We’ve got a couple of possibly linked downtown restaurant shutdowns to report: Macondo Latin Bistro, at 208 Travis St. just off Market Square, closed at the beginning of last week. “I look forward to serving you again at a new location,” owner Delaila Ocasio writes on the restaurant’s Facebook page. Meanwhile, around the corner at 917 Franklin St., chef Mark Latigue’s 4-month-old triple-threat Creole, Cuban, and Caribbean venture has also closed, but no announcements about the future of El Gallo Rojo have appeared on Facebook so far. A Swamplot reader was alerted to the missing red rooster after spotting a chafing dish sitting on the sidewalk in front of the property last Saturday evening. The Red Lantern Vietnamese restaurant closed in the same location last year.
Beyond the finishing of fusion cuisines, what’s the connection between the endings of these 2 restaurants?
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A reader tells us that Macondo moved all of its equipment into the Gallo Rojo space over the weekend. “It looks like Macondo will be opening in that space,” the tipster tells Swamplot, “although I have no idea if they are keeping the name.”
- Previously on Swamplot: Where the Red Lantern Has Been Lowered and the Creole, Cuban, and Caribbean Is Going In
Photo: Google
Houstonians don’t want fusion cuisine. Tex-Mex, Cajun or barbecue are always a slam dunk.
Houstonians also don’t like to walk more than 2 blocks. Until that area increases office density, any restaurant should forget about depending on a reliable lunch crowd.