Restaurants

Franchises and Chain Stores
08/05/11 1:24pm

The Texas Bennigan’s Begin Again

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Proposed Developments, Restaurants
25 Comments

The new owners of the Bennigan’s restaurant chain are hoping to get as many as 10 new Bennigan’s franchises opened in Houston, and they’ve hired a broker to scout for sites. All 20 Bennigan’s in Houston (as well as 6 Steak and Ale restaurants) closed in 2008, after their parent company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Bennigan’s Franchising Co. is also searching for as many as 10 locations in its Dallas-Fort Worth home base and 5 each in San Antonio and Austin, as well as single locations in other Texas cities. New restaurants will likely look something like the new 4,200-sq.-ft. prototype the company built last fall in Appleton, Wisconsin (above), but don’t necessarily have to be stand-alone buildings, says Daniel Harris of Henry S. Miller Brokerage. Also in development: a fast-casual “Bennigan’s On the Fly” for airports and colleges.

Photo: Real Points

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Lower Westheimer
08/04/11 8:13pm

The Two New Montrose Coffee Bars Coming to Westheimer

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Montrose, Restaurants, Retail
13 Comments

Who’s going to lease those small retail spaces being developed along with Uchi’s takeover of the former Felix Mexican Restaurant space in Montrose? Here’s one answer: Opening later this year just behind the restaurant will be Southside Espresso, a new retail coffee house venture (and beer-and-wine bar) from Sean Marshall, the proprietor of Fusion Beans. The 714-sq.-ft. space has an address of 904B Westheimer, but the front door faces Grant St. The coffee shop will be open from 7 am to 11 pm and allow customers to use the same bathroom facilities as Uchi patrons.

Also helping to tip Westheimer’s boiling point a little further east: another new coffee shop, just announced for the recently re-muraled former Mary’s, Naturally space at 1018 Westheimer. Picky caffeine prophets David Buehrer and Ecky Prabanto will be moving up from their popular perch at Greenway Coffee & Tea in the basement food court of Greenway Plaza building number 5. (They plan to keep that small but popular shop running, though.) Their new Montrose venture, Blacksmith, will likely include “a small, but full kitchen” when it opens next spring, Buehrer reports.

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Critters
08/03/11 3:18pm

Okay, But What If the Dogs Start Begging?

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Quicklink, Restaurants
21 Comments

OKAY, BUT WHAT IF THE DOGS START BEGGING? Panhandling within 8 ft. of an outdoor dining area at a Houston restaurant or cafe will now be a misdemeanor, after a unanimous vote by city council today. (Previously designated no-soliciting zones: within 8 ft. of ATMs, parking meters, bus stops, and gas pumps.) Separately, the folks behind Paws on Patios yesterday reported a measure of success in their ongoing campaign to relax city rules that prohibit restaurants and bars from allowing customers’ dogs in their outdoor areas: The mayor’s office has told them they’ll soon get a chance to review redrafted Health Dept. regulations covering the practice. [Houston Politics and Paws on Patios, via Eater Houston]

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Dickinson
07/28/11 8:14am

Stuck in McDonald’s

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East Houston, Hazards, Lawsuits, Quicklink, Restaurants
46 Comments

STUCK IN MCDONALD’S A second family is suing a second area franchisee over playground injuries caused by a metal fastener at a McDonald’s PlayPlace. Last weekend 2-1/2-year-old Alexis Durant caught and gashed her lip on this exposed bolt in a plastic slide in the I-45 feeder road McDonald’s at Pine Dr. in Dickinson, claims attorney Jason Gibson. Last year, another Gibson client sued the owners of the McDonald’s on Uvalde Rd. just south of Woodforest Blvd. after claiming their 6-year-old son cut his head on a screw sticking into a plastic slide tunnel. McDonald’s USA declined to comment on the lawsuits, but issued a statement saying “The safety of our youngest customers is our top priority.” [Click2Houston] Photo: Click2Houston

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Cancellations and Delays
07/27/11 3:32pm

Downtown Brewery Can’t Get the Taps Flowing

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Downtown, Quicklink, Restaurants
7 Comments

DOWNTOWN BREWERY CAN’T GET THE TAPS FLOWING San Antonio’s Freetail Brewing Co. has announced an “indefinite suspension” of its plans to build a 3-story, 20,000-sq.-ft. brewery, store, and restaurant in an unidentified existing building near the corner of Main and Prairie St. The problem: plenty of hops, not enough yeast: “I began to run into an increasing level of resistance in capital markets,” brewery owner Scott Metzger politely explains in a press release. He tells beer blogger Ronnie Crocker he wasn’t willing to scale back the $4.2 million project, and will keep fiddling with the company’s San Antonio operation instead. [Beer, TX; previously on Swamplot]

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East Houston
07/26/11 2:05pm

New Fuddruckers Drive-Thru Now on Menu of I-10 Luby’s

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Restaurants
8 Comments

A Fuddruckers Express has taken over a portion of the Luby’s Cafeteria on the I-10 East feeder between Federal Rd. and Maxey. The 1,500-sq.-ft. hamburger joint was carved out of the former Luby’s takeout area and drive-thru, but the 2 restaurants share a kitchen in the 12,200-sq.-ft. freestanding building. Luby’s bought out the Fuddruckers chain last year.

Photo: Luby’s

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Franchises and Chain Stores
07/22/11 2:17pm

A Different Kind of Medical Tourism

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Quicklink, Restaurants, Texas Medical Center
12 Comments

A DIFFERENT KIND OF MEDICAL TOURISM How did Rockport, Texas, couple Karl and Carol Hoepfner get the idea to eat meals at all 722 Whataburgers in 10 states? It all started with a visit to the Texas Medical Center: “Carol, 73, was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer in her eyes, which eventually sent her to Houston for 23 days of radiation earlier this year. All of the appointments were late in the day, and Karl wanted to do something other than spend the rest of the time in their apartment.” The Hoepfners used their free time to visit all 90 Houston Whataburger locations first. They’ve reached 225 so far. [Corpus Christi Caller] Photo: Ivan Campos

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Hotels
07/22/11 11:39am

Whoosh!! What the Bootsie’s Crew Has Been Cooking Up

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Museum District, Openings and Closings, Restaurants
1 Comment

Ever wonder what happens when a vat of liquid nitrogen wielded by a restaurant crew from Tomball is poured into the swimming pool of a Downtown Houston hotel? Your curiosity will be rewarded in the short video above from last March’s poolside Houston Star Chefs event at the Four Seasons Hotel, where Bootsie’s Heritage Cafe chef Randy Rucker and pastry chef Chris Leung both received Rising Star awards. The large-scale chemistry demo from Bootsie’s took place at the end of the evening. (According to Houston Press food critic Katharine Shillcutt, there were a few delayed reactions too: The hotel was left with a fair amount of cleanup afterward as a result, including completely draining the pool and fixing the chemical balance of the water.) The Bootsie’s crew’s latest project: A new restaurant in a well-vegetated just-purchased 1930 Museum District home most recently used as a doctor’s office, directly behind Yoshio Taniguchi’s Asia House at 5219 Caroline St.:

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Lower Westheimer
07/18/11 2:33pm

One’s a Meal No More

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Montrose, Quicklink, Restaurants
20 Comments

ONE’S A MEAL NO MORE “People have weddings here. They don’t want to put One’s A Meal on their wedding invitations. ‘Ted’s’ sounded corny . . . like a diner. [Besides the name] I haven’t changed one thing. The employees didn’t change, the menu didn’t change.” — New owner Ted Mousoudakis, who’s changed the name of the Lower Westheimer 24-hour joint to “Theo’s.” Also new: the beer and wine license. [Eating Our Words; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Candace Garcia

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Franchises and Chain Stores
07/08/11 11:18am

New Houston Steak ’n Shakes Ready To Bake

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Proposed Developments, Quicklink, Restaurants, Retail
15 Comments

NEW HOUSTON STEAK ’N SHAKES READY TO BAKE Thirty years after its first big move into Houston (with 5 locations that didn’t last too long), fast-food burger operation Steak ’n Shake is ready to roll into town in a big way again. Chodrow Realty Advisors’ David Littwitz says he’s been working to get 5 new franchises of the national chain open here soon — 1 this year, and 4 next. A Steak ’n Shake restaurant on FM 1960 at Eldridge has been open for 3 years; a second location on the I-10 feeder at Westgreen in Katy opened last year. [Houston Business Journal; history] Photo: Robert S.

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Nightlife
07/06/11 2:43pm

And Another Wine Bar: Shady Grocery Going Crisp

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Proposed Developments, Restaurants, Shady Acres
12 Comments

The owners of Pub Fiction and Shot Bar in Midtown plan to make over the former Shady Grocery at the corner of Bevis and 23rd St. in Shady Acres into Crisp Wine Bar and Eatery, which will also feature craft beers on tap, an “Italian-influenced” menu (including pizza and deli-style hoagies), a retail wine shop, and a separate entrance for customers who just want to order takeout. Also: a patio next to the kitchen’s new herb-and-vegetable garden that’ll be carved out of the asphalt. Guy-in-charge Al Scavelli tells Swamplot many of the details are still being worked out, but he hopes to open the place at 2220 Bevis up by next January.
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Comments
07/05/11 6:03pm

Comment of the Day: The Restaurant Rush in Shady Acres

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Openings and Closings, Quicklink, Restaurants, Retail, Shady Acres
No Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: THE RESTAURANT RUSH IN SHADY ACRES “Given the success of hugely popular Cedar Creek just down the street…and the new Hubcap Grille opening about a block away on 19th…and Gatlin’s BBQ…and the new spot opening soon on 23rd…I’d say this part of town has a hungry (and thirsty!) population who will ensure that this new Corkscrew location does well. Welcome to the neighborhood – very happy to have you here!” [LaLa, commenting on The Corkscrew Pops Open in Shady Acres]

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Midtown
06/30/11 2:10pm

Artisans Filling Out the Mix in Midtown

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New Construction, Restaurants
4 Comments

Two sets of self-proclaimed artisans are hard at work on the southernmost space in Midtown’s super-urban Mix building at 3201 Louisiana. First, there’s Artisan Builders, now building out the 4,800 sq.-ft. restaurant space on the corner of Stuart St., which a source at the construction company says will include a small outdoor patio in front. Then there’s the French restaurant getting ready to move in 4 to 5 months from now, which will now be called Artisans Restaurant. (That’s a change from an earlier name: Chef’s Table.) In charge of the interior: Austin’s Michael Hsu Office of Architecture, of Austin and Houston Uchi fame. Hsu and Artisan Builders also collaborated a few years ago on Sushi Raku at the other end of the building.

Photo: InnerLooped

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North Montrose
06/30/11 1:16pm

The Back Story on Tony Mandola’s Opening Last Night

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Openings and Closings, Parking, Restaurants, Streetscapes
16 Comments

In the new but apparently burgeoning tradition of Swamplot opening-day (and opening-night) photos of Waugh Dr. parking lots comes this reader photo of the car-filled scene behind the new Tony Mandola’s Gulf Coast Kitchen at 1212 Waugh, taken from Rosine St. last night around 7 pm. Sure, residents of the Piedmont condos along Rosine now can walk to the new Whole Foods Market. But the condos “have no guest parking other than on the street. Now we will have NO guest parking at all,” reports the reader. “People are steamed.” Next on the local agenda: trying to swing permit-only parking signs for Rosine.

Photo: Swamplot inbox

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Comments
06/27/11 4:37pm

Comment of the Day: Houston Restaurants Need That Strip Center Magic

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Melrose Place, Parking, Quicklink, Restaurants, Strip Centers
3 Comments

COMMENT OF THE DAY: HOUSTON RESTAURANTS NEED THAT STRIP CENTER MAGIC “Good luck to Triniti, it will need it. Just watching locations across the city for many many years, I’ve determined that a restaurant has a huge chance of failure when it doesn’t have parking out front. Don’t know if Houstonians just want to see if someplace is crowded … but that’s why some places are snakebit.” [CJ Yeoman, commenting on Swamplot Street Sleuths: Whiff!]

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