Note: Updated below.
Las Alamedas Restaurant — the hacienda on the Katy Freeway — is on hiatus pending renegotiation of its 28-year-old lease.
According to a message on the restaurant’s voice mail, the storied location of countless wedding, birthday and anniversary fiestas is “temporarily closed” while negotiations continue.
When Las Alamedas opened in 1980 it was the first grand, high-end Mexican restaurant in town. The Memorial location — 8615 Katy Freeway at Voss — attracted diners who sought genuine Mexican cuisine in a large elegant setting. Colonial-style architecture, bayou views, banquet facilities and highly professional service pleased customers for whom Ninfa’s on Navigation was terra incognita.
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The restaurant’s Spanish-colonial magnificence includes double- and triple-height ceilings, massive dark turned-wood chairs and tables, saltillo tile multi-level floors, wrought-iron accents, walls painted ochre and cantaloupe and yellow-gold, bright “Mexican-style” paintings, and a splendid bar from a 19th-century San Miguel de Allende hacienda. Expansive floor-to-ceiling windows offer a green view of a tributary of Buffalo Bayou bordering the rear of the restaurant — a surprising contrast to the enormous concrete parking lot facing the freeway.
Update: Allison Wollam provides some detail in today’s Houston Business Journal:
[Restaurant owner Jorge] Sneider says the owner of the land died in a plane crash about a year and a half ago and the family is currently fighting over ownership.
“As long as the property is in contest nothing can be done with the property anyway,” he says. “Hopefully, I’ll have some good news to share very soon.”
Photo: Rachel Dvoretzky
10 Comments
Oh, my. Many years ago, circa 1981, handsome Joaquin, the bartender with the tightest pants in Houston, held forth at that beautiful bar. He made a terrific margarita, if I remember correctly. I DO remember you could read the date on the dime in his pocket.
Down Pat!
Who is the owner of the land who died in a plane crash??
The owner, according to HCAD, is Alamex NV, which, according to the State Comptroller’s website, is a company located in McAllen. President is Jose Francisco Ortiz. No idea who he is.
But where’s Joaquin?
If Las Alamedas was supposed to reopen 2/6/09, how come it is 2/12/09 and still not open? Is it gone for good???
we miss you guys , open soon nice memories from all our friends. Now we feel empty we used to be all together at las alamedas nice food the best restaurant in Houston, best bartenders marcos and javier best singers alex and alberto. negotiate soon love Alfonso and Maria we care
We have a gift certificate from here that we’ve been wanting to use. Last we heard, they were supposed to open 2/6/09, but now here it is in March and looks like they are still closed, the phone number dosen’t even work anymore. I am very dissapointed, was looking forward to having the filet chipolte and a nice frozen margarita!! :(
Question…anyone know how to contact the owner? Friends were going to have their rehearsal dinner there and had already put down a deposit of about $500 and no one from the restaurant even let them know they were closing!
Last October 17,2008, I paid $400.00 deposit for an event scheduled for June,20, 2009 and Las Alamedas failed to communicate with me at all. Does anyone know how their forwarding address? Any help would be greatly appreciated.