MORE HOUSES WANTED FOR MORE PIES 
HBJ food-beat reporter Allison Wollam, who’s heard recently that “pies are the ‘new cupcakes,’†reports that San Antonio pie chain Tootie Pies is scouring Houston for locations to build 8 new Tootie Pie Gourmet Cafés here over the next 2 years. That would more than double the new chain’s current lineup: The sixth Tootie location recently opened in Austin’s Westlake Village; other stores are in San Antonio, Austin, Fredericksburg, and the Dallas area. [Houston Business Journal] Photo of Austin store: Dan B.
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Tag: Franchises and Chain Stores
NO, DUNKIN’ DONUTS IS NOT COMING TO THE CORNER OF WESTHEIMER AND DUNLAVY 
Did yesterday’s announcement that Dunkin’ Donuts plans to open 16 new franchises in Houston over the next 5 years add fuel to the persistent rumor that one of them is headed for the recently cleared northwest corner of Westheimer and Dunlavy in Montrose? A leasing agent who says he’s negotiating with “a couple of very strong retailers” to get them into the new 4,829-sq.-ft. center planned for the site by owner SFT Investments is ready to quash it. “I will tell you that at no time were we in negotiations with Dunkin Donuts,” Jed Mandel of Edge Realty Partners tells Swamplot. “I do not know how that rumor was started but I still get phone calls on the property begging us not to put them in.” [Swamplot inbox] Rendering: Edge Realty Partners
DUNKIN’ DONUTS’ BIG TEXAS PUSH 
Franchise group 521 Interests plans to open 16 Dunkin’ Donuts stores in Houston — as part of plans by the nation’s largest bagel retailer to double the number of U.S. locations over the next 20 years. No rush, though: The first new Houston store won’t open until next year; the 15 others should all be open by 2018. Five Dunkin Donuts locations are already open in the Houston area. Also coming to Texas: 9 new franchises in San Antonio, as well as 50 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area over the next 5 years under a limited partnership agreement with the family of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Troy Aikman. [Dunkin’ Donuts] Photo of Bellaire location: Jimmy W.
COMMENT OF THE DAY: MORE EXPERIMENTS ON WHEELS, PLEASE “so what if it’s a passing fad? i don’t see anything wrong with that. if/when the food truck era passes, we won’t be left behind with a bunch of crappy ass buildings that no one knows what to do with. if we don’t like their food or their business, we can just wheel ’em away. wish i could do that to a few mcdonald/king/fil-a/aburgers round here . . .” [cooperella, commenting on Comment of the Day: Can’t You See Where This Is Headed?]
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
Got a question about something going on in your neighborhood you’d like Swamplot to answer? Sorry, we can’t help you. But if you ask real nice and include a photo or 2 with your request, maybe the Swamplot Street Sleuths can! Who are they? Other readers, just like you, ready to demonstrate their mad skillz in hunting down stuff like this:
Answers to your questions:
- Downtown: Flagspotters pinpointed the not-so-wavy Lone Star banner pictured above on the parking-lot side of the small office building at 1515 Rusk St. between La Branch and Crawford, directly behind the new Hess Tower parking garage. Yes, it’s even visible on Google Street View, reader Brian points out.
- Cottage Grove: What’s that freshly built structure at 1500 Shepherd Dr. on the corner of Maxie, right across from the shuttered Shuck Daddy’s (which is slated to become another Lupe Tortilla Mexican Restaurant)? According to marketing director Heather McKeon, Bullritos Management is “finalizing the details with the franchisee†to bring the 12th area (and first freestanding) version of that burrito-and-margarita chain to that location. The 2,500 sq.-ft. Bullritos is expected to open in February or March of next year. Here’s a view:
Houston’s only 24-7 Starbucks — the seemingly always-jammed one adjoined with a Jamba Juice at the corner of Post Oak and Westheimer across from the Galleria — is getting its once-in-a-decade makeover this week. The caffeine hub shut down last Friday night at 11 and Brazos Contractors’ construction superintendent expects it to be buzzing again by this Sunday night. What’ll be installed by then? Cast stone benches and entryways . . . and a fountain! Not to mention a shiny new interior. Nighthawks can still get their Ventis and Grandes at Uptown Park this week, as that branch is picking up the slack with 4-am-to-1-am hours through Thursday, and 24-hour stretches Friday and Saturday.
Photo: Aaron Carpenter
COMMENT OF THE DAY: THERE’S A LITTLE BIT OF TUSCANY IN EVERY OLIVE GARDEN “What culinary region of Italy brought us bottomless salad and bread sticks?” [bassmaster, commenting on Sabetta Café Makes Sure To Feed the Blogs First]
From new travel-eating blog Eating the Road: This handy decisionmaking flowchart, to help you decide which chain restaurant to eat your next meal at. For a number of Outside the Loop neighborhoods, this may be the only restaurant guide you’ll ever need. And it works in a few other cities too!
Yes, that’s Yountville’s unchained French Laundry sitting all alone in the center — sadly, there’s no way to get to it from the decision tree. And what’s in the fine print to the right of Hooters?
Gift poster editions of the chart are available, though there seem to be a few problems with the online ordering system at the moment. Also from Eating the Road: Fast Food, Freezer Aisle, and Cereal editions.
- Where Should I Eat? Chain Restaurant Edition (Flowchart) [Eat the Road]
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COMMENT OF THE DAY: SUPERIOR LOCATIONS “On one hand, it is ironic that these kids consider one bunch of chain restaurants superior to an identical bunch in another location. But it is also a demonstration of how even in an environment of repetitive conformity, persons especially sensitive to barely visible (and possibly pheromonic) indicators of superiority will seek such places out. It suggests that even if we lived in a Stalinist city of identical concrete apartment blocks, where everyone wore identical Mao suits, there’d still be a cool part of town.” [RWB, commenting on Hey, Hey, Stay Outta Our Chick-fil-A]
HEY, HEY, STAY OUTTA OUR CHICK-FIL-A A brief excerpt from that satirical article in the Cinco Ranch High School newspaper that sparked protests from students of neighboring schools at the LaCenterra Shopping Center last Friday: “You can’t help but be a little bit angry when you’re stuck in the Whataburger drive-thru behind an unimaginably large caravan of Katy cars, each sporting at least 12 stickers reminding you of their accomplishments. If they’re so great why can’t they go to their own Whataburger? There’s this feeling in our little corner of the world that just says: This is Cinco. Some believe there is a sense of ownership to the neighboring businesses and restaurants… Cinco’s Mission Burrito. Cinco’s Target. Cinco’s Taco Bell, Whataburger, Sonic. Seeing anything but maroon clad students and parents roaming the aisles seems odd to some. Don’t they have their own places to go? ” [Fort Bend Now]
In one fell soup, Bennigan’s has apparently shuttered all of its U.S. locations. And the store is taking its sister restaurant, the ailing Steak & Ale, along with it. The chains’ are filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Both are subsidiaries of Metromedia Restaurant Group, based in Plano.
Over at Houstonist, Katherine Shilcutt Gleave surveys the confusion resulting from the unannounced overnight shutdowns:
Houston is home to at least 20 Bennigan’s restaurants in the city and surrounding metropolitan areas. Calls placed this morning by Houstonist to the locations netted the same result each time: a phone ringing off the hook and no answering service. Only one location answered the phone when we called: the Bennigan’s in Greenspoint off Beltway 8. The befuddled-sounding manager at that location politely told us that they were, in fact, closed. He further confirmed that all other Bennigan’s in Houston were closed as well.
Steak & Ale had 6 Houston-area locations.
- Bennigan’s: Erin Go Broke [Houstonist]
Photo: Flickr user alex_user
