Surveillance video from a car lot across the street showed 2 men removing a long object — later identified as a bench — from Late Nite Pie not long before the Midtown pizza joint at 302 Tuam St. went up in flames in the early morning hours of February 8th. 10 minutes later in the video footage, after the bench removers had driven off and as smoke rose from the west side and southwest corner of the building, a man is seen exiting through the front door, hesitating, then driving off in a Chevy Astro van. Police have now charged that man, identified as Raymond Pecher, the restaurant’s former day shift manager, with arson.
- Manager of Midtown pizza restaurant charged with arson [KHOU]
- Raymond Pecher, Late Nite Pie Manager, Accused Of Arson (Read The Criminal Complaint) [Hair Balls]
- Previously on Swamplot: Headlines: Virgin Mary in Garden Oaks; Early Morning Fire at Late Nite Pie, Will Late Nite Pie Rise Again?, Late Night Pie Scheduled To Reopen Monday, The Late Late Night Pie, Latest on the Late Late Night Pie Location
Photo: Candace Garcia
Whenever it gets around to reopening as a brewery, Second Ward hotdog HQ Moon Tower Inn will still have only a single off-street parking spot — thanks to an accommodation agreed to by the planning commission. Owner Evan Shannon agreed to provide rack space for 40 bicycles instead of the 5 additional car spaces that would have otherwise been required at 3004 Canal St. Helpful in securing the exception from the city: 
Buried in Anvil owner Bobby Heugel’s long complaint about Houston Press coverage of possible neighborhood opposition to an application for an on-street valet parking zone for the Hay Merchant and Underbelly in the former Chances Bar space on Westheimer at Waugh: News of a new initiative sponsored by OKRA, the restaurant advocacy group he helped found. “
The end of the month will mark the end of a 10-year run for the cafe run by Kraftsmen Bakery in the small enclave of eateries carved out of the former Church of Christ building at 4100 Montrose, just north of Richmond. But Eater Houston reports Scott Tycer’s bakery operation plans to keep its Heights cafe and open an additional location within the next few months. 
Yes, those bees were under camera surveillance; don’t even think they aren’t watching the radishes too. 
Pappas Restaurants is the new owner of Mama’s Cafe at 6019 Westheimer, west of Fountainview. The restaurant shut down over the weekend “after 30 years of serving Huevos Hofbrau and CFS,” reports the 
Seven months after 
An only slightly cleaned-up report on the progress of the brewery and shipping-container redo at the Canal St. bar, straight from the Moon Tower Inn Facebook page: “as you all should know, we’re late for everything and some time’s we just plain don’t show up. but DO NOT WORRY, moon tower will be OPEN SOON. using new technology (shipping containers etc) is tricky business and moves a lil slow with our fine city. so, we’re not gonna say exactly when we’ll be back open yet ’cause we’re ass holes like that and we like the suspense. but, 
Co-owner Bobby Heugel tells Amber Ambrose the craft beer bar he’s been carving out of the former Chances space at the corner of Westheimer and Waugh and the meat palace built from scratch next door for former Catalan chef Chris Shepherd will be attached but operate separately: “For the sake of efficiency and competitive pricing, 
The owners of the renamed and renovated Melcher Crossing shopping center by the tracks at 4218 San Felipe brought in their own adults-only restaurant last September, reporter Rusty Graham explains: “‘We thought “how hard can it be?‒ Evie Melcher said. ‘We thought we’d just open it up and it would run itself. But there’s so much to bring together.’ Between a manager that didn’t work out and a ‘diva’ chef who quit, the Melchers have experienced and overcome the challenges. The restaurant is ‘chefless’ for the foreseeable future, the kitchen overseen by a manager. Menu items are recipes supplied by the kitchen staff; after the chef quit workers brought in family recipes that were cooked up and tried out. The best are on the menu today, what Evie Melcher calls ‘sexy Tex-Mex.’ 
