September 8, 2009 – 9:22 am
A reader who’s been intermittently monitoring the vital signs of the DNR European Cafe and Deli in Chelsea Market on Montrose reports that the restaurant has closed: “There is a sign out front announcing the impending opening of a new restaurant called ‘Chelsea Grill.’” Meanwhile, a notice on DNR’s listing at restaurant website B4-u-eat notes that DNR will be opening “soon” at 10400 Harwin Dr. [Swamplot inbox]
Read more about: 77006, 77036, Harwin, Montrose, Openings and Closings, Restaurants
September 4, 2009 – 11:24 am
What’s new to eat?
- Opening Soon: Lola, a diner-ish spot serving “American comfort foods” — in the restored and refashioned former Eckerd Drug across from the Heights Post Office on Yale and 11th. This’ll be the third Heights restaurant venture from Ken Bridge, who also runs Dragon Bowl and Pink’s Pizza.
- Opened This Week: From famed New York, Las Vegas, and Dallas chef John Tesar, Tesar’s Modern Steak and Seafood, directly across from the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands. You’ll certainly want to eat everything on your plate when you visit: “Tesar’s entire menu will be one hundred percent sustainable created with a zero-waste food ethics in mind,” declares the restaurant website. Whole fish will be a specialty. Outside: a burger bar.
- Closed: The Texadelphia in the fast-food-friendly strip center on Memorial Dr. and Asbury, across from Otto’s — reportedly on account of the parking lot being too darn clogged. No worries: You can still get your cheesesteak fix at 3 other Houston locations, and it’s now a bit easier to find a spot in front of the Kolache Factory.
More food fun:
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Read more about: 77007, 77008, 77024, 77027, 77056, 77098, 77380, CityCentre, Galleria, Houston Heights, Memorial, Openings and Closings, Restaurants, The Woodlands, Upper Kirby
September 1, 2009 – 4:31 pm
This doesn’t sound so much like a deli now, does it? How long ’til they start calling this part of Shepherd The Gastrow?
A little birdie points Swamplot to more info about plans for the former Cue & Cushion pool hall, hiding on the uh . . . secret Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau website:
510 Shepherd, designed by award-winning hospitality designer Joel Mozersky, will be a unique neighborhood restaurant concept reminiscent of a traditional London gastro pub, yet modernized in design and updated to take into account American tastes.
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Read more about: 77007, Brunner, Openings and Closings, Restaurants, Washington Corridor
September 1, 2009 – 10:44 am
“At 510 Shepherd, the old Cue and Cushion Pool Hall has been sold and is seeing some major changes. The billiards tables are gone and a dining room is under construction. The new place will be Cue Restaurant. Though unconfirmed, the on-site rumor is that it will be a New York style deli - something like Katz’s or Kenny and Ziggy’s, I am told.” Also, photos of the future locations of BRC Gastro Pub across the street and Burgerzilla in the Heights. [Fred Eats Houston; previously on Swamplot]
Read more about: 77007, Adaptive Reuse, Brunner, Openings and Closings, Restaurants
August 28, 2009 – 9:45 am
Here are your clues: It’ll be “downtown” in a 1928 “warehouse,” and have twice the floor space of the current Walter’s at 1425 Washington Ave. It will have free parking and will be “removed from residential areas.” Beyond that, owner Pam Robinson isn’t saying — until TABC approves the new location: “The venue has shows booked deep into the fall. There will be no cancellations. As soon as the new space — which Robinson hopes to announce in the next week or two — is ready, Walter’s shows will move there.” [Houston Chronicle; previously on Swamplot]
Read more about: 77007, Nightlife, Openings and Closings, Washington Corridor
August 27, 2009 – 12:18 pm
Live-music maker and fan Jeff Balke gets worked up over the rumor that Walter’s on Washington will be closing its doors after its Halloween show:
At one time, Washington Avenue was home to Rockefeller’s, The Fabulous Satellite Lounge, Club Hey Hey, the Bon Ton Room and The Vatican. Other notables including Walter’s, The Rhythm Room, Tones, Cosmo’s and others had their moments along the popular corridor. When Walter’s closes, that will be that for live music having been replaced by red velvet roped drinking spots that serve over-priced alcohol to those allowed in by bouncers.
Balke blog bonus: A blow-by-blow what-are-they-now guide to Washington Ave live-music venues gone bye-bye.
Houston Press music blog Rocks Off has this vague report: “The building has reportedly been sold and, we hear, Walter’s owner Pam Robinson is looking to relocate.”
Photo of Walter’s on Washington, 4215 Washington Ave.: Yelp user mark s.
Read more about: 77007, Attractions, Nightlife, Openings and Closings, Washington Corridor
August 17, 2009 – 11:07 am
You were maybe planning to stop by the Bookstop in the old Alabama Theater on Shepherd for one last browse before the store closes on September 15th? Do a little clearance-sale shopping, grab a coffee up on the balcony and look out over that live-on-stage magazine stand?
It may be a little too late for that now. On the Houston Press Twitter feed this weekend, Katharine Shilcutt reported that the upper levels of the store are already cleared and closed . . . for good.
Photo: Houston Press
Read more about: 77098, Alabama Theater, Commercial Real Estate, Historic Preservation, Openings and Closings, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers, Upper Kirby, Weingarten Realty
August 14, 2009 – 11:23 am
Arne’s Warehouse Store — that 5-building, 2-story maze of party decorations, pet supplies, and small appliances tucked into the embattled warehouse district at the base of the Heights just west of the First Ward — reopened yesterday, almost a year after being hit hard by Hurricane Ike. How hard?
The building that houses Arne’s inventory and staff offices suffered the brunt of the damages – two of its walls were blown down – and the warehouse roof was torn off by the strong winds of the storm, as well. The interior of the store, which is made entirely of wood, and all the products inside got wet, so all goods were purchased by other vendors, thrown out or destroyed. . . .
Although most of the store was in a workable condition, Arne’s was forced to close because it could not function properly without the inventory section. The necessary repairs were made to the warehouse, and the office building was rebuilt.
Photo of Arne’s, 2830 Hicks St., after Hurricane Ike: Paul McRae
Read more about: 77007, Disaster Aftermath, First Ward, Hurricane Ike, Openings and Closings, Retail
August 12, 2009 – 6:18 pm
And now, a view of the scene at the former Westcott Bar by the entrance to Memorial Park, where Swamplot’s Rice Military correspondent is ready at the camera. The address: 6603 Westcott, at the corner of Durford.
That banner at the front is announcing a new location for the Onion Creek Coffee House.
Two more views:
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Read more about: 77007, Bars, Camp Logan, Memorial-Park, Nightlife, Openings and Closings, Proposed Developments, Restaurants, Wanita Place
“Forget Ross and Kroger….I’m excited about the new Auto Parts store that just put up a contruction sign up on 11th and Dorothy (across from Dragon Bowl). How exciting to have a third auto parts store within the 1/10th mile!!!” [biggerintexas, commenting on Opening Day: H-E-B Buffalo Market Stampede Begins]
Read more about: 77008, Comments, Houston Heights, New Construction, North Shepherd, Openings and Closings, Retail, Theming
That summer clearance sale that’s been going on at the Bookstop in the Alabama Theater Shopping Center on South Shepherd is uh, final. The store will be closing for good on September 15th. The new Barnes & Noble in the River Oaks Shopping Center on West Gray will be opening the next day (a bit sooner than was announced earlier), but no unsold books from the Bookstop location will be making the trip north.
So what happens to the Alabama Theater after then?
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Read more about: 77098, Alabama Theater, Commercial Real Estate, Historic Preservation, Leasing, Openings and Closings, Renovations, Retail, Shopping Centers, Strip Centers, Weingarten Realty
Alison Cook likes the recently opened Block 7 Wine Company:
The new venture, located in a smartly rehabbed appliance store on Shepherd just south of the Washington strip, combines retail wine sales with a wine bar that also functions as a restaurant. There’s a short, well-edited menu that will soon be expanded but which already looks and tastes promising.
The place looks smashing: airy and crisp and cool, all gunmetal greys and silvers, with black notes for ballast, a shimmer of glassware and a few bright pops of color.
I admired the vintage store fittings salvaged from the original appliance business and repurposed as a check-out desk, as well as the reasonable by-the-bottle prices and the distinct personality of the list, which does not try to be all things to all people.
Speaking of which:
From my window table, I could see Soma, the Japanese fusion and sushi spot on Washington at Shepherd, and I trembled to think of the ravening scenesters that might soon invade my little idyll.
Photo of checkout station, Block 7 Wine Co., 720 Shepherd Dr.: Alison Cook
Read more about: 77007, Interiors, Openings and Closings, Renovations, Restaurants, Retail, Washington Corridor
Fresh from a first visit to the new butterfly-roofed, design-pedigreed H-E-B Market on Buffalo Speedway at Bissonnet — which opened to the public bright and early at 6 o’clock this morning — a reader writes in with a report:
There were uniformed traffic directing cops with loud whistles herding eager shoppers into the parking lot. In the entry way, I was greeted by HEB Buddy, some kind of a brown bag cartoon character. The store was packed and had a carnival-like atmosphere. HEB was well-prepared with quadruple staff greeting and answering questions. The buffalo speedway side seems to be more of the Central Market stuff, like Cafe On the Run, bakery, fish market, etc. And the rest of the store feels more like an HEB with Central Market products integrated throughout. As a regular shopper at Central Market, I think having some cheaper alternatives nearby will save me money.
More photos, plus . . . the downside:
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Read more about: 77005, Green Design, Grocery Stores, Modern Design, New Construction, Openings and Closings, Retail, Theming, West University
Timpano’s Chop House, at the corner of Main and Texas, shut down last week — meeting the same fate as its predecessor, Bossa. Where will expense-account lunchers go now? “In the shadow of Timpano’s sudden closure skulks a disheartening Houston restaurant trend: the precipitous decline of the downtown business lunch. This spring, such expense-account stalwarts as Voice (in the Hotel Icon) and 17 (in the Alden-Houston Hotel) have eliminated lunch service entirely. On April 1, Spencer’s for Steaks and Chops in the Hilton of the Americas–the premium restaurant in Houston’s largest convention hotel–gave up on lunch service and moved its official opening time to 2 p.m.” [Cook's Tour]
Read more about: 77002, Downtown, Openings and Closings, Restaurants
Comment of the Day: North Shepherd Automotive District Expansion Program
“Forget Ross and Kroger….I’m excited about the new Auto Parts store that just put up a contruction sign up on 11th and Dorothy (across from Dragon Bowl). How exciting to have a third auto parts store within the 1/10th mile!!!” [biggerintexas, commenting on Opening Day: H-E-B Buffalo Market Stampede Begins]