayou Park, North Montrose, Houston

The Dunlavy, Lost Lake, Buffalo Bayou Park, North Montrose, HoustonA reader sends pics of 3 notable new features near the western end of Buffalo Bayou Park that appear to be just about complete: The multi-purpose private event space known as The Dunlavy, overlooking a restored and upgraded pond now called Lost Lake — and its signature central feature, a bell-mouth spillway to suck up the overflow, referred to more commonly as a morning glory. That’s the hole in the middle of the water feature; if you look closely at the photos of it below you can see the odd sight of the tip of a construction ladder peeking out at the top:

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And the Dunlavy, Almost Done
06/23/15 12:30pm

Prince's Hamburgers, 3899 Southwest Fwy., Houston

Prince's Hamburgers, 3899 Southwest Fwy., HoustonYou can see the “SORRY WE’RE CLOSED” sign on the door at Prince’s Hamburgers at the end of the feeder-road-facing shopping center at 3899 Southwest Fwy. in the photo at the top, sent to Swamplot by a reader. This Prince’s near Weslayan hasn’t been open for about a month, but the local chain still lists the location on its website, and at least one employee at another location was told by a manager that the site will reopen soon. Meanwhile, the Chronicle‘s Syd Kearney appears still to be waiting for a call back from the company’s management for info on the closure. All equipment inside appears to have been removed, a passer-by tells Swamplot.

Photos: Joe Carl White (door); Prince’s Hamburgers (store)

Toast
06/22/15 1:45pm

Casa Grande Mexican Restaurant, 3401 N. Main St., Glen Park, Houston

Demolition of the Casa Grande Mexican Restaurant at 3401 N. Main St. at the corner of Norma began last Friday. A reader reports hearing from residents of the nearby Glen Park neighborhood that a new Holiday Inn Express is planned for the site. The property backs up to the freeway just south of the N. Main—I-45 intersection.

Above: The watered fall, in progress. Below: A few photos of the restaurant’s final scene, from just a few days earlier.

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Glen Park
06/17/15 12:00pm

Construction of Lee's Fried Chicken & Donuts in Former Church's Fried Chicken, 601 Heights Blvd., Houston Heights

Work has begun transforming the former Heights Blvd. Church’s Fried Chicken — which left its longstanding spot on the corner of 6th St. (aka White Oak across the street) back in March — to the long-promised Lee’s Fried Chicken & Doughnuts. Back in 2012, the team behind Liberty Kitchen (and BRC Gastropub as well as Petite Sweets) had intended to open a Lee’s Fried Chicken in the long-vacant drive-thru behind Liberty Kitchen at 1132 E. 11th St. — after initial plans to open a coffee house in that space were switched.

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Church’s to Lee’s and Donuts
06/16/15 10:45am

Crescent City, 6383 Westheimer Rd., Houston

Crescent City, 6383 Westheimer Rd., HoustonCrescent City Beignets closed its spot in the Lamar-River Oaks Shopping Center across from Lamar High School last April. Fourteen months later and 4-and-a-half miles to the west, something very much like it is opening up in a strip center strip endcap formerly occupied by a Dickey’s Barbecue Pit at 6383 Westheimer, outside the Loop and just east of Hillcroft. A reader tells Swamplot the interior of the shop is decorated with black-and-white posters of New Orleans scenes and scheduled to open late next week.

Photos: Carlos I. Velázquez (top); Joe Carl White (beignets sign)

Gone West on Westheimer
06/15/15 5:15pm

BLACK LAB EDGES OUT MELANGE CREPERIE FOR EATSIE BOYS SPACE Eatsie Boys, 4100 Montrose Blvd., Montrose, HoustonThe old “circumstances beyond our control” got in the way of Melange Creperie’s previously announced move into the former Eatsie Boys spot in the Campanile center at 4100 Montrose Blvd., the crepe stand’s proprietor announced late last week. Eric Sandler reports that the location’s neighbor, The Black Labrador pub, will instead expand into the space. In an email sent to backers of the Kickstarter through which $52,215 was raised for the crepe stand’s move to an indoor site, owner Sean Carroll reported he’s still looking in Midtown and Montrose for a lease space. In the meantime, Melange Creperie will begin operating regular hours next to the freezer case inside the Montrose H-E-B. [Culturemap; Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot] Photo of 4100 Montrose Blvd.: Local Sugar