Restaurants

Openings and Closings, Restaurants

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Note: We’ve appended a photo showing off CaffÃ¨ Di Firenze’s espresso machine to the end of this story.

New signage is up in the windows of the Henry Brashear Building at 910 Prairie St. downtown on account of CaffÃ¨ Di Firenze‘s recent move into the place. It’s now serving drinks and food inside and plans to do so on the outside, too, once the city signs off on permission for chairs and tables to go on the sidewalk. The photo at top shows the storefront pretty much the same as it’s been since going red in 2016. Except now some new tri-colored tiling peeks out from underneath the doors.

Inside, there’s this hashtagged wall of greenery:

New Coffee Grounds

77002, Coffee Shops, Downtown, Openings and Closings, Renovations

11/15/18 10:45am

Former Tsukiji Japanese Spot Taking Tentative First Step into Irish Cuisine as Mahoney’s Texish Bar & Restaurant

Restaurants, The Woodlands

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A Swamplot reader sends these photos showing signage up a block north of the Waterway Ave. bridge in The Woodlands, where a new venue called Mahoney’s Texish Bar & Restaurant is picking up in place of Tsukiji Japanese Cuisine. The restaurant’s decision to mince words in its title, coupled with the presence of a shamrock on its logo suggests some sort of Texan-Irish fusion will be its focus. And according to trademark applications the restaurant’s filed this month, the phrase “We Are Texish,” and similar taglines will feature prominently on its employees uniforms.

Here’s what the space used to look like:

By the Waterway

77380, Bars and Restaurants, Signage, The Woodlands

11/08/18 10:30am

Frenchy’s Chicken 2.0 Will Hit the Spot Down Scott St. from the Original

Renovations, Restaurants, Third Ward

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Frenchy’s Chicken is gearing up to open a new restaurant on Scott St. so that it’s original — there since 1969 — can get out of the way of Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church‘s planned expansion. (You can see the church’s slated roofing peeking out behind Frenchy’s in the photo above.) The restaurant’s new location: 2 blocks south of the current one, in the former O’Sat Auto Detail shop pictured at top on the northwest corner of Blodgett St. There, a spate of building permits filed within the last few months reveal Frenchy’s management is about to get started on renovations.

It’s a bit of a detour from the chain’s original relocation plan. Last May, Frenchy’s top brass PercyÂ Creuzot III (the son of the chain’s founder Percy “Frenchy” Creuzot, Jr.) told the Chronicle‘s Cindy George he’d staked out a spot 5 blocks north of the current one where Alabama St. ends across from UH’s indoor football practice building. Sure enough, Creuzot’s business partner Anthony Gaynor consolidated several adjacent lots he owned at the southwest corner of Alabama and Scott 2 into a single property last year — and a few months afterward, demolished the building it that’d done stints on it as number of different barbecue joints:

Third Ward

77004, Renovations, Restaurants, Third Ward

11/01/18 10:15am

Soccer Hub Splitting Up Marq’e Korean Buffet Leftovers with Spaghetti Warehouse Heir

Northwest Houston, Proposed Developments, Renovations, Restaurants, Retail, Shopping Centers, Spring Branch

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A handful of building permits filed recently over at the Marq’e Entertainment Center indicate that kids training center Soccer Hub is kicking off renovations directly behind the spot reserved for the new Spaghetti-Warehouse-like eatery the brand’s parent company is calling Warehouse 72. Together, both new venues will be taking over the space Korean buffet Kpop gave up last year on the shopping center’s non-movie-theater side, across the arch-fronted alley from Dave and Buster’s‘s almost-but-not-entirely standalone building. (There’s now a mystery-themed escape room up in its business, as indicated on the map above.)

It’s not an entirely even split: Soccer Hub is getting about 6,000 sq.-ft. while Warehouse 72 will have 8,600 — enough room for seating, prepared food retail fixtures, and a double-sided bar serving both the restaurant’s insides and a planned 750-sq.-ft. patio, reports Eater‘s Alaena Hostetter. Until the 2 get situated — or get beat to the punch by the Hugh O’Connors Irish-themed restaurant opening in space number 25 on the map —specialty soda and candy shop Rocket Fizz will remain the only thing inside the Marq’e’s center building. It’s been there by itself since Cafe Adobe closed in what’s shown on the map as spot number 26, leaving 10,000 sq.-ft. up for grabs.

Venue Map [Marq’e Entertainment Center]

Photo: Kpop. Map: Levcor

Tag Team Takeover

77024, Northwest Houston, Proposed Developments, Renovations, Restaurants, Retail, Shopping Centers

10/29/18 5:00pm

Siphon Coffee Taking Week-Long Coffee Break

First Montrose Commons, Montrose, Renovations, Restaurants

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The indie coffee shop and practitioner of advanced siphon-brewing techniques suspended its service last Wednesday so that big-name instant and pre-ground coffee producer Cafe Bustelo could take over barista duties inside for the week. The photo above shows the storefront going off-brand with temporary fixtures that dub it a “Cafecito” using Bustelo’s classic color scheme. Closer to ground level, you can see the new matching window dressings, too — added on too along the store’s glass facade.

Even Siphon’s standalone sign at the corner of W. Alabama and Greeley St. has been transformed:

Food Substitutes

77006, Coffee Shops, First Montrose Commons, Montrose, Renovations

10/29/18 10:30am

Taco Bell #9535 Is Done Taking Orders

Meyerland, Openings and Closings, Restaurants

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Here’s what the restaurant just west of the Meyer Park Shopping Center looks like in its afterlife. Signage came down the same day that the store closed, last Wednesday. It’s now listed for lease by the franchisee that owns the land at 4904 W. Bellfort as well as that beneath about 70 other Taco Bells, KFCs, and Pizza Huts in and around Houston: KorMex Foods.

KorMex grabbed this location along with 15 other existing stores when it went into business in 2000. By then, the building itself had been around for 7 years.

4904 W. Bellfort St. [LoopNet]
About KorMex [KorMex Foods]

Photo: Jason Karwacki

W. Bellfort and S. Post Oak

77035, Fast Food, Meyerland, Openings and Closings, Restaurants

10/17/18 1:30pm

On the Pearland Arby’s Menu This Weekend: Duck Sandwich Special

Pearland, Quicklink, Restaurants

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ON THE PEARLAND ARBY’S MENU THIS WEEKEND: DUCK SANDWICH SPECIAL <span style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" data-mce-type="bookmark" class="mce_SELRES_start">ï»¿</span> Saturday is Duck Sandwich debut day at the Pearland Arby’s on Shadow Creek Pkwy., one of just 16 locations across the U.S. chosen for the promo — a chain spokeswoman tells Nations Restaurant NewsÂ reporter Bret Thorn — because of their proximity to “waterfowl migration flyways,” areas where duck-hunting is a popular pastime. “Based on past experience from similar Arbyâ€™s LTOs [Limited Time Offerings],” like the venison sandwich special of 2016 and elk offering the following year, Thorn expects supplies to sell out in “less than a day.” After arriving in-store from global, Indiana-headquartered duck supplier Maple Leaf Farms, the breasts will be seared and cooked in sous-vide (sealed in pouches and placed in hot water) before landing on a bun along with “fried onions and smoked cherry sauce.” [Nation’s Restaurant News; list of participating Arby’s] Video: Arby’s

77584, Fast Food, Pearland, Quicklink, Restaurants

10/16/18 4:00pm

Cafe Adobe Has Called It Quits in the Marq’E Entertainment Center and Everywhere Else

Memorial, Openings and Closings, Restaurants, Shopping Centers

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A former employee of the chain says that September 30 was the staff’s last day at the restaurant in the Marq’E Entertainment Center, where its double-decker patio — pictured above — faces off from the Edwards Cinema movie theater (and its vertical water feature faces off from the shopping center’s plaza fountain).

All other Cafe Adobe locations have closed down as well; most recently, the one in terminal B of Bush Airport and the one across Hwy. 6 from Sugar Land‘s Market at Town Center shopping center — which featured this dramatic main entrance:

Adobe a Goner

77024, Memorial, Openings and Closings, Restaurants, Shopping Centers

Demolitions

10/15/18 10:15am

Montrose Greased Lightning Burger Zapped by New Owner

Montrose, North Montrose, Restaurants

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The owner of the abandoned restaurant storefront on Taft St. south of W. Gray didn’t waste much time in trashing the place after acquiring it in June. A demo permit filed last month condemned both the street-fronting building shown above and its backyard bungalow. The photo at top shows the state of things on Friday afternoon.

The new owner also bought the neighboring brick house on Peden St. around the same time:

A Flash in the Pan

77019, Buying and Selling, Demolitions, Montrose, North Montrose, Restaurants

East Downtown

10/05/18 2:00pm

Why All the Food Trucks Vanished from East Downtown’s Truck Yard

Quicklink, Restaurants

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WHY ALL THE FOOD TRUCKS VANISHED FROM EAST DOWNTOWN’S TRUCK YARD Health department officials ousted all food trucks from the open-air structure pictured adjacent to outdoor seating in August — reports Samantha Morris over at Houston Food Finder — nearly 4 months after the Lamar St. bar opened. Their justification: City code bans food trucks from parking within 100 ft. of dining areas and from parking underneath â€œany canopy, awning or other covering,â€ that isnâ€™t attached to the truck itself. (If the coveringâ€™s already there for another purpose, and the truck just happens to park under it, the city lets it slide.) As a partial fix, â€œWeâ€™re going to take the roof off,â€ Truck Yardâ€™s general manager tells Morris. Until the city okays plans for that change, cheesesteaks from the barâ€™s in-house kitchen will be the only food source available. [Houston Food Finder; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Truck Yard Houston

77003, Bars and Restaurants, East Downtown, Food Trucks, Parking, Public Health, Quicklink

09/26/18 2:45pm

Montrose Shake Shack Shaping Up Nicely in Place of Burger King’s Throne

Hyde Park, Montrose, New Construction, Restaurants

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Wooden siding now covers up all but a small portion of Shake Shack‘s coming store at 1002 Westheimer, in the spot where Burger King collapsed 2 months ago. The new coverings have the restaurant looking a little more like what’s shown in the rendering put out by the burger brand at the end of last month, right around the time that work started on its new building.

Here’s what progress looks like from the west, outside Blacksmith:

Beefing Up Westheimer

77006, Hyde Park, Montrose, New Construction, Restaurants

09/20/18 11:15am

Jack Has Left the Box on N. Shepherd and 20th St.

Houston Heights, Openings and Closings, Restaurants

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In the span of just 3 days, the Heights Jack in the Box has closed down and abandoned both its sky- and street-level boxes. The photo above shows the empty store and its parking lot off Shepherd, where a green cherry-picker‘s now the only vehicle present.

The property’s longtime owner — a national real estate firm that owns the land beneath lots of fast food joints — sold it in 2016, which was a transformational year for the rest of the intersection as well. A few months later, Abel Motors left its spot across Shepherd, making way for the Burger Joint that’s now moving in. And on the south side of 20th St., pizza joint Mellow Mushroom and adjacent desert shop Moody Ice opened up — in what used to be Dealer Sales‘ garage and office building.

Fast Food, Houston Heights, Openings and Closings, Restaurants

The Leftovers

09/10/18 12:45pm

Cloud 10 Creamery Number 3 Heads to Shepherd and Colquitt Corner

Renovations, Restaurants, Upper Kirby

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The ice cream shop has plans to shoot the gap between its existing Heights and Rice Village locations with a new spot at 3502 S. Shepherd, in the house next to the Richmond Ave strip where Burgerim’s getting situated. Although Cloud 10’s summer menu — includingÂ mozzarella and black tea-cornÂ flavors, as well as a sundae made with “freeze dried blueberries” — is still on rotation in the 2 current locations, it’ll probably be replaced by a whole ‘nother roster by the time the new store opens.

Five head-in parking spots line the building’s northern frontage along Colquitt St. They’ve been empty for the most part since hair salon All Decked Out checked out of the building, leaving it open to new arrivals.

Previously on Swamplot:Â Bungalow Full of Weird Ice Cream Flavors Now Open on Heights Blvd.;Â Where Cloud 10 and All Those Extra Parking Spaces Will Fit Into Heights Mercantile; Cloud 10 Hitting Sweet Spot in the Village

Photos: All Decked Out Hair Salon (first); Tenavox (second)

The Scoop

77098, Renovations, Restaurants, Retail, Upper Kirby

09/07/18 10:45am

Burgerim Keeps on Pluralizing with Royal Oaks Village Location